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How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples
Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 14, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .
Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.
You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:
- Start with a question
- Write your initial answer
- Develop your answer
- Refine your thesis statement
Table of contents
What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.
A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.
The best thesis statements are:
- Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
- Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
- Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.
The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .
The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.
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You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.
You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?
For example, you might ask:
After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .
Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.
In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.
The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.
In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.
The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.
A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:
- Why you hold this position
- What they’ll learn from your essay
- The key points of your argument or narrative
The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.
These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.
Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:
- In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
- In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.
The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:
- It gives your writing direction and focus.
- It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.
Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :
- Ask a question about your topic .
- Write your initial answer.
- Develop your answer by including reasons.
- Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.
The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .
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Module 2: Critical Reading
Identifying thesis statements, introduction, learning objectives.
- identify explicit thesis statements in texts
- identify implicit thesis statements in texts
- identify strategies for using thesis statements to predict content of texts
Being able to identify the purpose and thesis of a text, as you’re reading it, takes practice. This section will offer you that practice.
One fun strategy for developing a deeper understanding the material you’re reading is to make a visual “map” of the ideas. Mind maps, whether hand-drawn or done through computer programs, can be fun to make, and help put all the ideas of an essay you’re reading in one easy-to-read format.
Your understanding of what the “central” element of the mind map is might change as you read and re-read. Developing the central idea of your mind map is a great way to help you determine the reading’s thesis.
Hand-drawn Mind Map
Locating Explicit and Implicit Thesis Statements
In academic writing, the thesis is often explicit : it is included as a sentence as part of the text. It might be near the beginning of the work, but not always–some types of academic writing leave the thesis until the conclusion.
Journalism and reporting also rely on explicit thesis statements that appear very early in the piece–the first paragraph or even the first sentence.
Works of literature, on the other hand, usually do not contain a specific sentence that sums up the core concept of the writing. However, readers should finish the piece with a good understanding of what the work was trying to convey. This is what’s called an implicit thesis statement: the primary point of the reading is conveyed indirectly, in multiple locations throughout the work. (In literature, this is also referred to as the theme of the work.)
Academic writing sometimes relies on implicit thesis statements, as well.
This video offers excellent guidance in identifying the thesis statement of a work, no matter if it’s explicit or implicit.
Topic Sentences
We’ve learned that a thesis statement conveys the primary message of an entire piece of text. Now, let’s look at the next level of important sentences in a piece of text: topic sentences in each paragraph.
A useful metaphor would be to think of the thesis statement of a text as a general: it controls all the major decisions of the writing. There is only one thesis statement in a text. Topic sentences, in this relationship, serve as captains: they organize and sub-divide the overall goals of a writing into individual components. Each paragraph will have a topic sentence.
It might be helpful to think of a topic sentence as working in two directions simultaneously. It relates the paragraph to the essay’s thesis, and thereby acts as a signpost for the argument of the paper as a whole, but it also defines the scope of the paragraph itself. For example, consider the following topic sentence:
Many characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun have one particular dream in which they are following, though the character Walter pursues his most aggressively.
If this sentence controls the paragraph that follows, then all sentences in the paragraph must relate in some way to Walter and the pursuit of his dream.
Topic sentences often act like tiny thesis statements. Like a thesis statement, a topic sentence makes a claim of some sort. As the thesis statement is the unifying force in the essay, so the topic sentence must be the unifying force in the paragraph. Further, as is the case with the thesis statement, when the topic sentence makes a claim, the paragraph which follows must expand, describe, or prove it in some way. Topic sentences make a point and give reasons or examples to support it.
The topic sentence is often, though not always, the first sentence of a paragraph.
- Outcome: Thesis. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Revision and Adaptation of Topic Sentences. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Image of hand-drawn mind map. Authored by : Aranya. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guru_Mindmap.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Topic Sentences. Authored by : Ms. Beardslee. Located at : http://msbeardslee.wikispaces.com/Topic+Sentences?showComments=1 . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Image of Parts of a Paragraph. Authored by : Enokson. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/ak9H3v . License : CC BY: Attribution
- How to Identify the Thesis Statement. Authored by : Martha Ann Kennedy. Located at : https://youtu.be/di1cQgc1akg . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts
Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements
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This resource provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements.
Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement
1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:
- An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
- An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
- An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.
2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will 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 topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.
Thesis Statement Examples
Example of an analytical thesis statement:
The paper that follows should:
- Explain the analysis of the college admission process
- Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors
Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:
- Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers
Example of an argumentative thesis statement:
- Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college
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How do you find your thesis statement? (video)
Viewing time: 4 mins 24 secs
The Write Question is a weekly video podcast all about writing. Today’s question? How can you find your thesis statement? If you have a question you’d like me to answer you can email me , tweet me @pubcoach, or leave a message for me at the Skype account, The Write Question.
