The Secret Guide of an Intelligent Thesis Statement Maker
Do you want to become an intelligent thesis statement maker?
Are you looking for the best thesis formula?
Worry no more! This secret guide has the perfect recipe that would help you improve your thesis statement, thereby increasing the focus of your paper.
A thesis is said to be a theory, perspective or idea, which is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved. For example, when Sundar Pichia commented on the modus operandi of Google, he used Thesis in a way that best describes the definition.
He said “When Larry and Sergey founded Google Search, one of the things that struck me is that it was available for everyone to use. We deeply desire our services to work for everyone. And that inherently means we have to work with partners. That is the thesis underlying everything we do.” ( Sundar Pichai)
- If thesis is the idea, then what is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is a sentence or two sentences, which captures your perspective on the thesis topic. Every research must have a key point and all other paragraphs should be built around this main point.
Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The argument(s) you make in your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures your position on this main idea is what we call a thesis statement.
- What is the maximum length for a good thesis statement?
Given that the thesis statement should be brief, one would easily guess that it should not be more than a paragraph. Of course, the thesis statement should focus your ideas into one or two sentences.
A good thesis statement should present the topic, in addition with a comment—which carefully states your position without being too cocky or sentimental. Also, it should be able to intimate your readers on the main idea o your write-up and help them get the gist before reading forward.
- Where your thesis statement should be placed?
There is really not strict rule or thesis but conventionally, it is placed early, in the introduction or in the second paragraph, for longer essays. In order to make your position well grounded and give your audience a feeling of what the whole paper is about.
- Overall Makeup of a good thesis statement
The arrangement of a thesis statement is highly dependent on the type of essay the dissertation writer has in mind. The structure of a thesis statement perfectly reflects the type of paper the writer is willing to embark on. Going by this, there are three types of papers:
Analytical paper: here, you are required to table your arguments, claim or criticisms; in favor of your position on a particular topic. Be it film, art or science related.
Expository paper: the aim of an expository essay is to present a specific topic in manner that is straightforward but logical. Any writer that would write an expository essay must be prepared to give his/her reader an unbiased analysis of the topic chosen.
Argumentative paper: it requires the writer to do proper investigation on the topic chosen by collecting, generating and evaluating evidences, in order to establish a proper position. Even though, argumentative essay and expository looks kind o similar but they are different in context.
Given the best thesis definition, placement and length, we can now proceed to the types of thesis statements.
Types of a Thesis Statement
Oftentimes, the thesis statement contains a topic and its controlling idea. There are basically two categories of thesis statements, namely;
- Direct thesis statement: a direct thesis statement provides an exact summary of the essay. It tells us what each section or whole paragraph is going to be about. Or instance, If an thesis statement states—I love New York because of the food, the jazz clubs and the Broadway Shows –that’s a direct thesis statement and it will contain those three reasons.
- Indirect thesis statement:An indirect thesis statements does not give explicit reasons, however, the reader would still be hinted on the scope the essay is going to cover. For example, if I write—I love New York for three reasons—my love or New York is the topic while the three reasons are the scope the essay is going to cover.
Things to Avoid When Writing a Thesis Statement
- Do not bury a good thesis statement in the middle ofa paragraph or at the end of a whole research work: the essence of a thesis statement is to give them a precise idea of what your paper is about before going into full details. Therefore, it must be placed earlier in order to achieve its aim. Try putting your thesis statement near the beginning, where it can be easily noticed by the reader.
- Be as precise as possible; do not use vague words: the preciseness of a thesis statement goes a long way in the attitude of a reader towards the remaining parts o your paper. If your thesis statement is vague or confusing, they would assume you don’t know what you’re saying and confusion can jeopardize a reader’s interest. Be very precise.
- Bring out your point without using phrases like “The point of my paper is…”: such phrases are not expected from a college student or post graduate. Only kindergarten kids are expected to talk in such way. Using such phrases makes you seem amateurish to your audience and trust me, no one wants to read an amateur’s paper. Present your point without being too direct.
