Characteristic of Good Thesis Statement

A thesis is a paper submitted as candidate for an academic degree or professional qualification such as Master’s Degree or Doctorate Degree. It is document that you need something to prove with evidence through research. A strong thesis will be able to justify the discussion presented in the paper.
A thesis statement is a sentence in the thesis that states the main idea of the paper and controls that idea within the paper.
When writing a thesis, it should always be considers the good characteristics of your thesis statement such as length, position, grammar, spelling, and strength. In order to develop a good thesis statement the researcher should know the topic very well and limit the topic.

Length
A thesis statement can be short or long depending on the things mention on the paper. Usually thesis statement is one concise sentence and contains two clauses such as the stating the opinion and a reason. Typically, a single sentence that has two lines with about 30 to 40 words long.

Grammar
Make sure to have correct grammar.

Spelling
Spelling should always be check aside from grammar

Position
Thesis statement usually place at the beginning of the thesis to give an idea to the reader what the paper all about. It can be place in the introduction section.

Strength
Thesis statement should be strong and arguable. It should be clear and specific

Ways to Write a Thesis

writing thesisIt is very difficult for the student and professional to start writing a thesis because they do not know how to formulate a thesis statement. A good thesis should states the purpose on the document and should have a perfect structure. A weak thesis lacks in direction and uninteresting to the reader. A good thesis should have arguable claim and should be clear and specific as possible. It should also not answerable by yes or not but a fact that provides evidence. A thesis argument should prove with evidences from primary and secondary resources. These resources include articles, books, letters, diaries, government diaries, magazines, newspaper, etc.

Here are some ways to write to start a thesis:

 

  1. Make a question about your topic. You can construct your thesis statement by answering that question.
  2. Narrow your thesis topic. A vague topic goes to nowhere.
  3. Limit your thesis statement to one or two sentences in length.
  4. Your thesis statement should interest you so that you cannot be bored with your topic.
  5. Create a fresh and exciting argument but make sure to have enough resources about your thesis.
  6. Make sure that your thesis is provable. Ensure that it will back up with evidence.

 

Problems with Thesis Statement

Thesis statement is the heart of every essay because it states the main idea of the essay. It serves as a main idea or central message to the reader. Usually, a thesis statement is a one to two sentences that communicate the man idea and argument to the readers; there are rules to follow in order to have a right thesis statement. It should tell the reader what the document or essay is all about.

The following are some common errors or mistakes in writing a thesis statement:

thesis statement

– Weak thesis statement
A weak thesis statement has no claim and it is also obviously statement of fact.

– Too broad topic
Thesis statement should not be too broad because the writer may not discuss all points presented. Topic should be narrowed down to become more specific. Argument should be supported by enough evidence to support your claim.

– Not arguable topic
Thesis statement should be debatable. If thesis statement is not arguable, the thesis or essay becomes weakened and it will lack the purpose and direction. It should be strong argument.

– Too specific topic
Thesis statement should not be too specific because there is no enough information to support your claim.

Thesis Statement Writing Tips

Thesis has main point and main idea and the argument you make should redirect this main idea and the sentence that captures on the main idea is your thesis statement.

Thesis statement should be well written and concise since it is the central argument of the document.  It makes develop a thesis.   Also, it is supported by evidence. Your thesis statement should claim an argument not because it is a statement of the fact or statement of opinion. It should be debatable meaning the persons should have different opinions on the subject matter. It can be accepted or disagreed. Also, thesis statement should narrow because it is more effective, if the topic is broad, more evidence is needed and it can be complicated.

Example of broad topic is “Drug is not good to our health”.  It is not mention what kind of drug is all about since there are different types of drugs such as recreational drug, illegal drug, and medication drug. If it narrow down, it can be written as “Illegal drug is not good to our health”.  Broad topic needs many questions to answer. Specific topic makes your thesis much more successful than writing about general topic that do not say much.

In addition, make sure that your thesis statement clear so that your reader or audience understand what exactly what you mean.

Thesis Problem Statement

A good problem statement is answering a question about the issue you would like to research or explore. Your task is to know what question you would like to answer.  It involves a topic selection.

To write a problem statement, it is important to create and set up a thesis statement.  Identifying your thesis statement is one way of creating your problem statement.  Also, as part of problem statement, you must identify several solutions to the problem. These solutions are presented after the problem has been identified.