Transcript:
How do you find your thesis statement? That’s the topic I’m addressing today in The Write Question. I’m Daphne Gray-Grant, the Publication Coach, still in pandemic mode.
I have a question from Marie Calibre, a grad student based in San Diego, California. Here’s what she’s asked by email….
“With academic writing, how do you home in on the premise of your work? I’m writing a master’s thesis and I’m having a hard time identifying my ‘thesis statement.’ Do you have any suggestions for me?”
Thanks for your question , Marie. For people who aren’t familiar with academic practices, let me begin by giving a definition. A thesis statement is a sentence or short paragraph summarizing the main point of an essay or research paper. In fact, “thesis” is a Greek word meaning ‘proposition.’ So a thesis statement is really the main point you want to make.
An effective thesis statement needs to do three main things:
- It must be very specific and debatable
- It must be appropriate to the type of paper you’re writing
- It must appear within the first section of your text so that it is clear to your reader what the paper is about
Here, for example, is a weak thesis statement:
Shakespeare was the leading playwright of the last 500 years.
Notice that this statement is quite non-specific and, for many people, would hardly be debatable. In fact, if you wanted a better statement, you might propose something like, “Edward Albee [see link in the show notes] is the leading playwright of the last 500 years.” At least it’s a surprising argument!
Anyway, before constructing your thesis statement, you need to do some significant research. Read some good overview literature in your subject area so that you’re really familiar with it.
Once you have a basic understanding of the broad subject area, I suggest you start mindmapping to identify possible thesis statements. I’ve written lots of blog posts and done a number of videos on mindmapping. See links in the show notes below.
But let me emphasize one point about mindmapping that will make a big difference to you. DON’T just write the topic in the centre of the page. Instead, be sure to use a question.
The act of writing a question will force you to become much more specific, which will be helpful to you as you work to identify your thesis statement.
Also understand that it’s perfectly fine to ask yourself a ‘meta’ question like, “what’s an interesting thesis statement I could use for my paper?”
Keep in mind that you may change the thesis statement several times as you work on the paper. This is normal and expected because the more you work with your topic, the more familiar you will become with the major issues involved.
You might even find that you want to argue in the opposite direction – and that’s okay as well. Writing a paper is a creative process and not one that always proceeds in a predictable way.
Finding a good thesis statement is probably the most important — and most challenging — part of writing a paper. But when you get a good one, it will make the work of writing that paper so much easier!
Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from the American poet Jenny Zhang :
“ Sometimes I worry that people who read my fiction think that I am making some kind of thesis statement.”
Marie , while poets don’t have to worry excessively about thesis statements, academic writers really need to. Take the time to find one that’s going to work for you. It’s well worth the effort.
If you’d like to learn more about how to make writing a happier and more rewarding process, check out my latest book Your Happy First Draft . I don’t sell it in bookstores or via Amazon. The only place to buy it is on my website, link on the screen below and in the show notes.
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A thesis statement is usually at the end of an introductory paragraph. The sentences that precede the sentence will introduce it, and the sentences that follow will support and explain it. Just as a topic sentence introduces and organizes a paragraph, a thesis statement helps readers recognize what is to follow.
For example, consider the following thesis statement:
The Battle of Vicksburg changed the course of the Civil War, leading to the success of the Union.
This statement defines the subject, limits it (one battle, not the entire Civil War), and sets up a cause and effect pattern for the essay that follows.
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How to Find a Thesis in an Essay
Colby stream, 25 jun 2018.
A thesis statement lays the groundwork for an essay. It tells the reader what the essay is about and what to expect as he reads through the essay. Locating and understanding the thesis statement, however, isn't always easy. Sometimes it requires that you read the entire essay, find the thesis statement and then read the essay again. The second time you read, you can then compare what the thesis statement said the essay was about to your thoughts about the essay's meaning.
Explore this article
- Note First Impressions
- Identify Purpose of Essay
- Review Opening Paragraphs
- Re-read Essay
1 Note First Impressions
Read the essay entirely. Take notes along the way about what you think the essay is trying to say about a particular subject, issue or event. These notes should be related to the big-picture meaning, not of specific passages. Consider whether the tone of the essay is factual, or emotional and persuasive. Determine the main idea of each paragraph, and ask how these ideas support the conclusion found in the last paragraph of the essay.
2 Identify Purpose of Essay
Write a brief paragraph describing the main purpose or objective of the essay. Use the notes you took to back up why you think what you've written is the meaning. Ask yourself if the essay is explaining a topic, analyzing a subject, or arguing a debatable point. Look for claims being made, detailed explanations, or statistical evidence that give clues to the thesis.
3 Review Opening Paragraphs
Search the first two paragraphs for a statement that matches the purpose of the essay. Most often, you will find the thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph. It might appear in the form of direct statement or might be a hypothesis that the author says he will prove. For example, if you said the purpose of the essay was that coffee hydrates the body, the author could say directly that coffee hydrates the body or that he intends to prove that coffee hydrates the body. Both qualify as a thesis statement.
