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What this handout is about.
This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.
Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.
A thesis statement:
If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)
A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.
Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .
If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :
Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:
Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.
You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.
After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:
Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.
This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.
Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:
Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
You begin to analyze your thesis:
Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:
In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.
After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:
Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.
This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.
Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.
Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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A thesis statement answers your research question. It is an expression of your stance - or position - on your topic. Your thesis statement show that you have explored your topic deeply in a quest to answer your research question and have come to a conclusion about your understanding of your topic. You must be able to support your argument with evidence (whether using data or the results of your research or both). The resources on this page will help you develop a strong thesis statement from your research question and help you construct your argument.
Pupils explain the purpose of a thesis statement in an academic essay. They identify the two components of a basic thesis statement. Students identify, create and correct thesis statements.
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Related ela standard: w.9-10.1.
The thesis statement of a paper is the line that expresses the main objective of the work. They are difficult to nail down for most writers. For a thesis statement to be considered strong, it must be detailed and cover all the aspects of the argument to be made. Writers need to explore the good, the bad, and everything in between. These worksheets will help you become a better thesis statement writer. Just work your way through this awesome collection of writing worksheets to get the most out of it.
The Thesis Sentence - Vaccinations, which are critical to the control and eradication of deadly infections diseases, should be mandatory, without exception, for every student in the U.S. who wants to attend school.
Writing Arguments: Blending Fact and Opinion - Choose one of your opinion sentences above to develop into an argumentative essay. This is the key to posing a well developed thesis statement.
Writing Leads. - In order to increase academic performance and curtail disruptive behavior, all U.S. school should require students to wear uniforms.
Let's Get Legal - Research the issues surrounding existing or proposed laws about the topic broadly enough to identify several conflicting viewpoints.
Supporting a Claim - If you are writing to try to convince or persuade others to believe a certain thing or to take some particular action, then you are writing a argumentative or persuasive paragraph.
Writing about Social Issues - If there's one thing you can be certain of, there is never only one side to a social issue. Learn how to propose a thesis in uncertain conditions.
Take a Moral Stand - Research the issues surrounding existing the topic broadly enough to identify several conflicting viewpoints. Think about what you have learned, and then take a position on the topic.
Introducing a Claim - Choose one of the topic areas below. Research the issues surrounding existing the topic broadly enough to identify several conflicting viewpoints.
Writing Arguments that Support Claims - What are you trying to convince the reader of? This provides you with space to walk through this in your mind.
Elective Classes - What elective classes does your school offer? Do you feel your school offers a diverse enough choice of electives?
Position Statements - Should high school students be allowed to date? What age is the best age to begin dating? Why?
Writing Thesis Sentences - A thesis sentence is the main topic sentence of an essay. It states the argument in a piece of persuasive writing, and often gives an indication what the main sections of the essay will be, and how the argument will unfold.
Supporting Claims: The Media - People are constantly debating the current state of the media, which has changed dramatically in the last several decades.
The Editorial - Editorial essays express the author's feelings about a subject. The thesis sentence should be supported with reasons and evidence.
Family Issues: Make a Claim - Many controversial issues are specific to the family. Do you have a strong opinion about any of them?
Evidence is a fact, a source or any other data used to support a claim. It can be the data extracted from an experiment or by a research project. Writing an argument that offer a sense of support to your undeniable information is very important. Arguments must be written in a style that helps convince or persuade the reader to accept the writer's statement of facts or point of view rather than making them feel guilty to have an opposite point of view.
Given below are some tips that will help one to write arguments to support evidence:
If we question someone about some topic and their answer addresses a completely different topic, it is natural for us to get irritated. Similarly, arguing about unrelated facts or data will annoy the reader. Before writing the arguments, understand the evidence and be sure to position the way it is presented correctly.
An invalid argument will be of no use therefore, you must support your evidence with the help of proven statics, charts, or other facts and figures along with their references. This will help to make your argument strong and the reader will be convinced to accept your evidence.
Write arguments clearly but concisely. A long section of arguments will irritate the readers and they will decide not to read it at all. Make sure only to add useful information in arguments. Write your arguments to support evidence in easy and simple language and keep your arguments as brief as possible.
Expert opinions are the factual interpretations of some data or information. Ask for some expert opinion about your evidence and quote it in the arguments section to convince the reader to agree with your evidence.
