“I’m writing my thesis statement, but I’m not really sure where to begin.”
Have you ever felt this way? Most likely because you have never written a thesis before. A good thesis statement is what makes or breaks your essay. It makes it possible for the reader to understand what the point of the piece will be, while laying out the writer’s purpose. Moreover, it should convey that there are reasons to believe that specific claims are true and are worth reading about. There are several steps in creating a strong thesis statement. These steps should lead you into making one that is creative and unique while still being informative to others who read it. This article will guide you through these steps so that by the time you finish reading it you can have a great foundation for writing your first, second, or even third draft.
Step 1: Determine the information that you would like to convey
This is what will first come off of your tongue when you think about what you should write about in your thesis statement. This is the general idea that you want to express and what should be included in the rest of your piece. It helps if it’s written down, so doing this step can also mean writing down your ideas on paper or jotting them down on a notepad on your computer. Once these are set, they can begin forming into one central idea instead of being scattered all across the page with no direction at all. Write down everything that comes into mind, whether it makes sense or not, so that you have something to look back at later.
Step 2: Remove information that is irrelevant or unnecessary
Now go through your list of ideas again and see if any are able to be removed because they do not contribute to the central idea of the thesis statement. Hopefully, these are few because this step can be difficult for some who have trouble focusing on what will matter most in the end. You don’t want it to take away from your reader’s attention by making them think about other things instead of what you really want them to consider when reading your essay. This step should leave you with just a few sentences about what you should write out in more detail later.
Step 3: Pick one central idea
After completing both steps one and two you should have a pretty good idea of what deserves to be included in your thesis statement. There may only be one, or there could be many ideas that all tie together nicely. It’s usually best to pick the one that will make the most sense for your essay, but you can combine them if needed. Some people are able to write about several subjects at once while others are better off sticking with just one central idea. Try making a list of how each subject ties into your main topic so that it’s easier deciding which on is more important than the other(s).
Step 4: Rewrite and edit
Once you’ve come up with a central idea and combined any necessary details from step three, now comes the hard part. Rewriting and editing is what separates the good from the bad pieces of writing, but it’s also what makes them great. It’s an important step that should not be skipped over because it helps you to become more familiar with your piece and allows you to see where changes need to be made in order to make it better. If possible, show your work off to a friend or family member and get their opinion on whether or not they think any changes are necessary before publishing anything official about it.
Step 5: Add conclusions
After completing all of these steps, now comes one final step which can be easy if done right. All that needs to be added is a short summary that sums up everything that was written earlier in the piece. It should be a brief restatement of the thesis statement that you have already come up with and gives the reader an idea of where your piece is going. There may be more information to add, but it’s usually best if kept short so that your writing does not become boring or unfocused. You want it to sound creative and interesting without being too repetitive or having a character go off on a ramble about something else entirely. That defeats the purpose of making a strong thesis statement in the first place!
Now that you know how to write a strong thesis statement, use these five steps in creating one for yourself. Depending on what it is that you’re trying to convey, this could be easy or difficult which means some may take more time than others. It’s important that you take time to think about what it is that you want to say and how best to make a statement of purpose rather than just writing something random without a focus for your reader. Putting in the extra effort will help if this becomes a strong part of your essay’s body paragraphs as well, which is another essential part of any essay.
Remember: use these five steps but also keep some ideas on hand so that nothing gets forgotten or out-of-place! Keep track of both and then go back over them several times until it feels like you’ve got everything down pat. This means not rushing at all because there’s just no room for error here! Good luck with those thesis statements everyone!