Thesis Statement Tips: Helpful Hacks for How to Write a Thesis for Academic Essays

Jerz > Writing > Academic
    [ Argument | Title | Thesis | Blueprint | Pro/Con | Quoting | MLA Format ]

A thesis statement is the single, specific claim that your essay supports. A strong thesis answers the question you want to raise; it does so by presenting a topic, the position you wish to defend, and a reasoning blueprint that sketches out your defense of your chosen position. A good thesis is not merely a factual statement, an observation, a personal opinion or preference, or the question you plan to answer. (See “Academic Argument: Evidence-based Defense of a Non-obvious Position.”)
The biography Black Elk Speaks challenges the Western genre’s stereotype of the “savage Indian” through its attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk.
  • Topic: The representation of Indian lifestyle in the book Black Elk Speaks
  • Precise Opinion: the book challenges a stereotype
    (a good thesis is debatable, so a good paper would also cover ways that this book perpetuates this same stereotype)
  • Reasoning Blueprint: the three ways the book mounts this challenge are through attention to cultural detail, using Indian words, and using direct quotations from Black Elk.
    • A strong blueprint would hint at why these three details add up to support the thesis statement.
    • A less impressive blueprint might simply list the main points the essay will cover.

There is nothing magically “correct” about a thesis on challenging a cultural stereotype. Instead of claiming that a book “challenges a genre’s stereotypes,” you might instead argue that some text “provides a more expensive but more ethical solution than X” or “undermines Jim Smith’s observation that ‘[some quote from Smith here]’”. (Don’t automatically use “challenges a genre’s stereotype” in the hopes of coming up with the “correct” thesis.)

A more complicated thesis statement for a paper that asks you to demonstrate your ability engage with someone else’s ideas (rather than simply summarize or react to someone else’s ideas) might follow a formula like this:

Although Smith says “quote a passage that makes a specific claim you intend to disagree with” (123), in this paper I will use Brown’s concept of X to argue that [your original thesis goes here].”
  • Your instructor might not want you to use “I” in your paper. You might instead say “This paper will use…” or “Applying Brown’s concept of X will show…”
  • Rather than promising to “use Brown to argue” (which is too general), this model recommends that you “use Brown’s concept of X to argue” (or “Brown’s case study X” or “Brown’s thorough analysis of X” or “Brown’s unsuccessful rebuttal to Jones”). The more specific you are about how, specifically you will use Brown, the better.
  • It’s not enough to disagree with someone else; a strong paper will go beyond saying “Smith is wrong” and will instead say “Here’s a better solution that avoids problems P and Q that prevent Smith’s solution from working.”

For a short paper (1-2 pages), the thesis statement is often the first sentence. A complex thesis statement for a long paper may be part of a thesis paragraph. But it’s hard to go wrong if you put your thesis first.

Useful Formulae for Thesis Statements

If you’re not sure whether you have a good thesis statement, see whether you can fit your ideas into one of these basic patterns.

[Something] [does something] because [reason(s)].
or
Because [reason(s)], [something] [does something].
Although [opposing evidence], [reasons] show [something] [does something].

If you are just starting out, and you are still developing an original, evidence-based claim to defend, a simpler formula is probably best. Once you have done the research, and you understand the subject, then a formula like the following won’t look like random words; it will suggest a way to frame a nuanced, complex argument that goes beyond making non-controversial factual statements.

While [a specific, named person] says [a direct quote or paraphrase from the source], [a different, named person] says [something else]. While the two authors disagree over [a minor point], they both share a deep concern over [the topic of your paper]. [Person one’s] refusal to accept [a particular point made by person two]suggests that [person one] is [your thesis — stating the real reason why person one won’t agree with person two].
What really matters is not guessing the magically correct words to fit some secret formula that your mean instructor is refusing to tell you.

What matters is that you have researched your subject, that you have found and engaged meaningfully with peer-reviewed academic sources, and that you are developing an evidence-based claim, rather than summarizing or giving unsupported opinion.
  • Unlike a personal essay, which can rely on personal experience and general observations, a research paper must draw on evidence — usually in the form of direct quotations or statistics from peer-reviewed academic journals.
  • You have no reason to “defend” a position unless some expert has presented credible evidence that challenges a claim you want to make. (Finding, quoting, and engaging with that evidence is part of your task as an academic writer.)
  • An academic argument is not a squabble, a difference of opinions, or an attorney’s courtroom statement. The author of an academic argument is more like the judge, who, after hearing out the best arguments in favor of various possible solutions, supports the best one. An academic argument is part of a discussion that respects multiple viewpoints (as long as those viewpoints are backed by credible evidence).

Parts of a Thesis Statement

The thesis statement has 3 main parts: the limited subject, the precise opinion, and the blueprint of reasons.

