User:Raised4Success

What Is A Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement declares what you believe and what you intend to prove. A good thesis statement makes the difference between a thoughtful research project and a simple retelling of facts. A thesis statement is usually a single sentence somewhere towards the end in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and arranges evidence that will encourage the reader of the reason of your explanation. A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Coming up with a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and establish evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts, and think about the importance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably end up with what is called a “working thesis” which is a basic or main idea, an argument that you think you can support with evidence but that may need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to arouse their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement.

Tips and Ideas For A Thesis Statement

With thesis statements, you may want to ask yourself what kind of paper you are writing. Knowing what kind of paper you are writing will help you in the thinking process of writing your thesis statement.

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.

Also during the thinking process, its a good habit to write down a few attributes that you want to make sure that your thesis statement will have:

It should be contestable, proposing an arguable point with which people could reasonably disagree.
A strong thesis is provocative; it takes a stand and justifies the discussion you will present.
It tackles a subject that could be adequately covered in the format of the project assigned.
It is specific and focused.
It clearly asserts your own conclusion based on evidence
It provides the reader with a map to guide him/her through your work.
It anticipates and refutes the counter-arguments
It avoids vague language like ("it seems").
It avoids the first person. ("I believe" or "In my opinion")

Differences Between Strong & Weak Statements

Strong

A good tentative thesis will help you focus your search for information. But don't rush! You must do a lot of background reading before you know enough about a subject to identify key or essential questions. You may not know how you stand on an issue until you have examined the evidence. You will likely begin your research with a working, preliminary or tentative thesis which you will continue to refine until you are certain of where the evidence leads. A strong thesis statement gives direction to the paper and limits what you need to write about. It also functions to inform your readers of what you will discuss in the body of the paper. All paragraphs of the essay should explain, support, or argue with your thesis.

It's always a good idea to ask yourself questions about how to make sure you have a strong thesis statement. Does the thesis inspire a reasonable reader to ask, "How?" or Why? Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic sentences? Is my thesis statement specific enough?

Here are some facts and examples of a solid thesis statement:

A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or an observation.

Fact or observation: People use many lawn chemicals.
Thesis: People are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean.

A thesis is the main idea, not the title. It must be a complete sentence that explains in some detail what you expect to write about.

Title: Social Security and Old Age.
Thesis: Continuing changes in the Social Security System makes it almost impossible to plan intelligently for one's retirement.

A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully supported.

Broad: The American steel industry has many problems.
Narrow: The primary problem if the American steel industry is the lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.

A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general.

Vague: Hemingway's war stories are very good.
Specific: Hemingway's stories helped create a new prose style by employing extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong Anglo-Saxon words.

Weak

Weak thesis statements take various forms. Often they contain cliched, obvious, or overly general ideas and so don't need or are not worth proving. Other kinds of weak theses substitute for analysis either a global value judgment, or a personal like or dislike. A strong thesis makes a claim that needs proving; a weak thesis either makes no claim or is an assertion that does not need proving. There are five main causes to a weak thesis statements

1.The thesis makes no claim

EX: This paper will address the characteristics of a good corporate manager.

This problem example begins to move toward a point of view through the use of the value judgment "good," but there is still no assertion-no framework for analysis. The statement--of--intention thesis invites a list: one paragraph for each quality the writer chooses to call "good." Even if the thesis were rephrased as "This paper will address why a good corporate manager needs to learn to delegate responsibility," the thesis would not adequately suggest why such a claim would need to be argued or defended. There is, in short, nothing at stake-no issue to be resolved.

 Solution: The very trait that makes for an effective corporate manager-the drive to succeed can also make the leader domineering 
 and therefore ineffective.

2.The thesis statement is true or is a statement of fact

EX:The jean industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults.

If few people would disagree with the claim that a thesis makes, there is no point in writing an analytical paper on it. Though one might deliver an inspirational speech on a position that virtually everyone would support (such as the value of tolerance), endorsements and appreciations don't lead to analysis; they merely invite people to feel good about their convictions.

Solution: By inventing new terms, such as "loose fit" and "relaxed fit," the jean industry has attempted to normalize, even glorify, its
its product for an older and fatter generation.

3.The thesis restates conventional wisdom

EX:An important part of one's college education is learning to better understand others' points of view

Conventional wisdom is a polite term for cliches Most cliches were fresh ideas once, but over time they have become trite, prefabricated forms of nonthinking. Faced with a phenomenon that requires a response, many inexperienced writers rely on a knee-jerk reaction: they resort to a small set of culturally approved "answers' " In this sense, cliches resemble statements of fact, but they usually aren't. So commonly accepted that most people nod to them without thinking, statements of conventional wisdom make people feel a comfortable sense of agreement with one another. The problem with this kind of packaged solution is that conventional wisdom is so general and so conventional that it doesn't teach anybody-including the writer-anything. Worse, since the cliche appears to be an idea, it prevents the writer from engaging in a fresh, open-minded exploration of his or her subject.

Solution: Although an important part of one's college education is learning to better understand others' points of view, 
a persistent danger is that the students will simply be required to substitute the teacher's answers for the ones they 
grew up uncritically believing.

4.The thesis makes a broad claim

EX:Othello is a play about love and jealousy

Overly generalized thesis avoid complexity. A writer in the early stages of his or her drafting process might begin working from a general idea, such as what is positive and negative about violent revolutions or how two historical periods are like and unlike, but these formulations are not specific enough to guide the development of a paper. Such broad categories are likely to generate listing, not thinking.

Solution: Although Othello appears to attack jealousy, it also supports the skepticism of the jealous characters 
over the naivete of the lovers.

5.The thesis advances unsubstantiated opinion

EX:Although I agree with Jeane Kirkpatrick's argument that environmentalists and businesses should work 
together to ensure the ecological future of the world, and that this cooperation is beneficial for both sides, the 
indisputable fact is that environmental considerations should always be a part of any decision that is made.

Like conventional wisdom, personal likes and dislikes can lead inexperienced writers into knee-jerk reactions of approval or disapproval, often expressed in a moralistic tone. The writers of the problem example assume that their primary job is to judge their subjects, riot to evaluate them analytically. As a result, such writers lack critical detachment, not only from their topics, but crucially, from their own assumptions and opinions. They have taken personal opinions for self-evident truths.

Solution: Although I agree with Jeane Kirkpatrick's argument that environmentalists and businesses should work 
together to ensure the ecological future of the world, her argument undervalues the necessity of pressuring businesses 
to attend to environmental concerns that may not benefit them in the short run.