After going through our step by step guide of writing a thesis statement, you will be sorted for good. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore. Use topic sentences to structure your ideas and keep your paragraphs focused. We consulted these works while writing this handout. A good thesis statement tells the reader about the side or position you will be taking regarding the issue at hand. So, it is important to examine the topic in detail and focus on specific areas that you want to cover, and support it with evidence. This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based what is a thesis statement in an essay examples an analysis of its content.
Finding Your Point of View
This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis what is a thesis statement in an essay examples work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft. Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, what is a thesis statement in an essay examples, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view, what is a thesis statement in an essay examples.
This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in what is a thesis statement in an essay examples sentence. If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one.
When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information. A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating 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 organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts such as surprising contrasts or similaritiesand think about the significance of these relationships.
Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :. You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.
After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:. Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters. This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters. Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children.
Now you write:. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore. This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation. We consulted these works while writing this handout. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial.
We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback. Anson, Chris M. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers6th ed. New York: Longman. Lunsford, Andrea A. The St. Ramage, John D. Bean, and June Johnson. New York: Pearson. Ruszkiewicz, John J. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4. You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout what is a thesis statement in an essay examples attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively.
Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information. A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating 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 organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts such as surprising contrasts or similarities , and think about the significance of these relationships. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement.
For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :. You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis. After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:. Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters. This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.
Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore. This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. The best thesis statements are concise , contentious and coherent. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up. Particularly in an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should be something that others might question or disagree with. Your thesis statement might mention several aspects of your topic, but they should all add up to a coherent whole, expressing one main idea. Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper. Everything else you write should relate to this key idea. The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:. Without a clear thesis, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
Follow these three steps to come up with a thesis :. The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction. Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education : the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation. Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Victor Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on ; he starts out as a naive but sympathetic idealist, but by the end we see him as a thoughtlessly cruel figure.
What can proofreading do for your paper? The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. What is a thesis statement? Why do I need a thesis statement? The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons: It gives your writing direction and focus. It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point. How can I come up with a thesis statement? Follow these three steps to come up with a thesis : Ask a question about your topic. Write your initial answer. Develop your answer and include reasons. Where does the thesis statement go in an essay? Is this article helpful? Shona McCombes Shona has a bachelor's and two master's degrees, so she's an expert at writing a great thesis.
She has also worked as an editor and teacher, working with students at all different levels to improve their academic writing. Other students also liked. How to write topic sentences A topic sentence sums up the main point of each paragraph. Use topic sentences to structure your ideas and keep your paragraphs focused. How to write a paragraph Each paragraph in your paper should focus on one central point.
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