- Do not use two thesis statements in one paper: using two thesis statements does not, in anyway, make your paper better. It only confuses your readers and deprives them the ability to be precise, as to what your paper is all about. Use one and only one statement.
- Never use a general or indecisive thesis statement: let’s get it clear—the essence of writing a paper is to state your position, with acts on a particular topic. Your thesis statement ought to be very specific and nothing short o that is expected from you. Use a specific thesis statement or a better audience response.
How to Develop a Thesis
Imagine yourself as a part of a jury, attentively imbibing the arguments of a lawyer. The first thing you would be looking out for is to know whether the lawyer is or the defendant or accused person before welcoming their presentation of facts, logics and evidences.
Many people are curious to know how to come up with a thesis? With the emergence of the internet, finding a relevant thesis and statement samples is quite easier. Just by searching the internet, you will get a good analysis thesis statement which is well updated and well grounded.
Your professors or lecturers or colleagues, who would read your academic paper, are more or less synonymous to jury members; just like jury members, they would love to know your stance on the specified topic before they give you the opportunity to prove it. Your thesis must be able to incite them to read more. Developing a good thesis statement is more than having idea; you must be able to present it well.
A thesis statement is not a question, fact, quote or topic—“what is the side effect of religion?” is a question not a thesis. A good thesis statement is divided into two parts; the topic and the comment. For instance; While Gates “squashy-on-crime” reputation hurt his chances in the 1988 election, his inability to campaign energetically after the Democratic National Convention bore a greater accountability for his sudden defeat.
In the example given above, you can see that the first sentence tells what the writer plans to argue, which is the topic “the effects of Dukakis squash-on-crime reputation on his 1988 election”. Also, you would notice that the second sentence stated the writer’s position on the topic. With this kind of thesis statement, the reader already has an idea of what the writer would be trying to prove in the coming paragraphs.
Follow these steps, when creating a good thesis statement:
- Examine carefully, your basic sources: before embarking on the making of your thesis statement, do a little close reading on your primary sources and search for interest, controversy, tension, ambiguity, and/or complication. Questioning the source helps create a substantial evidence that will be convincing enough to prove your point(s). Without questioning, your thesis is nothing more than a mere observation which makes it flimsy and unworthy.
- Note your rough thesis down: immediately you are able to get a reasonable thesis, note it down. You can ponder over it later but make sure you put down every idea that comes to you so that you won’t forget it. Sometimes, forgetting an idea can be more painful than losing money, especially, when the project is one, which you’re personally connected to. As the current o ideas flows into your mind field, make sure you write it.
- Make your thesis statement high up in your intro: in order to make sure your thesis statement achieve its aim, which is to intimate your readers about the goal of your paper and the positions you want to defend. The best position for shorter essays, which ranges from five to fifteen pages, is at the extreme of the introductory paragraph.
- Expect a lot of antagonisms from your audience and prepare ahead: since you’re not writing or robots, you should always expect counter arguments to come up. In order not to seem naïve or unprofessional, its better you think of the existing opposing views and never leave any stone unturned.
Anticipating the counter arguments and dealing with them before hand helps strengthens your argument. Doing this gives you an edge over any future query or competition of ideas. Take or instance, the phrase – Samuel gates lost the 1988 presidential election because he failed to campaign vigorously after the Democratic National Convention—is not a thesis although is a fact. It is still in the process of creation; however, it is too weak to be regarded as a complete thesis statement.
For it to be complete, it has to bring the possible counter arguments into proper consideration. A better example is the phrase— While Gates “squashy-on-crime” image hurt his chances in the 1988 election, his failure to campaign vigorously after the Democratic National Convention bore a greater responsibility for his defeat.
Advantages of Including a Good Thesis Statement in an Essay
Including a thesis statement in an essay has so many advantages but below is the five advantages, you ought to know;
- Thesis statements help classifying your paper work
- It develops the whole body of your writing piece and gives it a direction
- Thesis statements let readers have an idea about what the writer’s statement is and what it is aiming to prove.
NOTE: The thesis statement can be regarded as compass of your essay; however, thesis statement does not automatically forecast organization of an essay which can be more complex than its purpose.
