thesis sentence structure
A good essay or research paper builds up to a central argument. Your reader wants to know what that argument is and how you will make it – your thesis statement should tell them in a sentence or two.
- The Brexit referendum result was driven by political frustration.
- The Brexit referendum result was driven by working-class frustration with the political elite, caused by austerity policies that have eroded public services and fragmented communities; the referendum offered an alternative to the status quo.
A thesis statement is one sentence that expresses the main idea of a research paper or essay, such as an expository essay or argumentative essay. It makes a claim, directly answering a question.
Think of it as a loving mother steering her children away from danger. Essay writers run the risk of getting off track and wandering into thickly wooded forests of needless tangents. (This is also why a well-planned outline is essential.) However, a solid thesis statement will help keep you in check. Refer back to it and ask have you wandered off topic?
Always Be Specific
- Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper.
- Be as clear and as specific as possible; avoid vague words.
- Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my paper is…”
These words tell the reader next to nothing if you do not carefully explain what you mean by them. Never assume that the meaning of a sentence is obvious. Check to see if you need to define your terms (”socialism,” “conventional,” “commercialism,” “society”), and then decide on the most appropriate place to do so. Do not assume, for example, that you have the same understanding of what “society” means as your reader. To avoid misunderstandings, be as specific as possible.
When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is.
Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences.
Key points that make a thesis statement:
Things that are not Thesis Statements:
References:
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/thesis-statement-examples.html
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
http://www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-write-a-strong-thesis-statement/
http://blogs.longwood.edu/150writingguide/2014/12/04/structure-of-a-thesis-statement/
http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/composition/thesis.htm