1. Limited Subject

Make sure you’ve chosen a subject that meets your instructor’s requirements for the assignment. (It never hurts to ask.)

2. Precise Opinion

The precise opinion gives your answer to a question about the subject. A good precise opinion is vital to the reader’s comprehension of the goal of the essay.

3. Blueprint of Reasons

A blueprint is a plan. It lets the builder know that the foyer will be here, the living room will be to the east, the dining room to the west, and the family room will be north.The blueprint of an essay permits you to see the whole shape of your ideas before you start churning out whole paragraphs.While it’s okay for you to start writing down your ideas before you have a clear sense of your blueprint, your reader should never encounter a list of details without being told exactly what point these details are supposed to support. (For more details on the reasoning blueprint, see Blueprinting.)

The biography Black Elk Speaks challenges the Western genre’s stereotype of the “savage Indian” through its attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk.
In the blueprint, the author signals an intention to support the precise opinion. The author of the example above introduces three different kinds of evidence:
  • cultural details
  • Indian words
  • quotes from Black Elk.

Informed by this blueprint, the reader expects to encounter one section (a paragraph or more) devoted to each subtopic.The blueprint determines the shape of your paper.

If your thesis statement introduces three reasons A, B and C, the reader will expect a section on reason A, a section on reason B, and a section on reason C.

For a single paragraph, you might only spend one sentence on each reason. For a 2-3 page paper, each reason might get its own paragraph. For a 10-page paper, each reason might contain its own local thesis statement, with its own list of reasons, so that each section involves several paragraphs.To emphasize the structure of your essay, repeat keywords or paraphrased ideas from the blueprint as you introduce the sections in which you expand on each point. Crafting good transitions is a skill that takes time and practice. (See Transitions and Reminders of Thesis).

Note: If you repeat your blueprint phrases and your thesis statement robotically (“The third point I want to talk about is how Black Elk Speaks accurately represents the Indian lifestyle through its direct quotes from Black Elk.”), your writing will be rather dry and lifeless. Dull writing is probably better than aimless rambling, although neither is terribly effective. |

Note: A thesis statement amounts to nothing if the paper is not completely focused on that main point. Blueprinting helps create the coherency of the thesis throughout the entire essay, which makes it a necessary part of the thesis statement.

Black Elk Speaks accurately represents Indian lifestyle through its attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk.
  • Topic: The representation of Indian lifestyle in the book Black Elk Speaks
  • Precise Opinion: the book is accurate
  • Reasoning Blueprint: the book pays attention to cultural detail, it uses Indian words, and it uses direct quotations from Black Elk. (The rest of the paper will establish the truth of teach of these supporting points, and then explain why they add up to support the truth of the thesis statement.)
Is Black Elk Speaks a tragedy?
This is a question, not a statement. It’s fine to sit down at the keyboard with the intention of writing a paper to answer this question, but before you start churning out the sentences, you should have a clear idea of what answer you’re trying to support.
This paper will look at the book’s attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotations from Black Elk, in order to determine whether Black Elk Speaks accurately represents Indian lifestyle.
The above sample is slightly better because it offers more detail, but it still doesn’t say what position the author is taking on the topic of whether the book is accurate.
Because the events in the story emphasize Black Elk’s role as a Sioux Warrior, and do not describe his eventual conversion to Catholicism and membership in the Society of St. Joseph, Black Elk Speaks presents a skewed and simplified view of the complex history of Native Americans.
Note that the above sample contains a topic (the accuracy of Black Elk Speaks), opinion (it is skewed and simplified), and reasoning (because the book only tells part of the story).

You don’t need to present those three parts in that exact order every time; furthermore, your instructor may have a good reason to ask you for a different organization. But most of the time, including these three parts will help your reader to follow your ideas much more closely.
Biographies of all types can teach us many things about the past. What was the culture like? What was the language like? And what did the people say? One such book is Black Elk Speaks, which tells the story of a Sioux warrior in the late 1800s. How accurate is this book? This paper will investigate the cultural details, the language, and what Black Elk actually said, in order to determine the answer.
The above sample starts off with a wordy, general statement about biographies. But the main topic isn’t about biographies of all types, it’s specifically about one book, Black Elk Speaks.

17 Oct 2000 — originally posted by Nicci Jordan, UWEC Junior
08 Dec 2000 — first posted here. Maintained by Prof. Jerz.
13 Dec 2003 — links updated
22 Sep 2006 — moderate revisions by Jerz
29 Oct 2011 — updated by Jerz
14 June 2015 — minor adjustments

Blueprinting: Planning Your Essay
A blueprint is a rough but specific plan, or outline, which defines the structure of your whole essay. The blueprint, usually located within the thesis statement, is a brief list of the points you plan to make, compressed into just a few words each, in the same order in which they appear in the body of your paper.

