Thesis Statement

Purpose:

  • Gives direction to the author of the paper.
    • Plan for essay
    • connect/unify essay
  • Gives readers an idea as to what the paper will be about.
    • Main idea
    • Guide of the essay
    • Identify subject and purpose
  • A thesis statement is a sentence sued in an essay that serves as the guide for  the essay and directly answers the question or task asked of you
    • A thesis statement expresses the main idea of the paper
  • Thesis is NOT
    • A factual statement
    • Big spring is a small brown in West Texas.
      • (This is factual, topic sentence; therefore, it is not a thesis statement)
      • This doesn't go anywhere
      • It is just a fact
    • A topic sentence
  • Characteristics of a thesis statement
    • Address the prompt correctly and clearly
    • Makes a claim, or…
    • Presents an argument
    • Is arguable (an opinion)
    • In first paragraph of essay

How to write a thesis statement from an informative essay

  • What information are you going to include in your paper
  • Your thesis statement must be broad enough to cover all aspects of your paper, but narrow enough to stay specifically on topic
    • Problems of Teenage Binge Drinking
    • Example of too broad: “Alcohol abuse has consequences.”
    • Example of too narrow: “Alcohol abuse at my high school has resulted in the expulsion of two students.”
    • Example of usable thesis: “Cases of alcohol abuse in high schools across America have increased in number and severity over the last ten years.”
  • An informative (or expository) thesis statement will:
    • 1. State what you are going to explain
    • 2. Outline the organization of your explanation
    • Bad example: The lifestyles of barn owls include hunting for insects and animals, building nests, and raising their young.
    • This thesis is informative because it established that the paper will provide information on the lifestyles of barn owls. This thesis does not take a stand or make a claim that needs to be provided This thesis is also an example of using subdivisions for this thesis statement are:
    • Hunting for insects and animals
    • Building nests
    • Raising their young
  • Each category is a separate subdivision, which will each be a separate paragraph (if not more).
    • A great thesis statement never begins with the phrase :In this essay I will talk about…” or any sentence in a similar vein.