Written assignments are a usual thing for college students because a rare specialty can do without them. So, it is not surprising young people learn to work with all possible types of thesis statements to create a masterpiece and deliver a high-grade paper. Many students participate in a rat race, trying to surpass their group mates, so they do their best to stand out and make a perfect thesis statement. If you want to join the ranks of straight-A learners, you should work on your analytical and writing skills. Today, we will talk about the most important aspects of a thesis statement and discuss what things can make it outstanding, so you will have an idea in what direction you should move on.
What Is a Thesis Statement in an Essay?
Many students struggle to cope with this task because they don't get its essence, so they come up with everything but a worthy thesis statement. In fact, it is the key sentence in the whole text that works as a compass, showing you what to do next. The rest of your paperwork is aimed at supporting this sentence, so you shouldn't 'whip up' it in a hurry. Bear in mind that students who are short on time can hardly create excellent thesis statements. Usually, a writer resorts to logical and emotional reasoning to prove the thesis statement. In other words, you make a claim about the appropriate theme of discussion and advocate this claim with analysis, logic, and outside sources.
How long should a thesis statement be? You should articulate the essay's key point in a few sentences at the most, while the rest of the paper will serve to strengthen that point. An introduction is not equal to the thesis statement, so don't confuse these concepts. If it is about a short essay, then the thesis statement is likely to close your introduction. Before it, you should involve an attention grabber, introduce your theme, and some background information so that the thesis statement will be rather a cherry on the pie of your introduction. If you write a long research paper, you can introduce your thesis at the end of the first chapter. To create a well-crafted thesis, you should be good at the topic discussed and provide enough strong arguments to support it.
Why Is It So Important?
You may wonder why you should spend so much time learning how to write a good thesis statement. Well, in fact, it is a great tool that helps you stay organized and narrow down your paper's focus. It is much easier to create a decent essay when you know what statement you have to support, and it is the main reason why the thesis statement comes to the fore when you start working on a paper. Good thesis statement examples will show you that a single sentence can do wonders and help your essay stay logical and well-targeted. Besides, it will simplify the writing process for you since it is easier to express your thoughts when you keep the main idea in mind.
Of course, one shouldn't forget that it is impossible to get a high-grade paper if it doesn't involve a thesis statement, but it is already a completely different story. Just it has a special meaning in the academic environment.
How to Come Up with a Good Thesis Statement?
The high importance of this aspect scares many young people. They struggle to write something decent and outstanding and get desperate long before they start polishing their rough ideas. Everyone who is working with academic papers should have a well-tailored system to meet the challenge easier. Here is a wide range of tips on how to write a good thesis that may come in handy when you proceed to formulate your key idea.
Resort to Brainstorming
You don't necessarily need a big company to try brainstorming since you are enough to complete this task. It is possible to practice free writing or just record all your thoughts related to the topic. Coming up with the right statement, make sure you can provide enough evidence to support it. How long is a thesis statement? Usually, it is about one sentence only, so you should make it truly powerful.
Stay Specific
Your paper should be based on a specific argument or question. Make sure your thesis statement is not too blurry. Otherwise, it can be hard to keep the focus and involve key ideas. It is worth refining your argument to stay specific. You can think of your statement as the response to a crucial question. Thus, your target audience will understand right away why your paper is worth their attention and time. A research question is always a good idea when you feel lost.
Make a Clear Argument
If your professor has provided you with a limited volume, you will not have space to present multiple arguments completely. Thus, if you understand that your target audience will hardly get the further direction of your paper after reading only the thesis statement, you should rewrite it. If you struggle to meet this challenge, formulate your statement, keeping in mind the following template, "In this essay, I argue that _." You will have to rephrase it later since it is forbidden to write it in the first person, but it will become a great draft.
Take a Firm Stand
If you look at a good thesis statement example, you will see that it represents a statement that can be argued with. For instance, if you write something like, "Smartphones are a popular device nowadays," your paper will just state facts. On the contrary, when writing an essay, you should take a stand, not observe some obvious facts. Hence, make a thesis statement that will bring to the table a unique perspective.
Question Your Assumptions
You should identify your target audience to understand what arguments will make them take your position. For instance, is your argument based on a moral code or religious principles to prove it is right? If your paper is intended for a class that has something to do with religion, you should resort to dogmatic arguments. Identifying a target audience will help you realize what type of evidence is an empty sound. Anyway, your thesis statement should be strengthened with reasoning and relevant information.
Let Your Thesis Stand Out
Everyone knows that the thesis statement appears at the end of the first paragraph, although the exact position may change depending on the volume of your introduction. Nonetheless, your readers will expect to see it before the very beginning of the body paragraph. Your thesis statement should stand out with plain and clear language, so don't spice it up with fancy words. The concise manner of providing such an important component of your paper is one of the best things you can do.
