How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

When it comes to writing in college, it somehow takes the form of persuasion as you have to convince others that your own point of view is a logical and interesting one. An academic argument is a form of persuasion, a sentence which reflects your point of view on the given topic and is a summary of your argument is a thesis statement.
The thesis statement is imperative in a dissertation. Even to other forms of academic paper, the thesis statement still serves as the core of the paper. Moreover, it is this statement that defines the failure or success of an academic. A poorly written thesis statement will eventually lead to an ineffective dissertation. On the other hand, a powerful and well-written thesis statement is a successful dissertation guarantee.

Thesis Statement Writing Tips

While writing thesis statement, you must remember that it should be written in a concise and solid way. Concise and solid in a way that it already encompass all the possible angles and arguments of the subject at hand without being lengthy and wordy. Additionally, there should also be no room for vagueness and ambiguity of terms since the thesis statement will represent the entire dissertation. Even more, the dissertation itself revolves around the argument presented in the thesis statement. Writing the thesis statement of the dissertation needs some considerations. By knowing these, you will be able to write an effective thesis statement.

Wondering where the thesis statement should be written? It is usually found in the first statement of the introduction. This is where it is usually located since the thesis statement serves as the core of the entire dissertation. It would be better that as early as the first paragraph of the introduction, the key point or target of the study is already clearly stated.

Another important consideration is that the thesis statement should be written in a clear and powerful statement. As already mentioned, the thesis statement serves as the core of the dissertation. The ideas of the paper rely entirely to it. If it is not written effectively and powerfully, there is a great tendency that the readers will get confused about the subject of the study thus leading to ineffective dissertation. However, if the thesis statement is written superbly, there is no doubt that the dissertation will be a success.

Also, it is necessary that a student writing the dissertation should not be bothered that there will be a time when the thesis statement will seem to be unfit to the study or that he might feel have used inappropriate terms. This can always happen. It is always fine to rewrite the thesis statement. However, it should not happen frequently since it will just reflect a weak understanding of the topic on the part of the researcher.

In general, writing the thesis statement should not be difficult at all. One should just remember the key points mentioned so that the dissertation will be a success.

A thesis statement:

• reveals the reader the importance of the subject matter and the way it will be showed.
• provides the reader’s expectations from the rest of the paper.
• is a direct answer to the given question.
• develops a claim for the further dispute.
• is mainly a single sentence that states your argument to the reader, generally near the beginning of your paper (mostly at the end of the first paragraph). The reader will be convinced of the logic of your interpretation by the gathered and organized evidence which is provided in the rest of the paper.

How is a thesis created?

A custom thesis is a cause of a long thinking process, and it’s definitely not the first thing to do after reading an essay assignment. Evidence should be collected and organized before you start working on an argument on any topic. The next thing that should be found is possible relationships between known facts (such as similarities and contrasts). Mind to think about the significance of these relationships. Once you are ready with it, you might have already had your “working thesis” that brings the main idea and an argument that in your mind will support the evidence. Most probably, your thesis the same as the argument will need adjustment in the process.

What will indicate that your thesis statement is strong?

The questions to ask yourself during the revision process of your first draft and its working thesis:

Have I answered the question? The question prompt should be re-read after developing a working thesis as thus you are able to fix an argument that has failed to keep the focus on the question.

Will others oppose or challenge my position? If your thesis simply contains facts that no one could oppose, it means that you aren’t making an argument, but rather you are providing a summary.

Is your thesis statement specific enough? Keep in mind that a thesis statement shouldn’t be too ambiguous as thus a strong argument will be missed. Mind to be more specific, instead of using words like “successful” or “good,” make your thesis statement more specific by telling the reasons why is something “good” or “successful.”

Can you say that your thesis passes the “So what?” test? If it happens that a “So what?” response is the first thing that comes to mind, this implies there is a need to form a relationship or find connections to a larger issue.

Can you say that your thesis is supported specifically?

If the body of your essay and your thesis don’t go together, you definitely need to change one of them. Changing the working thesis is a common thing to do while writing your paper. Keep in mind to always revise and reassess your writing if necessary.

Can you say that your thesis passes the “Why and how?” test?

If the first thought that springs to mind is “how?” or “why?” that indicates that your thesis statement seems to be too open-ended and a lack of guidance for the reader is obvious. How can this be improved then? Simply reconsider the things that can be added. It should be something that will ensure the reader to take on your position from the very beginning.

When You Start Writing a Thesis Statement

Before getting to work, ensure you’ve understood properly what the thesis statement is. Keep in mind that thesis statement isn’t only a topic. It’s the sentence that indicates the main idea of your writing assignment which supports the ideas provided throughout your paper. Mostly it’s a writer’s personal judgment or opinion about something whether it’s personal experience or reading.

