Creating a Thesis Statement

Professors always look for the thesis statement in any kind of paper. This significant element is crucial as this will guide readers on the subject matter. In writing essay papers for instance, the thesis statement will tell what will be expected of the paper. Hence, it is important that it will not only be informative but also appealing to get readers’ attention. This task is fairly simple for professional essay writers. Nonetheless, for students and non-professional writers, this may be complicated. Following are some tips that will guide you in writing a well-written paper with a good thesis statement.

First, you have to understand the topic or question you need to address. Is it clear to you? Can you comprehend what the topic or question asks of you? If you are certain that you do, you can now start gathering your thoughts by doing some background reading to get an idea about the subject matter. If you are writing a research paper, it is best to do intensive research from credible sources such as books, journals, newspapers, magazines, and noteworthy Web sites of organizations, government institutions, and educational institutions. Hence, time and patience is needed if you wish to acquire the best and most recent information to support your paper.

After going through some materials, you can now formulate your thoughts or take a stand. By now, you already have a main idea on how to attack the topic. Therefore, it is time to use whatever existing knowledge or opinion you may have and/or support it with evidence you gathered from your research, depending on which type of essay papers you are doing. Always keep in mind this main idea or thesis in composing your thoughts or writing the paper. Ask yourself the following to test if you are on the right track:

1.      Are your points within the bounds of your main idea or are you jumping to another idea?

2.      Do your arguments go together with your thesis or do they discuss another topic?

3.      Do your arguments answer the question or address the topic or do they explore a different subject matter? 

Afterward, determine if your main idea is strong or sound enough for readers to make sense out of what you are saying. To do this, go back to the question or topic and review if your arguments answer the prompt. Does your thesis address the subject matter specifically or it is too broad and general? Moreover, ask yourself if your thesis is important. Would your readers find meaning and significance and will learn something new? Is the placement of your thesis logical, correct, and strategic? Remember that different types of papers call for different placements of the thesis statement.  Also, be wary of the evidence you presented. Did you use them to support your thoughts and made an analysis after or did you just summarize or paraphrase them? With all these guidelines, you are now ready to compose an essay with an effective thesis statement.