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.

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.

Tips for writing timed essays: Plan your time wisely. Answer the right question. Collect your thoughts. Leave time to revise. Revise your thesis statement

 

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  • hi, i am confused on what my thesis staement should be for my racism essay?. my teacher told us it needs to be 10 pages in length. I have read alot of novels that are racially influenced. my plan was to describe some of the characters and how each displays racism..

  • Hi Mr. Jerz,

    I have to write a thesis for William Cullen Bryant's poem "To a Waterfowl" for a literature essay.

    My thesis is :To a waterfowl is an optomistic poem through the author's use of strength from the bird, power of nature, and a higher power from above.

    Is that ok? This is a literary analysis work.

    • To what extent is your thesis debatable? It doesn't take much interpretation to list important images in the poem, so your claim that the poem is optimistic (note spelling) is a step in the right direction. But is there any way a rational person could interpret the poem as pessimistic? Some birds can have negative connotations such as vultures or buzzards, nature can include destructive forces, and the Bible includes stories of God bringing destruction from the skies, but is any of that represented in the poem? Isn't a bird a part of nature? And the power of nature is, in poetry, often indistinguishable from the power of God, so there is some overlap in your categories.

  • I need help writing a thesis for THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain and I do not even know where to start.....

  • what kind of thesis sentence can i write for a romeo and juliet essay ??????:? i need helllppp

    • What interpretative issue in R & J is worth debating about? Are the protagonists too immature and impulsive to think clearly, or are they the victims of their parents' long-standing feud? If you believe in your answer 100%, and can't find lines in the play that support any different interpretation, you probably need to keep looking.

  • Please help me I really need your help. I am a citizen of US but i did my most schooling in India as per my choice, and I did alot of essays over there but the system n requirements are so different over here. I really don't know how to write a strong thesis.I have done 2 essay till now in my class n d response was not that good. But i really wanna do good in this one. We are writing literary analysis essay on the book Ordianry People-by Judith Guest and I choose to write about change that comes along the story. Like trying relate the change topic with daily life changes we humans go through and this is what made up as my thesis....
    'The only constant and elongated wavelength in every human’s life is modification” please tell me if it will work

    • My first reaction is that your thesis doesn't seem to relate to the book.

      How can a work of fiction, written by one person and featuring a handful of imaginary characters, prove something about every person in the world? As a literature professor, I ask my students to make claims about the author's fictional world, rather than use the book to try to prove something about the world, since the world doesn't need a work of fiction to justify itself.

      Do you mean that the book makes that argument? I haven't read it, so I can't help you there.

      Your instructor is really the best person to help, because I don't know how how he or she will grade your paper.

  • Hi Mr. Dennis i have a difficulties about how to make a thesis statement about cohabitation, can you help me to make a thesis statement about that topic ??

    • If you post a few different tries I'll let you know which I think is better.

  • I have an assignment and my first time write and I am confuse so can you help me with some format to accomplish my assignment.

    • Stanley, if there is something specific on this page that you find confusing, I'd be happy to help, but it sounds like you might want to talk to your instructor first.

  • Need help here.........im writing a thesis about greek mythology constellations help me

    • Without knowing what the purpose of the assignment is and how it's being evaluated, there is not much I can do for you. I am sure your instructor has put some guidelines into the description of the assignment.

    • Luis, the beginning of this page reads: "A thesis statement is the single, specific claim that your essay supports. A strong thesis answers the question you want to raise..."

  • Hi, I am writing a thesis essay on the book: The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. We are supposed to be writing a thesis essay about change - is my thesis statement strong enough and easy to write a thesis essay about?

    The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian shows that when someone changes their environment, that self-expression helps people overcome the adversity involved.

    • Can a work of fiction really "show" anything about the outside world? The novel you mention is one author's representation, his construction, his carefully built illusion. Characters in fiction are usually extraordinary in some way, but most of us in the real world are not. I am speaking from the perspective of a college professor trained in English literature. If I were assigning the book in order to teach high school social studies, or middle school reading skills, I might have a very different way of looking at your thesis.

      I certainly don't mind firing off an opinion, but since your teacher is the one who created the assignment, he or she is really the best person to ask.

      • I'm writing a thesis essay on the concept of changing self. I've altered my thesis a bit, but I'm not sure if it's easy to write a topic about it. Please comment on my thesis:

        The concept of changing self explored in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian shows that changing self is destined to happen, whether beneficial or not.

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