How to Write a Fascinating Thesis Statement

November 6th, 2007 studenthacks.org Posted in English, Essay Help,

Research, Study Help, Writing |

No professors or teaching assistants want to read a boring paper. They

want to read a paper that engages them; a paper that is compelling
and clearly articulated.

So how do you write one of these papers?Thesis Paper

Well, the most important part of writing a fascinating paper is to

develop a great thesis statement.

You see, your thesis statement is the spine for your entire paper. It’s
the glue that holds your paper together. The more complex, specific,
and interesting, the better your paper will be.

So here are some steps to breathe life into your next thesis statement:

Get Excited About Your Topic

No matter what you have to write about, you should try and get
excited about it. The more interest and excitement you put forth, the
better your paper will be. Even if your paper topic bores you, this is
your opportunity to get creative and think of a way to make it exciting.
That’s your challenge - and you can do it.

Develop A Strong Opinion About Your Topic

Writing a great thesis statement means you need to develop a strong

opinion about your topic. This is how radio talk show hosts keep their
audiences - they spew strong opinions that attract listeners and phone
calls. If you’re not sure how to form a strong opinion about your topic,
start reading through journal article abstracts. Check out Google
Scholar and read through thesis statements pertaining to your topic.
Jot down any strong opinions that look interesting to you.

Use Exciting Adjectives to Spice up Your Thesis

Don’t just say that something is good or bad, empower your nouns
with exciting adjectives that describe what you really think. Adjectives
like oppressive, tyrannical, and bloodthirsty are powerful because they
portray a strong point of view about something or someone.

Focus Your Thesis On One Main Idea

As mentioned in the introduction, your thesis is the glue for your
paper. Make sure your thesis doesn’t divert into different directions.
Stay focused on one main theme to keep your paper organized and
your reader on topic.

Get Extremely Specific in Your Thesis

A generic thesis statement weakens a paper because the reader isn’t

clear exactly what you’re going to be arguing about. However, if your
thesis includes specific details about your argument, it will prepare the
reader for what’s ahead. It also helps you stay on task as you argue
your points with specific examples.

Keep a List of Interesting Thesis Statements

Just as copywriters have a swipe file of powerful headlines, you should

develop your own list of powerful thesis statements. Whenever you
come across a thesis statement that intrigues you, add it to your list.
The longer your list of thesis statements, the more ammunition you’ll
have when you need to craft your own.

Here are three examples of thesis statements to get you going:

Weak Thesis:

The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of
which were the same and some different.
Average Thesis:

While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the
North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its
own institutions.

Strong Thesis:

While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against

tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of
slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1.Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

* An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its

component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this
breakdown and evaluation to the audience.

* An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the

audience.

* An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies

this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a
policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an
interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the
audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text which does not fall under these three
categories (ex. a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first
paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what

you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific
evidence.
3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first
paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your
thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the
paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge
facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students
with strong extracurricular backgrounds.

The paper that follows should:

* explain the analysis of the college admission process

* explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent

studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.

The paper that follows should:

* explain how students spend their time studying, attending class,

and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue

community service projects before entering college in order to increase
their maturity and global awareness.

The paper that follows should:

* present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that

students should pursue community projects before entering college