Writing Guide: Writing a Thesis Statement

1. Discover what type of paper you're composing:

An analytic paper breaks down a problem or an idea into its component parts, assesses the problem or thought, and presents the crowd with this break down and assessment.

An expository (explanatory) paper describes something to the crowd.

An argumentative paper vindicates this claim with certain signs and makes a claim about a subject. The claim could be an assessment, a policy suggestion, a view, a cause and effect statement, or an interpretation. The aim of the argumentative paper will be to convince the crowd the claim is accurate based on the evidence supplied.

In case you are composing a text that doesn't fall under these three types (e.g., a story), a thesis statement someplace in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be special—it should cover just what you are going to 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 subject may change as you write, so you may have to revise your thesis statement to represent just what you've discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytic thesis statement:

One challenge facing counsel is revealed by an evaluation of the college admission procedure: allowing pupils with high test scores or students with powerful qualifications that are extracurricular.
Should:

Describe the evaluation of the college admission procedure

Describe the challenge facing entrances counsel

Example of an expository thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is defined by time spent attending course, studying, and socializing with peers.
Should:

Describe how students spend their time attending course, studying, 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 jobs in order to raise global awareness and their adulthood before entering faculty.
Should:

Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim before entering school that students should pursue community jobs.