How To Write a Thesis Statement(1)

HowToWriteaThesisStatementWhatisaThesisStatement?Almostallofus—evenifwedon’tdoitconsciously—lookearlyinanessayforaone-ortwo-sentencecondensationoftheargumentoranalysisthatistofollow.Werefertothatcondensationasathesisstatement.WhyShouldYourEssayContainaThesisStatement?ltotestyourideasbydistillingthemintoasentenceortwoltobetterorganizeanddevelopyourargumentltoprovideyourreaderwitha“guide”toyourargumentIngeneral,yourthesisstatementwillaccomplishthesegoalsifyouthinkofthethesisastheanswertothequestionyourpaperexplores.HowCanYouWriteaGoodThesisStatement?Herearesomehelpfulhintstogetyoustarted.Youcaneitherscrolldownorselectalinktoaspecifictopic.HowtoGenerateaThesisStatementiftheTopicisAssignedHowtoGenerateaThesisStatementiftheTopicisnotAssignedHowtoTellaStrongThesisStatementfromaWeakOneHowtoGenerateaThesisStatementiftheTopicisAssignedAlmostallassignments,nomatterhowcomplicated,canbereducedtoasinglequestion.Yourfirststep,then,istodistilltheassignmentintoaspecificquestion.Forexample,ifyourassignmentis,“Writeareporttothelocalschoolboardexplainingthepotentialbenefitsofusingcomputersinafourth-gradeclass,”turntherequestintoaquestionlike,“Whatarethepotentialbenefitsofusingcomputersinafourth-gradeclass?”Afteryou’vechosenthequestionyouressaywillanswer,composeoneortwocompletesentencesansweringthatquestion.Q:“Whatarethepotentialbenefitsofusingcomputersinafourth-gradeclass?”A: “Thepotentialbenefitsofusingcomputersinafourth-gradeclassare...”ORA: “Usingcomputersinafourth-gradeclasspromisestoimprove...”Theanswertothequestionisthethesisstatementfortheessay.[Backtotop]HowtoGenerateaThesisStatementiftheTopicisnotAssignedEvenifyourassignmentdoesn’taskaspecificquestion,yourthesisstatementstillneedstoansweraquestionabouttheissueyou’dliketoexplore.Inthissituation,yourjobistofigureoutwhatquestionyou’dliketowriteabout.Agoodthesisstatementwillusuallyincludethefollowingfourattributes:ltakeonasubjectuponwhichreasonablepeoplecoulddisagreeldealwithasubjectthatcanbeadequatelytreatedgiventhenatureoftheassignmentlexpressonemainidealassertyourconclusionsaboutasubjectLet’sseehowtogenerateathesisstatementforasocialpolicypaper.Brainstormthetopic.Let’ssaythatyourclassfocusesupontheproblemsposedbychangesinthedietaryhabitsofAmericans.YoufindthatyouareinterestedintheamountofsugarAmericansconsume.Youstartoutwithathesisstatementlikethis:Sugarconsumption.Thisfragmentisn’tathesisstatement.Instead,itsimplyindicatesageneralsubject.Furthermore,yourreaderdoesn’tknowwhatyouwanttosayaboutsugarconsumption.Narrowthetopic.Yourreadingsaboutthetopic,however,haveledyoutotheconclusionthatelementaryschoolchildrenareconsumingfarmoresugarthanishealthy.Youchangeyourthesistolooklikethis:Reducingsugarconsumptionbyelementaryschoolchildren.Thisfragmentnotonlyannouncesyoursubject,butitfocusesononesegmentofthepopulation:elementaryschoolchildren.Furthermore,itraisesasubjectuponwhichreasonablepeoplecoulddisagree,becausewhilemostpeoplemightagreethatchildrenconsumemoresugarthantheyusedto,noteveryonewouldagreeonwhatshouldbedoneorwhoshoulddoit.Youshouldnotethatthisfragmentisnotathesisstatementbecauseyourreaderdoesn’tknowyourconclusionsonthetopic.Takeapositiononthetopic.Afterreflectingonthetopicalittlewhilelonger,youdecidethatwhatyoureallywanttosayaboutthistopicisthatsomethingshouldbedonetoreducetheamountofsugarthesechildrenconsume.Youreviseyourthesisstatementtolooklikethis:Moreattentionshouldbepaidtothefoodandbeveragechoicesavailabletoelementaryschoolchildren.Thisstatementassertsyourposition,butthetermsmoreattentionandfoodandbeveragechoicesarevague.Usespecificlanguage.Youdecidetoexplainwhatyoumeanaboutfoodandbeveragechoices,soyouwrite:Expertsestimatethathalfofelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar.Thisstatementisspecific,butitisn’tathesis.Itmerelyreportsastatisticinsteadofmakinganassertion.Makeanassertionbasedonclearlystatedsupport.Youfinallyreviseyourthesisstatementonemoretimetolooklikethis:BecausehalfofallAmericanelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar,schoolsshouldberequiredtoreplacethebeveragesinsodamachineswithhealthyalternatives.Noticehowthethesisanswersthequestion,“Whatshouldbedonetoreducesugarconsumptionbychildren,andwhoshoulddoit?”Whenyoustartedthinkingaboutthepaper,youmaynothavehadaspecificquestioninmind,butasyoubecamemoreinvolvedinthetopic,yourideasbecamemorespecific.Yourthesischangedtoreflectyournewinsights.[Backtotop]HowtoTellaStrongThesisStatementfromaWeakOne1.Astrongthesisstatementtakessomesortofstand.Rememberthatyourthesisneedstoshowyourconclusionsaboutasubject.Forexample,ifyouarewritingapaperforaclassonfitness,youmightbeaskedtochooseapopularweight-lossproducttoevaluate.Herearetwothesisstatements:TherearesomenegativeandpositiveaspectstotheBananaHerbTeaSupplement.Thisisaweakthesisstatement.First,itfailstotakeastand.Second,thephrasenegativeandpositiveaspectsisvague.BecauseBananaHerbTeaSupplementpromotesrapidweightlossthatresultsinthelossofmuscleandleanbodymass,itposesapotentialdangertocustomers.Thisisastrongthesisbecauseittakesastand,andbecauseit'sspecific.2.Astrongthesisstatementjustifiesdiscussion.Yourthesisshouldindicatethepointofthediscussion.Ifyourassignmentistowriteapaperonkinshipsystems,usingyourownfamilyasanexample,youmightcomeupwitheitherofthesetwothesisstatements:Myfamilyisanextendedfamily.Thisisaweakthesisbecauseitmerelystatesanobservation.Yourreaderwon’tbeabletotellthepointofthestatement,andwillprobablystopreading.WhilemostAmericanfamilieswouldviewconsanguinealmarriageasathreattothenuclearfamilystructure,manyIranianfamilies,likemyown,believethatthesemarriageshelpreinforcekinshiptiesinanextendedfamily.Thisisastrongthesisbecauseitshowshowyourexperiencecontradictsawidely-acceptedview.Agoodstrategyforcreatingastrongthesisistoshowthatthetopiciscontroversial.Readerswillbeinterestedinreadingtherestoftheessaytoseehowyousupportyourpoint.3.Astrongthesisstatementexpressesonemainidea.Readersneedtobeabletoseethatyourpaperhasonemainpoint.Ifyourthesisstatementexpressesmorethanoneidea,thenyoumightconfuseyourreadersaboutthesubjectofyourpaper.Forexample:CompaniesneedtoexploitthemarketingpotentialoftheInternet,andWebpagescanprovidebothadvertisingandcustomersupport.Thisisaweakthesisstatementbecausethereadercan’tdecidewhetherthepaperisaboutmarketingontheInternetorWebpages.Torevisethethesis,therelationshipbetweenthetwoideasneedstobecomemoreclear.Onewaytorevisethethesiswouldbetowrite:BecausetheInternetisfilledwithtremendousmarketingpotential,companiesshouldexploitthispotentialbyusingWebpagesthatofferbothadvertisingandcustomersupport.Thisisastrongthesisbecauseitshowsthatthetwoideasarerelated.Hint:agreatmanyclearandengagingthesisstatementscontainwordslikebecause,since,so,although,unless,andhowever.4.Astrongthesisstatementisspecific.Athesisstatementshouldshowexactlywhatyourpaperwillbeabout,andwillhelpyoukeepyourpapertoamanageabletopic.Forexample,ifyou'rewritingaseven-to-tenpagepaperonhunger,youmightsay:Worldhungerhasmanycausesandeffects.Thisisaweakthesisstatementfortwomajorreasons.First,worldhungercan’tbediscussedthoroughlyinseventotenpages.Second,manycausesandeffectsisvague.Youshouldbeabletoidentifyspecificcausesandeffects.Arevisedthesismightlooklikethis:HungerpersistsinGlandeliniabecausejobsarescarceandfarmingintheinfertilesoilisrarelyprofitable.Thisisastrongthesisstatementbecauseitnarrowsthesubjecttoamorespecificandmanageabletopic,anditalsoidentifiesthespecificcausesfortheexistenceofhunger.ProducedbyWritingTutorialServices,IndianaUniversity,Bloomington,IN[Backtotop]