Learn how to write a thesis statement

How to write a thesis statement

A thesis statement is the information a writer places at the beginning of their work to give the reader a guide to what the resultant thesis will be concerned with. While it is, generally, a brief declaration a thesis statement is still meant to be constructed in a recognisable format and conform to accepted academic narrative codes.

What is a thesis statement?

"Your thesis statement is a summary of your entire paper. It states an opinion or point of view, and also previews the evidence you will use to support that opinion." - (Whimbey, A & Jenkins EL, 1987)

A thesis statement tells the reader what is going to be presented in the rest of the document. It is a formal introduction that will then serve as a guide to the thesis which is to follow. When cogitating over the ideas for the thesis, the writer should have in mind the broad area of the subject they are about to write on. The thesis statement, however, is a distinct and specific declaration of their exact interpretation of this generic topic. It is a concise and honed statement which outlines the argument or course the thesis is about to take.

How to write a thesis statement

An important factor to bear in mind when constructing a thesis statement is that it may be one of three types. It could be analytical, it could be explanatory or it could be argumentative. Therefore a useful tool at this stage of the process is thought-clustering or brain-storming potential titles to ascertain the direction of the eventual title. It is imperative that the writer has an excellent grasp of the specificities of their proposed argument because it is in this attention to detail and strength of accurate explanation where they will be able to score more highly. Generalisations concerning the thesis are to be avoided.

“A good thesis statement should more than merely the sum of its parts” - (Lovoy, T, 2004)

It is important that the thesis writer does not commit themselves too prematurely to a definite and unmovable title for their work. Bearing in mind the length of some theses, it is entirely possible that, in the process of the writing the thesis and evaluating how the work is developing, the writer may find themselves heading toward a conclusion somewhat removed from the original declaration of intent. Therefore, the final wording of a thesis statement may well be revised and re-evaluated as the work naturally evolves.

The thesis statement should also be a statement of purposeful intent and, crucially, must not be too wide-ranging in its potentiality as this may complicate the writing process. Similarly, it is important to understand that.

“We want a thesis statement to express action, not just join topics together. We want a thesis statement to express what we are going to say, not just what we are going to write about.” (Tagg, J, 2004)

To this end the thesis statement should be a positive, complete, declarative statement and should refrain from any inference to negativity or blandness of intent. It should refrain from making simple statements of purpose and should not provide an announcement about the broad topic area that may go on to be covered in the thesis. The use of personal pronoun based statements such as “In my opinion.....” is also considered inappropriate.

It is essential that the thesis should have clarity of purpose and not invite any alternative or ambiguous readings of it as this would only serve to reduce the effectiveness of the thesis to follow.

Another important element when preparing a thesis statement is that the writer should be confident in their abilities and have the resources available to make a solid and argumentative case. It is not in the best interests of the writer when preparing a thesis statement to use a wildly inflated concept or a plainly indefensible theory.

What makes a good thesis statement?

"A well-chosen thesis statement energizes and focuses the entire article, and makes the reader's job easier." - (Davidson, J, 2004)

A thesis statement must not provide its audience with a reasonable understanding of the main impetus of the argument in the thesis. Therefore the writer must be aware of the dangers of painting too broad a stroke with their statement. If a writer is assigned a thesis on the current conflict in Iraq then an example of a weak thesis title would be “The war in Iraq is being fought over a number of different reasons”. The flaw in this title is the lack of detail and clarity and the fact that it is far too ambiguous. In addition, the title itself is too unsophisticated for a thesis as it is an accepted statement of fact that most wars are fought over a significant amount of factors. Therefore, a more interesting and valuable approach would be to examine an aspect or detail of that broad topic “The Iraqi conflict highlights the increasing disparity between social and cultural attitudes in the Middle East and the Western World and the rise of religious fundamentalism as a global threat.”

In doing this, the writer is able to present a number of telling factors in his thesis statement. It allows them to interpret the evidence they have gathered and use those findings as examples to drive towards a conclusion. It is entirely feasible for commentators to disagree with the statement itself. It is almost controversial and it is certainly an arguable proposition. This provides a far stronger base for the thesis.

Bibliography

Print

Davidson, J. (2004), "Publish This: Nothing Says "SME" like Your Name in Print", T & D, May Issue, p.112.

Lovoy, T. (2004), "Rediscovering the Kernels of Truth in the Urban Legends of the Freshman Composition Classroom", College Teaching, vol. 52, no. pp. 11.

Whimbey, A. & Jenkins, E. L. (1987), Analyze, Organize, Write: A Structured Program for Expository Writing, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey, pp.138