Writing the Perfect Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is one of the most important, if not the most important sentence of your paper. It provides the reader with the topic of your essay. Without it you can easily get lost in what you are writing about; and it makes it more likely for you to begin to start rambling in your paper. Your thesis statement gives you a sense of direction and allows for your writing to flow better and for your arguments to make sense. It is important for you to have a strong, effective thesis for any paper you write. Your paper actually have no purpose without one, literally and metaphorically. Here is how to write the perfect thesis statement:

 You should first determine what type of paper you are writing:

1. Analytical – breaks down an issue and presents an evaluation of that issue ot the readers

2. Argumentative – you are making a claim and justifying your claim with evidence throughout your paper

3. Expository– explain something to your readers

You need to know what type of paper you are writing what is the goal of your paper. In order to write an effective thesis you need to understand the general purpose of your paper.  Ask yourself, “What am I trying to achieve with this paper? What do I want my audience to understand, feel or know after they have finished reading my paper?” Usually you will find that your paper will follow under one of the categories above. Your thesis needs to be specific. It needs to cover only what will be discussed in your paper.

Your thesis should almost ALWAYS be found in your first paragraph, your introductory paragraph. You need to let your reader know as soon as possible what your paper is about. It is very important that your thesis is found at the beginning of your paper. It confuse s the reader if they do not know what the argument of the paper will be. More times than none the thesis statement is presented at the end of the first paragraph however it can also be found in the middle of the first paragraph. Just remember it has to be (unless otherwise told) in the first paragraph.

Note that your topic may change as you write. You may find new evidence or you may find that your position is changing as you continue to develop your paper. So it is okay to rewrite your thesis statement at the end of your paper fit with what you have actually stated in the paper. There is nothing wrong with this. Just make sure you always start off with some form of thesis statement.

Don’t worry if your thesis statement takes you some time to write. In my opinion it is the most difficult sentence you will write for your entire paper. Don’t stress if it isn’t perfect the first time you write. This will be the hardest part of your paper writing.

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