EffectiveThesisStatements
WritingStrategies
Writinginanylanguagecanbeadauntingtask.Youmustbeableto
tackleadvancedstructures,spellingandpunctuation,amongmanyother
things,allwhileprovidingawellthoughtoutandcoherentidea.This
documentwilladdressstrategiesspecifictothestructureofanessay,
andshouldbepairedwiththedocumententitled‘TheFiveParagraph
Essay’forbesteffect.
Athesisstatementis,quitepossibly,themostimportantsentencethat
youwillwriteintheentiretyofafiveparagraphessay.Notonlydoesthe
thesisstatementexplicitlystatethepurposeortheentirepaper,butalso
illustratesthestructurethatyouwillusetoconveyyourmessage.Be
warnedthough,writingeffectivethesisstatementstakespracticeand
precision,asitrequiresaspecificsetofrequirementsinordertobemost
effective.
Structure
Thethesisstatementistypicallypresentedasthefinalsentenceoftheintroductoryorfirstparagraphofany
essay.Itfollowsastrictstructureandcanbevisualizedinthefollowingformula:
Mainargumentorsubjectofentireessay,theme1,theme2,andtheme3.
Herewecanseethatthethesisstatementfirstpresentsthemainargumentorsubjectoftheentireessay,
summarizingallofthewritingthatcomesahead.Nextitintroducesthreedistinctthemesthatwillfollow.Each
ofthesethemeswillbeexplainedand/orjustifiedinthebodyparagraphsofthepaper,withthefirsttheme
Sources:
http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/FiveParagraphEssayOutlineJuly08_000.pdf
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
correspondingtobodyparagraphtwo,thesecondthemetobodyparagraphthree,andthethirdthemeto
bodyparagraphfour(rememberthatbodyparagraphonewastheintroductionofyouressay).
Thethesisstatementofyourpapershouldbeshortandconcise,andcertainlynotexceed25-30wordsin
length.Itisvitalthatyounotbegintoexplainanyofthepointsofyouressayinthethesisstatement,but
rathertomerelyhighlightthemainpointsofyouressayandthenexpanduponthoseideaslaterinyourbody
paragraphs.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthesisstatementsshouldnotbemerestatementsoffact,but
ratherillustrateadetailedandthoughtfulidea,whichwillhelptoheightenthereader’sinterestinyourwork.
Examples
Writingthesisstatementscangetalittleconfusing,sothenextpagewillillustratetwoscenariosofeffective
thesisstatementwriting.
ScenarioOne
Youarepresentedwiththefollowingdiscursiveessaytopic:
‘Somepeopleprefertoworkalonewhileothersprefertoworkgroups.Pleasestateyourpersonal
preferenceandexplainwhy.’
Thefirstthingyoushoulddowhenyoustartwritingistoplanyouressay.Thiswillhelpyoutocraftan
effectivethesisstatementandhaveasolidstructurebeforeyoustartwriting.First,youshoulddecideyour
preference,ordecidewhichoneyouthinkiseasiertojustify.Forthesakeofthisexample,thepreferred
choicewillbeworkingalone.Thisisyourmainargument.
Nowthatyouhaveyourmainargument,youcanidentifyyourthreethemesthatyouwillcoverintheessay.
Thesethemesshouldbegeneralargumentsthatyoucanjustifyorexplainwithinthebodyparagraphsofyour
paper.Forthistopicwewillusethefollowingthemes:
Theme1:Workingaloneallowsyoutomanageyourowntimeeffectively
Theme2:Workingaloneassuresyouthattheworkwillalwaysmeetyourhighstandards
Theme3:Workingalonegivesyoutotalautonomyoveryourgrade
Thesethreethemeswillcorrespondtothethreebodyparagraphsofyouressay.Nowallyouhavetodois
reducethosestatementsdowntoafewwordsandconnectthemwithyourmaintheme.Soyourthesis
statementmightlooklikethis:
Itismybeliefthatitisbettertoworkalonebecauseyoucanmanageyourowntime,youwillalwaysbesure
thattheworkmeetsyourstandard,andyoucanhavetotalcontrolofyourgrade.
Thenextstepistowritetheintroductorymaterial,justificationsofeachtheme,andconclusion.
Sources:
http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/FiveParagraphEssayOutlineJuly08_000.pdf
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
ScenarioTwo
YourprofessorhasaskedyoutowriteanessayabouttheartworkofVincentvanGogh.
Again,beginningwiththeplanningofyouressay,youshoulddecideonamainargumentorsubjectofyour
essay.Thisshouldbespecificenoughtoelicitinterestfromthereader.Forinstance,insteadofyourmainidea
being‘VincentvanGoghwasaveryimportantpainterbecause…’,try‘VincentvanGogh’smostimportant
artisticphaseswere…’.Thisprovidesmoredetailandwillinterestthereadertoknowwhichphasesyou
believeareofhighestvalue.Nowallyouhavetodoisdecidewhichphasesyoubelievetobethemost
important.Forinstance:
Theme1:VincentvanGogh’sportraitphasewasofextremelyhighimportance
Theme2:Theimpressionistlandscapephasewasanothersignificantphase
Theme3:vanGogh’stimeinthecountrysideofItalyrepresentshisthirdessentialphase
Soyourthesisstatementmightlooklikethis:
VincentvanGogh’smostimportantartisticphaseswerehisportraitphase,impressionistphaseandhistime
spentinthecountrysideofItaly.
Sources:
http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/FiveParagraphEssayOutlineJuly08_000.pdf
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/