4 Re-read Essay
Re-read the essay if you felt like the thesis statement provides more clarity to what you have already read. Keeping the thesis statement at the forefront of your mind while reading the essay a second time can help you better understand the author's objectives, findings and conclusions.
Finding the thesis is important because it strengthens reading comprehension and retention. Once you spot the thesis, you are better informed on the type of essay you are reading and the writer's intended purpose. Knowing this upfront helps you focus, so you don't have to go back repeatedly and analyze or dissect the text to figure out how it all fits together.
- A poorly written paper may not possess a concrete thesis. Be aware that if you can't find the thesis statement, the paper may not have one. On the other hand, you may not have understood the essay and may need to read it a second time.
- A thesis statement can be one or two sentences. Don't limit your search for the thesis by trying to select a single sentence if the author has spread it out over two.
- 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Thesis Statements
- 2 Purdue Online Writing Laboratory: Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements
About the Author
Colby Stream has been a writer since 2007. His work has appeared in "The Arbiter," the student newspaper of Boise State University, as well as various websites. Stream graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication as a presidential civic leadership scholar.
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What is a thesis statement? I need some examples, too.
What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement clearly identifies the topic being discussed, includes the points discussed in the paper, and is written for a specific audience. Your thesis statement belongs at the end of your first paragraph, also known as your introduction. Use it to generate interest in your topic and encourage your audience to continue reading.
You can read chapter four of Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers an eBook in our online collection, click the title to open: "How Do I Write a Thesis Statement?" .
Another option is to think of a thesis statement as one complete sentence that expresses your position .
- Narrows the topic down to a specific focus of an investigation.
- Establishes a direction for the entire paper.
- Points forward to the conclusion.
- Always stated in your introduction. (Usually at the end of the first paragraph).
- Always take a stand and justify further discussion.
A thesis statement is not a statement of fact.
Your readers—especially your instructors—want to read writing that engages them. Consequently, you must write thesis statements that are arguable, not factual. Statements of fact seem easy to write about because, well, they are easy to prove. After all, they’re facts. The problem is that you cannot write engaging papers around statements of fact. Such theses prevent you from demonstrating critical thinking and analytical skills, which you want to show your instructor. If you were to write a paper around the next two statements, your writing would probably be quite dull because you would be restating facts that the general public already knows.
Thesis Statements always take a stand and justify further discussion.
In order to make your writing interesting, you should develop a thesis statement that is arguable. Sometimes you will be writing to persuade others to see things your way and other times you will simply be giving your strong opinion and laying out your case for it.
Take a look at the following examples:
Statement of fact:
Small cars get better fuel mileage than 4x4 pickup trucks.
Arguable thesis statement:
The government should ban 4x4 pickup trucks except for work-related use.
Foul language is common in movies.
The amount of foul language in movies is disproportionate to the amount of foul language in real life.
State ment of fact:
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease.
Arguable thesis statement/opening paragraph:
Researchers think the incidence of celiac disease is increasing in the USA not only because of an increase in the ability and awareness to diagnose it, but also because of changes in the agricultural system. In particular, they are looking at the increased use of pesticides, insecticides, and genetically modified wheat as culprits. Some of these theories are more likely to be valid than others.
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Comments (5)
- this is really helpful by rita on Nov 14, 2021
- Yes, thank you. This is really helpful. It's been YEARS since I have encountered the term "thesis statement", and I needed a refresher on what it was before beginning my final presentation for a college course. This page answered all of my questions! by Brigitte on Dec 06, 2021
- Thank You. This helped by Deborah Smith on Mar 23, 2022
- Great explanation. This will definitely help my writing, by Jack on Dec 15, 2022
- This a very helpful website for me. Thank you by Catie on Jan 09, 2023
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This sentence states that the essay will be about why increasing the price of cigarettes will have negative effects on addicts and their
Lecture on identifying the thesis statement for my Freshman Comp classes (and anyone else who could benefit).
The thesis statement usually appears near the beginning of a paper. It can be the first sentence of an essay, but that often feels like a simplistic, unexciting
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your essay. It usually comes at the end of the introduction.
As the thesis statement is the unifying force in the essay, so the topic sentence must be the unifying force in the paragraph. Further, as is the case with the
3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper. 4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may
A thesis statement is a sentence or short paragraph summarizing the main point of an essay or research paper. In fact, “thesis” is a Greek word
A thesis statement is usually at the end of an introductory paragraph. The sentences that precede the sentence will introduce it, and the sentences that
Search the first two paragraphs for a statement that matches the purpose of the essay. Most often, you will find the thesis statement at the end
What is a thesis statement? A thesis statement clearly identifies the topic being discussed, includes the points discussed in the paper, and is written for