Hochstein, Jordan, and Jerz
Thesis Reminders
A thesis reminder is a direct echo of the thesis statement. In a short paper, the topic sentence of each paragraph should repeat words or phrases from the thesis statement.

Dennis G. Jerz
Timed Essays: Planning and Organizing in a Crunch

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  • I am trying to write a thesis statement for a short story analysis in my college class, but I have never been good at it and none of my attempts seem acceptable. Could you proof read one and offer suggestions please? I did read your page and it has made things alot simpler for me thank you for creating it. Thesis Statement: The Adventure of the Six Napoleons shows that even seemingly random acts of vandalism may have a deeper more sinister purpose. (The short story was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    • The answer depends in part on the nature of your assignment. I generally teach classes where the assignments asks students do take one side of a complicated issue that rational people could disagree about, and consider the evidence pro and con your specific position. The thesis you propose is clear and precise, but I'm not sure that anyone reading the story would be able to find evidencde against your claim, just as nobody could argue against "Watson plays the role of the sidekick" or "Holmes notices more than ordinary people." Your statement is accurate, but are there any instances in the story of random vandalism that has a riteous purpose? Are there, in fact, any random acts of vandalism in this story, or do the acts only appear random until Holmes explains them?

  • I had an academic writing topic at my lesson, the instructor, just gave tips on it but then after readig this i got to understand everything about thesis statement, thank you!

  • This was very helpful to my research paper, however, I'm still rather confused. I'm writing a research report on Adolf Eichmann of the Holocaust. I've have experience with writing a thesis statement for a book report or a persuasive essay, but never an actual research essay. Since I'm writing about the overall life of Adolf Eichmann, and not focusing on a certain point, I'm not quite sure what to write my thesis around. Could you please give me a bit more advice or maybe an example of some sort which is somewhat more specific? Thank you so much for taking your time to share such information with us.

  • Hi Dennis,

    I found this site randomly while looking for lesson plan ideas. I've been wary of thesis formulae, but this is enough to teach the concept and allow for creative wiggle room. Thanks!

  • This is kind of helpful but I am trying to make an essay with a beggining of a level 2 thesis sentence. If you know what a level 2 or 3 statement is it would be appreciated thanks.

  • Thank you for getting back to me. As I said I'm helping a friend as best I can. Its years since I did my thesis and it wasn't anything as historical as shes doing. I'm only helping her so that she won't give up as she was just going to leave it and not do it. I have no idea why she hasn't had instruction. I'm thinking thatmaybe she hadn't been attending at the time and more or less gave up

  • Can a thesis be partially biographical? I am helping a friend whose thesis starts.....the History of....... she is part of that history so how would she write her self in?

    An example might be say....The History of Reggae Music. She might have been part of the history as a prominent singer. Would it be ok to write it as her history as well as references from other published info? Also can it just be the history of.....or should it also be answering a question?

    • Those are very good questions, but really only your instructor can answer questions at that level.

      A thesis is a specific answer to a question...the examples you gave are topics, not thesis statements.

  • Thx for this, I do get what thesis now, but my question is what is enthymemtric/enthymemetic/enthymematric thesis? ( yeah I don't know how to spell or which is the correct spelling. I'm just copying what's on the paper my professor gave me) I might ask her this question tomorrow, but I wanna know it from you. Your explanation might be better to understand than from hers. Just started college and the first essay is about literacy narrative. ~sigh~ it would be awesome if you can help me. Thanks

    • Your instructor is using the "enthymeme" as a way to ensure that you connect the claim you are making with your reasons for believing it to be true.

      Because A and B, [thesis].

      That's far more effective than a paper that stretches all that out haphazardly across several paragraphs.

      There are many aspects to [my topic].

      For instance, A. (Details.)

      In addition, B. (Details.)

      Therefore, [thesis].

      http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~cmontoya/Enthym.html

  • Thanks! Great descriptive tutorial. However, I have to wonder, how are we supposed to do a thesis if we really don't have an opinion? What if we just have a bunch a facts put together in an organized fashion? I must say, this is one of those gaping wholes in you tutorial... (no offence of cource). Then again, its not like you paid to do this, you just do it to help people, so, flawed or not, thank you for making such an effort!

    ~Leo

    B.T.W
    Well, this is not really a "BTW", but another *question (*actually 2): Is there a format for doing a non-opinionated thesis (like topic, precise opinion, and reasoning blueprint), and is it really even OK to have a thesis without a opinion? Thanks again!

    • Leo, you are right to identify the connection between a thesis and an opinion. I don't know what subject your instructor has assigned, what level/grade you are in, how your instructor wants you to treat original observations or library research or personal experience.

      It's a good question, but the one best prepared to answer it is the one who gave you the assignment.

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