whats a good thesis statement
Bad: Reading can develop a child’s analytical mind.
– Words like “can,” aren’t strong enough. This thesis statement begs the question of how? If you’re about to write several paragraphs (or pages) about a topic make sure you can confidently defend every point you make.
Good: Reading develops a child’s mind by fostering comprehension skills, increasing vocabulary, and exposing them to new worlds they might not otherwise encounter.
– Now, we’ve not just stated that reading is good, we’ve provided a sampling of all the benefits we’re about to bring to light in our paper.
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.
Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions. Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause (the opinion) and a dependent clause (the reasons). You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long.
For example, with an informative essay, you should compose an informative thesis (rather than argumentative). You want to declare your intentions in this essay and guide the reader to the conclusion that you reach.
Thesis Statements always take a stand and justify further discussion.
Statement of fact:
You should provide a thesis early in your essay — in the introduction, or in longer essays in the second paragraph — in order to establish your position and give your reader a sense of direction.
Your thesis statement is no exception to your writing: it needs to be as clear as possible. By being as clear as possible in your thesis statement, you will make sure that your reader understands exactly what you mean.
Your thesis statement should clearly identify an argument. You need to have a statement that is not only easy to understand, but one that is debatable. What that means is that you can’t just put any statement of fact and have it be your thesis. For example, everyone knows that puppies are cute. An ineffective thesis statement would be, “Puppies are adorable and everyone knows it.” This isn’t really something that’s a debatable topic.
Additionally, your thesis statement shouldn’t be too big or too grand. It’ll be hard to cover everything in a thesis statement like, “The federal government should act now on climate change.” The topic is just too large to actually say something new and meaningful. Instead, a more effective thesis statement might be, “Local governments can combat climate change by providing citizens with larger recycling bins and offering local classes about composting and conservation.” This is easier to work with because it’s a smaller idea, but you can also discuss the overall topic that you might be interested in, which is climate change.
References:
http://www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-write-a-strong-thesis-statement/
http://rasmussen.libanswers.com/faq/32467
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
http://www.servicescape.com/blog/25-thesis-statement-examples-that-will-make-writing-a-breeze
http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/composition/thesis.htm