While reading your evidence and arguments, imagine yourself as the reader. Try not to accept your presentation of the facts and disagree with your arguments. Then write the arguments so validly that will convince you as a reader to accept the evidence you have given.
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How long should a thesis sentence be, why should an essay have a thesis statement, can a thesis statement be a question and not a statement, tips to consider when writing a thesis statement, what makes a strong thesis statement, steps to follow when writing a thesis, the types of thesis statements, thesis writing help online: do you need help.
In your academic journey as a student, you are bound to write a couple of essays. Besides, writing other academic writings is also expected. As you proceed into your career journey, writing becomes an essential skill. However, without knowing how to write a thesis statement, your writing can be very dull. Therefore, a thesis statement acts as a compass for any of your writing.
If you do not understand what a thesis statement is, you could seek help from our custom essay writers. Our professional essay writers offer essay writing help online. Certainly, they can help you carve out the best thesis statement.
A thesis statement generated by a thesis statement generator will and cannot be the same as a humanly written thesis statement. Thus, if you need thesis statement examples for a research paper or a thesis statement formula, ask for help from us.
Our writers are experienced in writing 3-point thesis statements and can give you an example. As a custom research paper writing company, we can always help with your academic tasks.
But what is a thesis statement? It is important first to define a thesis statement. Notably, any piece of academic writing you handle or every paper you have the central idea or the main point. Hence, a thesis statement is a one-or-two-sentence statement that condenses the argument or the main idea in your paper.
A thesis statement comes in the last part of the introductory paragraph. In sum, it is the compass or a roadmap for your entire essay.
As already indicated, a thesis statement should be either one sentence or two sentences long. A good thesis statement should present the topic of your paper. Besides, it should clearly outline your position given the topic.
The aim of a thesis statement if for the writer to inform the audience on what the paper is about. Also, it acts as a guide for writing and keeping the focus on the argument.
The thesis statement is meant to:
The purpose of a thesis statement is to help you have a laser-sharp focus on the points. It also helps in the organization of your research paper, term paper , or essay . Notably, even the cause and effect papers have a thesis statement. Hopefully, this answers your question on the purpose of a thesis statement.
In any academic writing task, using questions to express the main idea is prohibited. A thesis statement, as the name suggests, is an argument that you defend in your essay. Therefore, a question in its place would mean you are not sure of what you want your readers to consume.
Stick around; there is still more to learn about developing a thesis statement. Notably, this guide is dedicated to the students wondering how to write a good thesis statement.
This resource can help you write a good thesis statement. ( Links to an external trustable site)
For a successful thesis statement:
Good writers are those who can craft insightful, original, and memorable thesis statements. A well-constructed thesis statement is a reflection of a good flowing essay and impresses the reader. The thesis statement distinguishes writers with high intelligence.
Telling apart a strong thesis from a weak thesis statement is easy. With this, you can easily spot a poor writer. Here are some of the components of a strong thesis statement:
An example of a weak thesis statement: World poverty has many causes and effects.
Example of a strong thesis statement:
"Poverty is a widespread phenomenon in the global landscape due to political instability, economic hardships, poor education, overpopulation, diseases, and culture. It is linked with moral decay in society, crime, diseases, and poor governance systems."
Check out more examples of the best thesis statements ( Links to external site ).
Our definitive article on how to write a thesis statement will be incomplete if we do not explore the steps. When writing a thesis statement:
When writing your essays or research papers, you will encounter two major types of thesis statements.
In this regard, there are different classifications of thesis statements:
Even a profile essay, an expository essay, or a process analysis essay, you name it, should have a thesis statement. In short, a thesis statement is important for academic essay writing. The thesis statement has to be self-explanatory.
Even after reading through our tips on how to write a thesis statement, it can be very tasking to do one.
In this case, our professional essay writers can help you craft outstanding thesis statements.
The expert writers have written a bunch of thesis statements. Thus, they are naturally experienced to write the best thesis statements. It comes subconsciously when they are crafting the best essays. Check out our cheap custom essay writing service for help.
Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.
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Learn how to write a strong thesis statement for different types of essays and dissertations. See examples of expository and argumentative thesis statements on various topics, such as school uniforms, nature vs nurture, and universal healthcare.
Learn how to write a clear and concise thesis statement for your essay or research paper. Follow four simple steps: start with a question, write your initial answer, develop your answer, and refine your thesis statement.
