Students have to write academic papers while in high school or college. Such academic papers have diverse sections, including the introduction, body text, and the conclusion. Some of these papers, such as dissertations, have more sections, including the title page, abstract, table of contents, introduction, literature review, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusion, bibliography, and appendices.
The introduction always proves essential, and one key component of the introduction comes from a good thesis statement. It implies a statement that expresses your interpretation of a subject matter’s significance in the discussion. It also doubles up as the argument or the main idea. An excellent thesis statement has two components. The first part entails the planned argument, with the second bit aiming to telegraph the way you plan to make the argument. Additionally, the thesis statement has to get located at the end of the introductory paragraph.
Steps in Writing an Effective Thesis
- Pick a topic or prompt based on what becomes appropriate for you.
- Carefully read the prompt and, whenever appropriate, ask an intriguing question.
- Revise the question or prompt into a working or maiden thesis
- Avoid sweeping words or general phrasing like “none” or “all.”
- Lead the audience to the topic sentence
- Anticipate counter-arguments, especially after developing the working thesis. It becomes crucial to think of everything that can get said against the thesis statement. It should help in refining the thesis and also prepare you to develop arguments to refute the counter-arguments.
Components that Create an Excellent Thesis Statement
Thesis statements result from the evolutionary thinking process and therefore require careful planning and not something plucked from thin air. Additionally, you must avoid formulating the thesis immediately after you read the essay assignment. So what attributes characterize an effective thesis?
- Substance. The thesis needs to become substantial in that it can answer every possible question from the reader.
- Supportable. The thesis should also become provable, especially with the evidence you have at hand. The claim should not prove outlandish, merely a preference or personal opinion.
- Precise. The thesis has to be specific and focused. A sturdy thesis statement will prove its point without deliberating everything. It will assert your conclusion founded on evidence.
- Arguable. The thesis needs to prove contestable, therefore propose a point that can be arguable.
- Relevant. It becomes essential to respond to the assignment by answering the posed question if it requires you. Additionally, stay focused by paying attention to the crucial task words such as summarize, compare/contrast, argue, etc.
- Become aware of counter-arguments. You have to anticipate possible counter-arguments and plan on the best ways of refuting them.
- Balance concise language and specific detail to ensure that your argument articulation goal comes as detailed as possible but without burdening your reader with plenty of information.
Important Questions to Assess Your Thesis
- Should you answer the query? Well, it seems obvious, though worth asking. A thesis statement has to answer a question to prove excellent.
- Have you assumed a position, which others can oppose or challenge? If the answer to this question comes in the negative, then your thesis statement proves weak.
- Would anyone care about the thesis fronted? An excellent thesis has to be clear and will not elicit a “so what” response from readers.
- Can the essay support the thesis statement without wandering? It acts similarly to the way a thesis has to answer a specific question.
Conclusion
A brilliant thesis statement is very effective in giving the essay the correct direction and contributes immensely to the academic write-up quality. If you want to write a thesis, consider the attributed presented.