From time to time, students get confused when hearing the word “thesis”. The reason is that it has two definitions. The first one deals with a type of academic paper. The synonym to it is “a dissertation”. It’s a many-pages academic work devoted to some topic. The thesis statement is only one sentence that sums up the topic and shows author’s position on it. Sometimes, the statement requires two sentences. Due to the thesis statement, a reader decides whether the topic discussed in the paper is interesting to read or not. That’s the main reason why this sentence should be striking and impressive to the fullest. Professionals say that when writing a paper, a person can change the opinion. As a result, it will be necessary to rewrite the statement or just improve it.
Categories of Thesis Statements
There are 2 types of thesis statements:
- Informative (the declaration of intentions and the guide to the conclusion);
- Persuasive (taking a position and arguing it).
The type depends on the research paper a person should write:
- Analytical (an author presents ideas, evaluates them, and leads to their breakdown);
- Argumentative (the work comprises a claim that a writer justifies using various types of evidence and facts);
- Explanatory (the paper explains something to the reader).
How to Start the Research Paper
Professionals at Perdue University recommend following next rules when writing thesis statements:
1. Students must be aware of what they are writing about.
There is no need to write a thesis on a topic a person can’t argue, discuss, support with evidence or disprove. Any research paper type requires specific knowledge. Awareness is especially essential in case a person has to write a many-pages work. That’s why there shouldn’t be knowledge limitations.
2. Brainstorm may be helpful.
In case a person has problems with composing a proper thesis, then it’s high time to brainstorm. Recollecting various connections, themes, ideas, and dividing them into categories can show a person what the key point of the research may be and what to focus on.
3. The topic should be specific.
Each academic paper has its requirements. First of all, it’s the style, and then comes the page limit. A broad scope requires proper explanation and results in many-pages writing. A student is luckier to get more points by choosing some specific topic and investigating it properly.
Thesis Statement the Way It Should Be
The thesis statement, regarding the professionals at Illinois University, helps to remain focused on the main idea of the paper. To write a good thesis statement, a person should remember basic recommendations for its composing.
7 Tips Which Will Help Compose a Strong Thesis Statement
- It must be real and substantial.
An author should equal the thesis to a claim for which it won’t be problematic to answer every reader’s question: “So what?”
- It is to be supported.
If a statement gives some idea or fact, then there must be evidence in the paper supporting it. The claim presented in the thesis should be neither remote nor too personal.
- It should be exact and clear.
The thesis claim requires precise explanation. That’s why it’s important to be more specific and narrow down the subject. In case the statement needs the whole book to be interpreted, then it can be considered to be a bad statement.
- It must be open to disagreement.
The thesis statement shouldn’t look like a fact or an assertion. It’s necessary to create a statement that can let the reader have other opinion and disagree with the author.
- It should be appropriate to the matter.
Most assignments require the answers to some questions. So, a person must focus on words given by the tutor in the task, such as summarize, prove, compare, argue, contrast, etc.
- It mustn’t be too wordy and long.
As a rule, a thesis is a complex sentence. The main sentence gives the claim, and the subordinated explains it giving the reason. Usually, authors use sentences which take 2 (seldom 3) lines and have 30-40 words.
- It attracts reader’s attention and must be “visible”.
Some students don’t know where to place the statement. Its aim is partially to retell the work, so it must be at the beginning of the paper. Writers often include it in the first paragraph of the introduction.
Typical Mistakes to Avoid in Thesis Statement Writing
To come up with a good thesis statement, a person should avoid making the following mistakes:
- Making it too general and broad.
It must focus on the key point and not contain too many details.
- Inadequate presentation of the topic.
It’s partially connected with the point number one. When the statement is false or not specific enough, it fails to present the work properly.
- Giving facts instead of claims.
The statement must lead to disputes but not deprive the reader of the right to agree or disagree with the thesis.
- “I believe” and “In my opinion” statements.
Subjective opinion is a bad choice for a research paper.
- Wrong format usage.
For example, an informative statement is a wrong variant for an argumentative essay.
- Making statements too simple
Trying to craft an excellent thesis, students often oversimplify, making it invalid.
Where to Get a Good Research Paper?
Very often, some students complain that thesis writing is a very difficult task. The others say that they can cope with the statement, but have problems with proper formatting and lack information for the paper. That’s why they turn to custom research paper writing services e.g. CustomWritings.com and its professional writers who succeed in research papers creation quickly and qualitatively.
