Thesis WritingA Comprehensive set of guidelines

WHAT WE AIM TO COVER:

What precisely is a Thesis Statement

Understanding the philosophy behind it

Identifying a Thesis Statement

Practice Exercises

Writing a good Thesis Statement

Practice exercises

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WHAT IS THE THESIS STATEMENT?

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• A thesis statement is a sentence in an essay, report,

research paper, or speech that identifies the main

idea and/or central purpose of the text.

• The thesis statement serves as the organizing

principle of the text.

• Hence it usually appears in the introductory

paragraph, often at the end.

• Thesis statements are the organizing principle of the

entire essay.

• They are also used in all kinds of essays;

argumentative, descriptive or narrative.

HELPFUL PROFESSIONAL

GUIDELINES

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"The reason for placing a thesis in the first

paragraph of an essay or as soon after it as

possible is that the sooner you state it the more

likely you are to remain aware of your main idea and

the less likely you are to wander from that idea as

you write."

(Morton A. Miller, Reading and Writing Short

Essays. Random House, 1980

EXAMPLES

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• Diwali is an important festival for Indians

because they celebrate, remember traditional

legends, and enjoy time with their families.

• At least 25 percent of the federal budget should

be spent on helping upgrade business to clean

technologies, researching renewable energy

sources, and planting more trees in order to

control or eliminate pollution.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/

IDENTIFYING A THESIS

STATEMENT FROM AN ESSAY

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• The statement can be the topic sentence of

the introductory paragraph.

• Hence it is likely to be found in the first few

lines of a paragraph

• Often it is found at the end of a paragraph

knitting the idea of an essay

ISSUES WITH FINDING A

THESIS STATEMENT

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• Not every essay depicts a clearly written Thesis

Statement

• A paragraph may have multiple topic sentences

which may confuse it with the thesis statement

ISSUES WITH FINDING A

THESIS STATEMENT

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• Not every essay depicts a clearly written Thesis

Statement

• A paragraph may have multiple topic sentences

which may confuse it with the thesis statement

PRACTICE EXERCISE 0.1IDENTIFY THE THESIS STATEMENT

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A well-designed campaign is based upon three

important factors. The first factor is an analysis of

local data to quantify the extent of the road safety

problem and its characteristics; an element that is

common across the studies highlighted in this

section. These data are essential to ensure that

there is a need to address the road safety issue and

that the campaign can be appropriately targeted to

the relevant audience.

PRACTICE 0.2IDENTIFY THE THESIS STATEMENT

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Determinists don’t just hold that everything is

determined. They also assume that determinism

rules out human freedom and responsibility.

Freedom is the ability to choose among

alternatives. If humans cannot help but do what

they do, then they are not free to act otherwise. In

this sense, they lack freedom. They also lack

responsibility. We are responsible for an action only

if we are in control of the action or its causes.

WHAT IS A GOOD THESIS

STATEMENT

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• A strong thesis statement both names the topic

and reveals the writer's opinion about that topic.

• It should be clear and specific.

• Simple to support. In other words, if it is

presented unclearly, vaguely, or in an overly

complex way, it will be very difficult to back it up

effectively in the rest of the essay.

• The thesis needs to be narrow

EXAMPLE OF AN EFFECTIVE

THESIS STATEMENT

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Weak

India has a lot of interesting festivals.

Strong

Diwali is an important festival for Indians because

they celebrate, remember traditional legends, and

enjoy time with their families.

CLEAR THESIS STATEMENTSCLEAR: IF READERS CAN’T UNDERSTAND IT, IT IS AS IF YOUR PAPER

DOESN’T HAVE ONE.

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Unclear

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is good, so I like

it. Note: The sentence is unclear because the reader

doesn’t know if this is the student’s favorite book or why

the student thinks it is “good.

Strong

Example of a good guiding idea: Harry Potter and the

Sorcerer’s Stone is my favorite book because it includes

a wide variety of characters. Note: The sentence is

clear and leaves no question in the reader’s mind

regarding what the student wants to say in the essay.

EXAMPLE OF A SPECIFIC THESIS

STATEMENTSPECIFIC: IF IT CONTAINS VAGUE WORDS SUCH AS “GOOD” AND

“THINGS,” IT WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE IN GETTING YOUR POINT

ACROSS.

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Non-specific

During the summer of my thirteenth year, I learned that there

are a lot of good things about Romantic poetry. Note: The

words “good things” are too vague to give the reader a clear

understanding of the writer’s main point. The vague terms

may also make the statement a little boring for the reader

and may not entice him or her to read on.

Specific

During the summer of my thirteenth year, I developed a

passion for British Romantic poetry due to its celebration of

nature.

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD THESIS

STATEMENTSUPPORTING ONE MAIN IDEA

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What is a good thesis statement? Expresses one main

idea Weak: Companies need to exploit the marketing

potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide

both advertising and customer support. Good: Because

the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing

potential, companies should exploit this potential by

using Web pages that offer both advertising and

customer support

IDENTIFY THE EFFECTIVE THESIS

STATEMENT

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• The world is in a terrible mess.

• Trade barriers contribute to international tensions.

• The World Trade Center is impressive.

• The World Trade Center is a monument to human

folly.

IDENTIFY THE EFFECTIVE

THESIS STATEMENT

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• Our vacation was a tremendous experience.

• Our vacation enabled us to learn the true meaning of

sharing.

• Drug addiction is a big problem.

• Drug addiction has caused a dramatic increase in

crimes of violence.

TOPIC, PURPOSE AND THESIS

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Topic Purpose Thesis

Terrorism To express the perception

of terrorism and its impacts

on the world today

Some vigilantes have committed

multiple barbaric acts of violence

that have fostered increased

spread of terror

childhood The purpose here is to

elaborate on what childhood

encompasses.

Childhood is the most important

aspect of growing, for it is the

stage that shapes one’s

adolescence and the effects

persist for life.

The factor behind

discrepancies encountered

in gender dependent

Intelligence quotient

The idea is to present a

comparison and start with a

clear approach.

Biology on one hand does not present

significant differences in the sex

anatomy, yet social upbringing is

responsible for much of the differences

encountered in the IQs

PRACTICE 0.3T

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Use of thesis statements to improve one’s

reading skills• Reading the statement helps one grasp the main idea

of an essay

• The content expected from the essay synthesized with

the essay facilitates the understanding of it.

Identify a Thesis statement

• Question yourself what the main idea is

• Assess your take on the statement, do you support it

or not?

• Is it over all inclusive?

• For more guidelines about thesis writing visit

www.thesisfreak.com

WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT

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Come up with a topic and the suitable thesis statement

James Cagney:

Hollywood

Great

James Cagney was one of the greatest actors

ever to appear in movies.

Inflation and Old

Age

Continuing inflation makes it almost impossible

to plan intelligently for one's retirement.

Cellphones While cell phones provide freedom and mobility,

they can also become a leash, compelling users

to answer them anywhere and at any time.

PRACTICE 0.4COMPLETE THE THESIS STATEMENTS

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• American educators must decide...,

• There are several steps that teachers can take to

encourage…,

• Drug and alcohol addiction is a major problem in the

world today, and..

• College students looking for part-time work should

begin their search

CONCLUSION

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• Analyze the topic and its purpose

• Consider the points to focus on relevant to the topic

• Bear in mind the need for being simple, specific,

purposeful and guiding

• Improve the writing and reading skills by practicing

incessantly

• Review the essay, read thoroughly and see if the

thesis statements covers it all

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