The Thesis Statement

A thesis statement can be considered the single most important sentence in your entire paper because it provides the reader with focus of your paper.  The thesis typically comes at the end of the introductory paragraph, but it can also come earlier in the paragraph, as long as it is clear and concise.  If someone asks you, “what is your paper about,” your thesis statement should answer that question.

Knowing the purpose of your research paper will help you write an effective thesis statement.  Are you writing a paper trying to persuade someone to do or change something?  Are you writing to explain a cause and effect relationship between two or more things?  Are you writing to describe the steps people would take to do something?  Or are you simply writing to inform others about your topic?  Understanding the purpose will help you write a thesis that sets the tone for your entire paper and that makes that tone clear for your audience.

When you write your thesis statement, avoid making your thesis statement too vague or too limited.  While you want to make your thesis statement as focused as you can, making it too exact can limit the topics you will discuss in your body paragraphs.  Hover your mouse over the image below to view examples of a vague, limited, and good thesis statement.

 

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You should notice that the limited thesis statement only discusses one specific case of animal abuse instead of going over several examples, which will make your paper stronger. Limiting yourself in your paper will make your paper harder to write and give it less strength. The vague thesis statement leaves too many options open. To answer that thesis statement in a paper, you would have to write an entire book about the animal abuses of the world.

Just remember that a good thesis will keep your paper focused and on track. If you glance back at your thesis frequently as you are writing, you will make sure that all of your body paragraphs support it, therefore helping you stay focused on your topic. 

 

Thesis Statement Review

Now that you have learned how to write an effective thesis statement, it is time to test your knowledge. In this non-graded interactivity, read the thesis statement and decide if it is vague, limited, or well-written. To check your answers click SUBMIT. Click the player button to get started.