Once the problem is identified, several solutions are ready to be presented. Make your problem statement more informative by addressing the who, where, when, why and how.  Now you can create the conclusion by restating the problem and main ideas that you are trying to address.

It is necessary to brainstorm to come up with a problem statement so that your topic will become specific. Avoid writing multiple problems or broad topic because it can lead to unsuccessful thesis and vague documents.

Thesis statement should state exactly what your research will be all about to keep your topic manageable. Your thesis statement needs to have a concise conclusion. Also, it is a point of discussion in the entire document.

Sample Thesis Topic

Thesis topic is difficult to decide that’s why students and research consult their adviser for the recommendation.  Make sure that your thesis topic is feasible in such a way that there is enough information available.  Also, don’t forget to look if your thesis topic has literature in a way that there is relevant data.

The last but not the least, you should be knowledgeable in your topic thesis.  It is not necessary if your topic is popular as long as you are interested and fascinated in your thesis topic. In addition, it is important that your thesis topic is in your field of specialization.  Think an issue that you want to study and turn into question so that you will finally decided your thesis topic. If your topic is too broad, you should make it specific.

Below are some examples of thesis topic: Some are too broad, limit it into more specific to avoid vague topic and to limit the scope of your thesis statement.

•    Electronic Voting

•    Pros and Cons of Reverse Telephone Look Up Service

•    Formal and Informal Education

•    Advantages of K12 Education System

•    Chest X-ray Requirement for Grade School Students as part of School Admission

•    Causes of Diabetes in Children Today

•    Relationship Between Obesity and Diabetes in Children

•    Effects of Global Warming

•    Public Versus Private School

•    Normal and Caesarian Delivery among Women

Thesis Statement Writing

Statement of purpose is written and eventually you will determine the thesis statement and done some research. You will state your thesis statement in your introduction and prove your thesis statement with facts in the body of your paper and finally repeat it along with a summary and in your conclusion.

Thesis statement is written to prove with evidence.  It should be a product of your serious thinking after having some research.  The thesis statement will be the main focus of your total project.  It should be the main idea of your paper. Make sure that you have enough research to have a strong argument.

You will never have a thesis without a thesis statement which will tell the reader the importance of the subject matter or main idea and exactly inform the reader what to expect to the rest of the paper.  Thesis statement is usually a single sentence that presents an argument to the reader.

To formulate a thesis statement, you should have a problem and then think of a possible argument.  After you have an argument, you can now start to search for the sources of information to make sure that you will have enough evidence for your thesis statement.

Some Basic Thesis Writing Tips

  •  First of all decide on your topic. If your topic is too general, make sure to narrower subtopic to discuss.
  • After determining the topic that is suitable with you, you can prepare an outline to put your ideas about the topic.
  • Then you can write your thesis statement. Your thesis should have an argument.  It should not base on opinion statements. It should have thoroughly explored and dependable by evidence.
  • Thesis statement should focuses on ideas on one to two sentences to tell the reader what the paper is all about.
  • Be clear and avoid using vague words.
  • Make sure to collect sustainable evidence to defend your argument. Read every information relevant to your topic on academic research, trade literature, and information on popular press and on internet.
  • Your introduction should catch the attention of the reader and give an idea about your thesis.
  • Your conclusion should make your argument clear and provide your reader an indication of why your argument is credible.
  • Make sure that you proof-read your thesis carefully to prevent errors in spelling, grammars, and punctuation.  You can ask your friends or colleague to help you and proof read your thesis because you can overlook errors when reading your own work.

How to Prepare Thesis Statement

Thesis statement states what you believe and what you intend to prove.  It presents the main idea of the research paper. In preparing thesis statement, make sure to draft the thesis statement in three sentences or longer and have enough fats, examples, details or reasons to support your statement.  Your thesis sentence is included in the introduction of your research paper.

According to Lester, 1994, there are specific methods in developing a thesis statement:

1.    Stating an argument for or against an issue,
2.    Offering advice or giving directions,
3.    Suggesting consequences,
4.    Giving instructions,
5.    Offering personal judgment, and
6.    Making an interpretation

In the research process, after data have been treated statistically and presented in tables, the researchers must be able to analyze and interpret the meaning of the processed data.  You should be able to give the meaning of these data, their implications to the field in which the research was conducted and to the people involved as the subjects of the research being conducted.