Example of a Good Thesis Statement
They say that seeing once is better than hearing twice, and this proverb proves once again that most people are visual learners who need an example of a good thesis to get to its essence. Different types of essays require diverse approaches to writing the thesis. Besides, suppose you want to become a straight-A student. In that case, you should necessarily find out how to write a thesis statement APA and MLA since these formatting styles are the most common in the academic environment.
Argumentative Essay
When it comes to this type of assignment, you should claim a specific question or theme and defend it with credible evidence and reasoning. In other words, you should do your best to persuade your target audience to agree with your point of view at the moment they proceed to read the conclusion. In this case, a thesis statement represents an analysis, proposal, or opinion some readers may disagree with. Thus, you should provide enough arguments to support your statement throughout the text. An argumentative thesis statement example will look like the following:
"People have a moral obligation to take care of those weaker and help one another in a difficult situation."
"Society will face a collapse in the next few decades if it doesn't take climate change and its dreadful consequences seriously."
Analytical Essay
In the case of an analytical thesis statement, you don't need to provide an argument but rather analyze, assess, and interpret various aspects of the same theme. In other words, it should represent the fundamental points of your paperwork. Furthermore, your thesis statement will explain the conclusion, so it makes sense to postpone writing this part for later when you have enough information on the topic. Besides, you can provide your readers with a clue to what specific aspects you will examine. If you have no idea how to formulate your thesis, follow the template, "In this paper, I argue _ by analyzing _, _, and _.” An example of this type of assignment will look like the following:
"Based on the information from these four studies, it is obvious that there is a direct connection between low self-esteem and abusive relationships in the family."
Expository Essay
When you get an assignment to write this type of essay, it means that you should discuss and explain information related to the theme to educate your readers. It can be hard to get how you can apply a thesis statement in an expository essay since this type of essay usually doesn't involve arguments. Nonetheless, it will be useful to provide a statement that summarizes your main idea at the beginning of the paper. When you specify the intention of the writing, you create a guideline and ensure that all new pieces of information will support the key idea of your paperwork. How to write a thesis statement example in this case? There is a template that may come in handy when you have no idea what to do, "In this paper, I will teach my readers _." Keep it in mind when working on your thesis statement:
"Skunks can become a wonderful furry friend for children as they are friendly, kind, and low-maintenance."
Personal Essay
Many professors want their learners to develop their creativity, so they ask them to write a paper based on their personal experiences. It can involve a wide range of things, so you just need to choose something to your liking. For instance, you can share your experience with facing acute social issues, or the path of personal development, etc. In most cases, such a paper resembles a private conversation when one of the interlocutors shares their feelings on a subject. Even though your essay may lack a central argument, you can involve irony, development, destiny, etc. How to start a thesis statement example when you deal with a personal essay? Your thesis may look like that:
"Growing up with younger siblings taught me how to be more responsible and patient."
Tips for Writing a Good Thesis Statement
Whether you want it or not, you will have to work on a thesis statement when writing an essay. It is a central point of your whole paper that sets the tone for further research. If you have little experience with creating thesis statements, such a task may seem overwhelming. Nonetheless, the following tips may help you meet this challenge:
- If you have to write a persuasive essay, you should make sure your thesis statement is arguable. Otherwise, your paper will not work out since apparent information will hardly affect your reader. Captain Obvious is not the best role you can play when working on this type of assignment. Pick up a theme that will definitely evoke disagreements.
- Complex questions are not always bad, so don't try to eliminate or simplify them as much as possible. Otherwise, they may lose their essence and become irrelevant.
- Your essay's length may vary depending on the theme and number of points you involve, but a thesis statement should be about two sentences at the most. Its meaning should be concise and clear, so your readers don't have to read between the lines.
- A powerful thesis statement affects readers' perception and informs them why they should show interest in the topic discussed. Make it your tool to encourage them to keep up reading till the last sentence. Indeed, you write this paper for your target audience, so you should take care of their positive reading experience.
- Create a draft of your thesis before you start working on your paper, so it can serve you as a guideline when you proceed to research. Thus, you will make sure that you adhere to the theme and search for arguments that support your thesis statement.
- If you find out something more outstanding in the process of your search, you can change your thesis statement. However, make sure that all information provided in your essay supports it. Irrelevant information will result in a lowered grade, so you should keep your eyes open when crafting your paper.
- When you start working on your thesis statement and paper in general, it is preferable to use active verbs. You should help your readers get your topic and find something interesting in it.