write a good thesis statement

How to write a good thesis statement

Jun 24, 2018 Updated on Jul 30, 2019

The thesis statement is central to any essay, be it an argumentative essay or an expository essay. The thesis statement is unlike any other sentences in your essay, it needs to be carefully crafted and placed. A strong thesis statement will make a good paper into an amazing one.

What is a thesis statement?

The thesis statement tells your reader your stand, claim, or argument is on the topic you’re writing about in one to two sentences. It tells them the direction of your reasoning, as well as which aspects of the topic you will focus on. To put it briefly, it serves as the road map for your essay.

Given this characteristic of the thesis statement, they are naturally best placed at the end of the introduction—not at the very beginning, not in the middle of your paper, and definitely not in the conclusion. The logic for this placement is so that you, the writer, can first introduce the topic of your paper to your reader before you tell them your stand and try to persuade them. To get a clearer picture, study this image:

As you can see, the thesis statement is crucial to the persuasiveness and structure of your essay. So, it cannot be sloppily written. It has to be refined until it perfectly conveys your argument.Need help with your term paper or essay?

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What makes a thesis statement good?

Make it specific. Your thesis statement should cover only the range and depth that is suitable to the length of your paper. This will prevent you from being overwhelmed with all the aspects you need to touch and end up tackling only the surface of your topic. Aside from refining and narrowing down your thesis, avoid  vague language. Instead of saying that something would be “good,” state how or why this will be good. Another way to make your thesis statement specific is to make sure that you directly answer the question prompt. Do not simply state facts. A common mistake among students is to simply state what their essay will talk about, then call it a thesis statement. Another is stating something that is not disputed. 

Broad:

Apple is one of the most successful companies in the U.S. 

Specific:

Apple’s innovation, combined with a strong marketing strategy and a competitive business model, has pushed it to the top of the technological market. 

So what?

A good way to check if your thesis statement is strong is to ask “so what?” A good thesis statement will be able to answer this question. This means that your thesis should matter to the larger scale of things. In other words, it should contribute to the current pool of knowledge. For your thesis statement, and your essay, to be worthwhile, it should make a stand on an issue or topic that matters. Originality

Statements that lack originality are often those that are too broad or only talk about something that has already been established. Of course, almost everything under the sun has been argued about, so professors are not likely to expect a breakthrough, but you can still make your thesis statement original by avoiding generic words and crafting an insightful argument. Here are some examples of bad and good thesis statements: 

• Bad thesis statements
  In this essay, the author will demonstrate how the development of artificial intelligence will negatively affect employment as well as our safety. Although many people now support the practice of euthanasia, allowing it to become common practice will be detrimental to our morality as a society. The author of this essay supports the idea that the US should have universal healthcare because more and more Americans are demanding it.
• Good thesis statements
  The employment of artificial intelligence in the workforce may make production more efficient but it will further widen the wealth gap and invariably destabilize the economy. For this reason, the development and employment of artificial intelligence should be regulated. Allowing euthanasia to become common practice disrespects the inherent value of human life. The idea it promotes, that certain lives are worth less than others because they can no longer contribute to society, is a slippery slope towards outright disrespect to life in general. The author of this essay will demonstrate why it is imperative for the US to have universal healthcare by citing the experiences of various countries experienced healthier population, lower healthcare costs, and better quality of healthcare.

Here is an example of another variation of a good thesis statement:

Do not expect your thesis statement to be perfect at first try. A good thesis statement takes time to develop and write, so don’t rush it. If you want to make sure that your thesis statement is strong enough, you can ask our pool of experts to help you. Please see this example to envision how it is to develop a strong thesis statement. Again, remember that a strong thesis statement cannot be crafted in a few moments. Like any write-up, you can develop it by way of many tries. 

A strong thesis statement is the best thesis statement. We hope we have been helpful. If you still think you need further help, just let us know. Our experts are waiting for you.