Steps That Will Help You to Make a Strong Thesis Statement

• A strong thesis statement plays a role of a guiding map giving the direction to the paper. With the help of it, you see precisely what you will need to write about. A strong thesis statement reveals the points that will be further discussed in the body of your paper. Every paragraph of the essay needs to explain, argue, or support your thesis.
• The proof is required, and it is not only a statement of fact. Detailed evidence should support your thesis statement thus your readers will be interested and willing to keep reading your paper.
• Don’t forget about the need to mention your supporting points in your thesis. For example, John Updike’s Trust Me is an outstanding novel for a college syllabus, it introduces the reader his writing and offers themes which have a deep connection with the other works. When it goes about the body of your paper, make a paragraph or two about every supporting idea. Writing your thesis statement this way, you are likely to take control of your ideas.

How to Write a Thesis

No thesis or dissertation exists without a thesis statement, and no weak thesis statement can create a good impression of a thesis. The main idea of your paper will be expressed there, so you should work hard on the thesis alone. The first draft of the statement will probably be eventually discarded because a good thesis is the result of a further deeper brainstorming of everything you’ve said in your paper. Here are some ideas of how you can create a good thesis statement.

• Write a Draft

Although a draft usually morphs into something completely different, you always need to have a starting point. The details of your final thesis statement will come to you through the process of writing the paper, but the draft version will keep you centered on the main idea you want to express. At the end, read your assignment again and change the thesis for it to be in tune with the whole text.

• Examine Your Thesis

There is a number of mistakes many students make in their thesis statements, so look out for those. For example, a good thesis is never a simple observation but has the elements of an analysis. Another mistake is when you state a general fact or truth in your statement. Ask yourself whether people will be able to disagree with what you’re proposing. If no, you’re likely to be offering a generally known fact. Finally, a strong thesis statement can’t be a broad generalization because in this case you will lose the point of your dissertation altogether. Your writing is usually focused on one idea, and that’s the main thing that should be present in your thesis statement.

• Add Complexity

A good paper is the one that can convince the reader of the author’s point of view, and a simple statement of an idea can never do this. Your thesis should have a complex structure, follow a logical flow of thoughts and be supported by related strong arguments. That’s why every thesis statement is always a long and complex sentence.

• See Other Points of View

When you know that you will have to defend your ideas, you need to think two steps ahead of your readers. Each argument can be seen from various angles, so you should always keep in mind the possibility of your arguments being turned against you. To avoid this, look at each idea, which you propose, from different points of view. If you can cover all possible weaknesses of your arguments, you’ll get the strongest thesis statement.

• Why It Matters

When given a concrete topic for a future thesis, almost no students wonder about the reasoning behind it. You can’t write a good thesis if you don’t know why you’re doing it in the first place. Every subject has some potential or undiscovered sides, and the strongest are the thesis that drift away from everything generally known. If you can convince yourself and the reader that your topic matters, you’ve already succeeded.

Where Should You Put the Thesis Statement?

Placing the thesis statement at the end of your introduction is a good idea thus you are leading in the body of your paper. Thus you are smoothly transiting to the thesis statement instead of diving right in the topic. Because when you put your thesis statement at the beginning, you the same way make your reader confused and lost about the main point at the time the reader attains to the end of the introduction. Bear in mind that a proper introduction should conceptualize and anticipate the thesis statement.

When You Are Drafting/ Writing Thesis Statements Mind That:

• You should have a deep knowledge of your topic, it’s inevitable for sure. It has to be something you can learn about and know when it goes to choosing the topic. How could you write an outstanding proper statement and proceed with it if you are a complete zero and know nothing about it? If you keep researching or presenting the personal experience you’ll definitely gain much more knowledge about the topic.
• Make sure you not extend your topic, put some limits. It means you acknowledge the required length of your assignment and narrow your topic to a specific area, somehow putting some limits to it. There is no doubt that a broad scope will need a longer paper, while a narrow one, of course, a shorter one.
• You need a brainstorm. Being stuck with no idea what to begin your paper with, you can try to concentrate and put down all ideas that come to mind. You may be surprised by the amount of totally new connections and ideas that might have come to mind spontaneously. Having all these ideas written, think over possible categories your ideas can be put in. Have you noticed any themes?

 How can you check your thesis statement?

It’s much easier than you might think. A weak thesis statement raises the question but with no additional information. It enables the reader to get where you are heading and what exactly you are trying to tell. If there is any possibility that the questions like “What are the reasons? How are they different? Why are they almost the same?”  overwhelm the reader, have no doubts that your thesis statement is weak.

If it feels like you’ve got stuck at some point, stay calm, it happens to everyone. Remember all the suggested tips while writing and make your thesis statement strong!