Writing an Effective Thesis Statement

Supporting a Thesis

Remember when writing a thesis for a research paper—it needs to be supported with well-organized evidence. Public Policy Question: Should states regulate the use of cell phones in moving vehicles? Possible Thesis: States must regulate use of cell phones on the road because drivers using phones are seriously impaired and because laws on negligent and reckless driving are not sufficient to punish offenders.

Some Examples:

Subject Limited Subject = Opinion = Thesis Statement SportsTeam Sports Playing a team sport has lots of Playing a team sport benefits teaches a person self- discipline, cooperation, and leadership. Anger Road rage is very Road rage is dangerous dangerous because it puts the driver, the victim, and the surrounding cars at risk.

Lead-In

The lead-in—the first sentence of an essay that captures the reader's attention. It can be a question, anecdote, interesting facts or data, a witty saying, a definition, even a quotation.

Tie-Ins

The tie-in—this gives some background to the reader of what the essay will be about and builds toward the thesis statement by continuing to arouse interest in the topic. There are usually about two or three sentences.

Try your thesis statement (TS) as a question

This does not mean that you should actually try to express your thesis statement as a question in your essay. Rather, you should try thinking of your thesis statement as a question that you will answer in the rest of your essay. You might want to write out your TS question and have it in front of you as you draft your paper. Thesis statement: GOT is a study of how politics, greed and the lust for power can ultimately corrupt even the most innocent of characters. TS question: How does GOT examine politics, greed and power in its plot? Who are the characters that portray this best?

State your opinion clearly

When you give your opinion on the topic, choose your words carefully. Be direct and take a stand Opinions such as "is interesting" or "are not good," "is a problem" or "can teach us a lot" are vague and boring In fact, if you are specific enough about the opinion you hold, you will be very close to a thesis statement Vague opinion: Game of Thrones is fun to watch. Specific opinion: GOT is a study of how politics, greed and the lust for power can ultimately corrupt even the most innocent of characters.

What is a thesis statement anyway?

Your thesis statement is the controlling idea of an essay. It is the main point that all other sentences relate to

Thesis Statement

Now we write the thesis statement which should do three things: clearly express the essay's main idea; communicate your essay's purpose; be clearly worded.

What did you learn?

Like a high-powered telescope, your thesis statement zooms in on the specific topic that you will discuss in the body of your essay A thesis statement is usually in the first paragraph of an essay, and it works best in the last sentence of the opening paragraph Ending the introductory paragraph with the thesis statement lets the writer use the beginning of the paragraph to capture the reader's interest and/or give background information.

There are two parts to an effective thesis statement:

A topic that states the subject: Example—Game of Thrones And a comment ( or in some cases, opinion) that makes an important point about the topic: Completed thesis statement: Game of Thrones illustrates how politics, greed and the lust for power ultimately corrupts even the most innocent characters.

Not too vague or general: Thesis statements must be precise

A. Extraterrestrials on Campus is a bad film. B. Extraterrestrials on Campus is a pointless, tasteless film with a predictable plot and outmoded cinematic effects. Sentence A doesn't guide the reader much. It says only that the writer is going to make negative remarks about the film. Sentence B states what kind of faults the writer is going to find in the film.

Cast of Characters of Game of Thrones

Cast of Characters: Game of Thrones illustrates how politics, greed and the lust for power ultimately corrupts even the most innocent characters.

More . . .

Do not simply announce your topic. Make an interesting statement about your topic. Announcement: My paper is going to be about the TV program, Game of Thrones. GOT is the topic of this essay. Statement: GOT is a study of how politics, greed and the lust for power can ultimately corrupt even the most innocent of characters.