A thesis statement is a sentence that introduces the main topic and argument of a paper or essay. Learn how to write a thesis statement for different types of essays, what to include, and see examples.
Follow us. Improve your language arts knowledge with free questions in "Identify thesis statements" and thousands of other language arts skills.
Activities to Teach How to Write a Thesis Statement in High School. 1. Differentiate Between Strong and Weak Thesis Statements. Writing a thesis statement might be a new skill for your students. Thesis statements are often taught as a topic sentence or the "whole essay boiled down into one sentence.".
Learn what a thesis statement is, why it's important, and how to write one for different types of essays. This lesson provides examples, tips, and a quiz to test your knowledge.
Practice developing thesis statements with this writing introduction worksheet! Students will learn how to improve their writing with a strong, attention grabbing thesis statement. ... 7th Grade Writing, 8th Grade CCSS, 8th Grade Writing, 9th - 10th Grade CCSS, 9th - 10th Grade Writing CCSS Code(s): W.6.1, W.7.1, W.8.1, W.9-10.1, W.11-12.1 ...
A thesis statement is the main point of your essay that ties everything together. Learn how to write a strong thesis statement by following four steps: deciding on the type of paper, figuring out your point, determining your evidence, and revising your statement.
Facts are used to build support for a thesis statement. IXL's SmartScore is a dynamic measure of progress towards mastery, rather than a percentage grade. It tracks your skill level as you tackle progressively more difficult questions. Consistently answer questions correctly to reach excellence (90), or conquer the Challenge Zone to achieve ...
Learn how to write a clear and effective thesis statement or topic sentence for different forms of writing using a simple formula. See examples of the formula in action for explanatory, argument, and narrative writing.
Learn how to write a thesis statement for an essay, including how to answer the prompt, make a claim, and support it with evidence. Watch a video and take a quiz to test your knowledge.
Debrief this process with the class and provide feedback. Model Step 8. As a whole class, practice Step 8. Have individual students choose a new, previously studied topic and create a new thesis statement using Steps 1-8. Give specific feedback to individuals and share examples with the whole class. 4.
A thesis statement is usually one sentence that tells the main point of your piece of writing-research paper, essay, etc.. The thesis statement is then "proven" throughout the paper with supporting evidence.. When learning to write thesis statements, you may be taught to write a three-pronged thesis statement.This is a sentence that includes three reasons to support the thesis.
A thesis statement is a sentence that tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion and makes a claim that others might dispute. Learn how to get, evaluate, and revise a thesis statement for your academic writing.
Cons. None. View 45,994 other resources for 9th - 12th Grade English Language Arts. This Writing a Thesis Statement Worksheet is suitable for 9th - 12th Grade. Why is the thesis statement generally the last sentence of the introductory paragraph?
A thesis statement is a sentence that summarizes the argument of an essay and answers the question asked by the assignment. Learn how to create, evaluate, and revise a thesis statement with examples and tips.
Learn how to teach thesis statements to third graders with examples, activities, and common core standards. Find out what a thesis statement is, how to write one, and how to evaluate it.
It's as easy as 1-2-3. All you have to do is follow these steps and the thesis generator will construct your argumentative thesis statement: 1. State your topic. 2. Provide your main idea 3. Give three reasons (separately) that support your main idea. Add a counterargument if applicable (always a good idea).
Instructions. Activate prior knowledge and connect students to learning by asking them to define the term 'thesis.'. Have students write up a flash draft and share answers. Don't yet correct ...
View 4,037 other resources for 9th - 12th Grade STEM. This Thesis Statements Lesson Plan is suitable for 9th - 12th Grade. Young scholars explain the purpose of a thesis statement in an academic essay. They identify the two components of a basic thesis statement.
Find worksheets to help you write strong thesis statements for various topics and arguments. Learn how to use evidence, support claims, and take a moral stand in your writing.
Improve your thesis writing skills with these practice worksheets for high school students. Circle the best thesis statement for each composition, read an outline and write a thesis statement, and learn how to write a thesis statement for different types of compositions.
A thesis statement generated by a thesis statement generator will and cannot be the same as a humanly written thesis statement. Thus, if you need thesis statement examples for a research paper or a thesis statement formula, ask for help from us. Our writers are experienced in writing 3-point thesis statements and can give you an example.