Lots of students struggle with the question of how to write a thesis statement. In this post, you will learn about the essential steps and how to create a good and strong statement for your dissertation. Following on some practical advice, you will clear up your doubts and manage to craft your own one, keeping things simple and staying focused during your dissertation.
Introduction on how to write a thesis statement
When you start to think about a way to develop your central statement, try to keep in mind what it is and for what reason you should create one.
What is a thesis statement?
Your thesis statement summarizes the essence of your paper, essay or dissertation in at least one or two sentences.
This condensed form of your study works as a starting point, builds a frame and provides the reader with a concrete idea of the complex analysis and arguments that you are going to present in the main part of your work.
To create this so-called thesis statement that brings the principal points of your work in a short form is not easy, so you will have to think well on how to generate it and how to state your main idea in a clear, strong, and convincible way.
Consider: Everything that you write and present in the rest of the paper or thesis should be related to your statement, leading back and persuading the reader from its central idea(s).
Place your thesis statement in the introduction
Usually, a writer presents his thesis statement already near the beginning of his thesis. What does this mean for you?
After a short presentation of your topic, you should finish the first paragraph or the introduction by stating your ideas and point of view on the topic directly and clearly with a thesis statement. If you are working on a paper or essay, you place your statement in the first paragraph. In the case of a dissertation that should contain a longer introduction, your statement should be located in the final part of the thesis introduction.
How to generate a thesis statement
First, try to create a working thesis in the early stage of your writing process and review it when you complete the full draft. To inspire yourself, start with a short brainstorming or your arguments and points that you want to make in your essay – their sum will lead you to your statement. Lean back and think about your earlier college times, where you had to write a persuasion for a school class. Sure that you had to state your opinion from a subjective point of view – not only at school but also in discussions with your parents or friends.
Exists a formula to generate a thesis statement?
Your statement always included all the main points and arguments that you needed to convince another person of your opinion. So, a thesis statement involves a number of skills, that you already had to train and improve within different contexts. Nevertheless, the process of developing and writing an academic “persuasion” follows a predictable way and includes precise patterns, that you can use to complete your statement step by step.
What are the steps to write a thesis statement? Starting from a simple question
If you think of your dissertation as a document that will answer the open questions and issues you like to explore. So make it easy and try to start to write your thesis statement by developing questions on your topic that you will solve in your dissertation. Consider, that your thesis statement always has to complete the following function:
- structuring and condensing your arguments
- bringing your ideas and arguments in a very short paragraph
- providing a starting point for the reader
Four steps to make a strong thesis statement
- Start to write your statement by collecting central question(s) on your topic.
- Check, if your essay or thesis answers to this questions.
- Chose the most essential ones and concentrate their ideas in two sentences
- Check, if your statement works as a roadmap for your work that crystallizes, what a reader can expect
Identify a strong thesis statement and check yours!
To control, if your thesis statement is strong enough or if you have to improve it, check the following questions and attributes. While you are responding to the provided checklist, you can find out if your statement fulfills all characteristics of a strong one or if you have to improve it.
How to write a good thesis statement? Improve yours!
Once you found a concrete topic for the draft of your paper, essay, or dissertation, your task will be to develop a strong statement. A good one is specific and focused. It will serve as a central tool to direct the following analysis, main arguments, and guide the structure.
- did I create my statement too “vague” or is it specific and attacks right on the point of interest?
- Do I provide strong arguments and a concrete position or am I just making a summary, stating facts?
- Did I choose an argument, that has the power to oppose and challenge other opinions?
- Do I answer all the questions on my thesis? Is the relation between my thesis statement and the analysis and arguments direct and strong enough related?
- Do I pass the famous “so-what-test”?
- Don´t leave the reader with the questions of how and why at the end of the lecture!
A good thesis statement contains these attributes:
- it has to be made on a subject on which people can have different opinions
- focus on/present a main idea that is presented in a condensed form
- present your point of view about a subject/idea
