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First-Term Resource: Thesis Statements

Thesis statements.

A thesis statement is best defined as the central idea, argument, or focus of your paper. It expresses an idea about a topic in one or two sentences at the end of the introduction. To develop an effective thesis, use this process: start with a topic, develop an idea, ask research questions, find answers, and develop one into a thesis statement. Just as with all effective writing, an effective thesis statement grows from a process. To develop a good thesis, consider the following:

• Try brainstorming, freewriting, or another prewriting technique to identify an appropriate topic.
• Research your topic. Accessing online research sources is a great place to start.
• Ask research questions. Focus on what you want to know about your topic. Here is a sample question. Question: Do television stations and their sponsors have an agenda when playing particular commercials during extended period of programming? When you read to answer this question, other questions will arise like these: What types of stations? What specific sponsors? What kinds of agendas? What specific programming?
• Now that you have asked questions and discovered answers, you can develop an idea or point about your topic. Here is an example: Popular movie channels and their fast food sponsorship have an unhealthy and greedy agenda when playing commercials during long movie marathons.

Research question : Do television stations and their sponsorship have an agenda when playing particular commercials during extended periods of programming?

Answer/Potential thesis : Yes, television stations and their sponsorship have an agenda when playing particular commercials during extended periods of programming.

Taking into consideration most theses start with a simple “Yes” or “No,” the remaining portion of the sentence is certainly a start! From this point, be more specific:

What types of television stations? What specific sponsors? What kind of an agenda? What specific programming? At this stage of your thesis development, you need your reader to understand where you intend to take your writing.

Modified and specific thesis : Popular movie channels and their correlating fast food sponsorship have an unhealthy and greedy agenda when playing their alluring commercials during extensive movie marathons.

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• Last Edited: Apr 5, 2024 9:55 AM
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How to Write a Research Paper: Thesis Statement

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What is a Thesis Statement?

What is a Thesis Statement?  

A thesis statement is a concise statement of an academic work's main point. The thesis statement should identify both what the paper is about (the topic) and what you are saying about it. Your thesis statement should be as specific as possible. For a short essay, the length of your thesis statement should be one or two sentences. If you are writing a dissertation or book, your thesis statement should be about a paragraph in length. A thesis should avoid saying "This paper is about..." Your thesis statement should be as specific as possible. 

A basic pattern to follow is "An analysis of (insert topic here) will show that (point one), (point two), and (point three)." Keep in mind this is only an example, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. 

Who Needs a Thesis Statement?

All academic writing, from a short essay to a dissertation or a monograph, should have an identifiable thesis statement somewhere in it. The longer or more complicated an academic work is, the easier is becomes to get bogged down in details and lose sight of the overall argument, and the more important it is to clearly state the central point. 

Where Should I Put My Thesis Statement? 

Thesis statements are most commonly located near the beginning of the academic work, usually towards the end of the introduction. This strategic placement allows the reader to quickly understand specifically what the essay is about and be able to follow the arguments as they are presented. 

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements: Purdue Owl 

This resource from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements. 

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• Last Updated: Apr 4, 2024 5:51 PM
• URL: https://libguide.umary.edu/researchpaper

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Sometimes, you just need a quick reference guide. The following documents and links serve that purpose—for a variety of topics. Save them, print them, share them—we’ve put them together to help you whenever and wherever you are.

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Academic Writing

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Thesis Statement Tips from Purdue OWL

Have you ever visited Purdue OWL ? Well, do yourself a favor and bookmark this amazing writing resource.

One of the many resources they share are tips on how to write a thesis statement .

Still need help? Sign up for our thesis statement writing worship taking place tonight from 7-9pm in the Writing Center.

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Writing Effective Thesis Statements

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A good thesis statement can be the difference between making an argument about something, and simply re-stating what someone else has already said. In your thesis statement, you want to make a claim that you will continue to develop throughout the paper. It should represent your own ideas–perhaps in response to something someone else has said–but ultimately, it is your argument. As such, a good thesis statement should have 3 main traits. A good thesis:

• Can be developed with evidence throughout your paper. In other words, you should be able to say it in 1-2 sentences, but that shouldn’t be all that there is to say on the topic.
• Is argumentative, not in a negative sense, but in that it can be supported and may have counter-arguments. Test this by asking “Could I argue the reverse of this?”
• Should explain what, why, and how. What are you arguing? Why are you arguing that? And how will you show it? Think of the “what” as your basic position, the “why” as your reasoning, and the “how” as your evidence (theories, sources, etc.)

In all, the thesis is the backbone of your paper. In the rest of your paper, something in each paragraph should directly relate back to the paper. If you get lost in the writing process, you’ll want to be able to come back to your thesis and say, “this is what I’m arguing.” And remember, thesis statements can evolve with the paper. Once you’ve got your draft written, read through and make sure that what you’re saying in your paper matches up with what your thesis statement says you’re going to be saying.

H ere are a few helpful links to get you started:

• https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

The Purdue OWL (Purdue University) is a great source for writing, and this page goes into detail on the different types of thesis statements.

• http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

Here’s another great source from the University of North Carolina with some tips and examples of strong thesis statements.

It can be useful to play around with and see examples, but DO NOT use it to create your actual thesis, as this may be considered plagiarism!

Best of luck with your writing endeavors!

–Your friends at the PLU Writing Center

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When writing a long document such as a thesis or dissertation over a sustained time period, writers may find it difficult to stay motivated and make progress. Some institutions offer “dissertation retreats” or camps for helping writers make progress. An Intensive Writing Experience (IWE) is a similar event in which a writer makes a concerted effort both to make progress on a document and to become a better writer. The writer sets aside a predetermined amount of time in order to make progress on a particular writing project, such as a dissertation.  The material here is meant to be used to conduct a Personal IWE that a writer can use when a group event such as a retreat or camp is not available.  

This section contains detailed directions for setting up a Personal IWE.  We've included vidcasts and handouts useful for a potential three-day event covering a variety of writing-related topics. Writers can view the vidcasts and read through the handouts and then apply what they have learned to their own writing. We suggest starting with the handout entitled “Conducting a Personal Intensive Writing Experience (IWE)”; this will provide details for structuring time and offers a schedule for the order of topics across a multi-day event.

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