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The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a sentence in a paper or essay (in the opening paragraph) that introduces the main topic to the reader. As one of the first things your reader sees, your thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your entire paper—but also one of the hardest to write!

In this article, we explain how to write a thesis statement in the best way possible. We look at what to include and the steps to take for writing your own, along with plenty of thesis statement examples to guide you.

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What is a thesis statement?

The goal of a thesis statement is to let your reader know what your paper or essay is about. It helps your reader understand the greater context and scope of your topic, plus it lets your readers know what to expect from the rest of the work.

A secondary benefit of a thesis statement is that it makes it easier to search for papers on a particular topic, especially in the realm of academic writing like research papers and thesis papers (which are sometimes known as dissertations when written for doctoral degrees). For example, if you’re writing a paper of your own, you’ll want to look up other papers to use as evidence and sources . You can simply scan the thesis statements of several papers to see which match your topic and could be worthwhile sources to cite.

The thesis statement is located at the beginning of a paper, in the opening paragraph, making it an essential way to start an essay . A thesis statement isn’t necessarily the first sentence in an essay; typically you’ll want to hook the reader in an engaging way in the opening sentence before inserting your central idea or argument later in the first paragraph. A thesis statement is often confused with a topic sentence , the first sentence in a paragraph, because they both introduce the central idea of what follows. You can think of thesis statements as the topic sentence of your entire paper.

What to include in a thesis statement (with examples)

Thesis statements are a necessary part of paper and essay writing , but different formats have different rules and best practices. Below, we break down how to write a thesis statement for the most common types of papers.

How to write a thesis statement for expository and argumentative essays

Expository and argumentative essays are some of the most common types of academic papers. Because they don’t have a formal abstract like research papers, they rely on their thesis statements to provide an overview of what’s discussed.

Thesis statements for argumentative and expository essays should use strong and decisive language; don’t be wishy-washy or uncertain. You want to take a stand right in the opening so that your readers understand what your paper is trying to show.

Moreover, thesis statements for these essays should be specific, with some minor details to hint at the rest of the paper. It’s not enough to merely make your point; you also want to provide some basic evidence or background context to paint a full picture.

If your paper dives into different subtopics or categories, try to fit them into the thesis statement if you can. You don’t have to get into details here, but it’s nice to mention the different sections at the top so that the reader knows what to expect.

Thesis statement examples

Despite the taboo, insects make an excellent food source and could stem humanity’s looming food shortage, based on both their protein output and the sustainability of farming them.

The backlash to rock ’n’ roll music in the ’50s by religious groups and traditionalists actually boosted the genre’s popularity instead of diminishing it as intended.

How to write a thesis statement for persuasive essays

However, the main difference is that, while the thesis statements for argumentative and expository essays state facts, the thesis statements for persuasive essays state clear opinions . Still, the format is the same, and the opinions are often treated like facts, including conclusive language and citing evidence to support your claims.

Furthermore, unlike with other essays, it’s appropriate to make emotional connections in a thesis statement in persuasive essays. This can actually be a clever strategy to start your essay off on a more personal, impactful note.

Advertising should not be allowed in public schools because it’s a distraction from studies and may lead to misguided priorities among the school board, to say nothing of the materialist culture it promotes.

Exotic pets provide the same love and companionship as conventional pets, so the laws regulating which animals can and cannot be kept as pets should be more relaxed.

How to write a thesis statement for compare-and-contrast essays

Thesis statements for compare-and-contrast essays are tricky because you have at least two topics to touch on instead of just one. The same general guidelines apply (decisive language, details, etc.), but you need to give equal attention to both your topics—otherwise, your essay will seem biased from the start.

As always, your thesis statement should reflect what’s written in the rest of your essay. If your essay spends more time comparing than contrasting, your thesis statement should focus more on similarities than differences.

It sometimes helps to give specific examples as well, but keep them simple and brief. Save the finer details for the body of your essay.

Sean Connery and Daniel Craig are the two most popular actors to portray James Bond, but both have their own distinct and at times contradictory interpretations of the character.

While capitalism and communism are often viewed as diametric opposites, the truth is that, in practice, both ideologies tend to “borrow” principles from one another.

How to write a thesis statement in 3 steps

Now that you know what you’re aiming for, it’s time to sit down and write your own thesis statement. To keep you on track, here are three easy steps to guide you.

1 Brainstorm the best topic for your essay

You can’t write a thesis statement until you know what your paper is about, so your first step is choosing a topic.

If the topic is already assigned, great ! That’s all for this step. If not, consider the tips below for choosing the topic that’s best for you:

Once you’ve chosen a topic—and the angle or stance you want to take—then it’s time to put the idea for your thesis sentence into words.

2 Phrase your topic as a question and then answer it

It’s not always easy to fit your entire thesis into just one sentence, let alone one that’s written clearly and eloquently. Here’s a quick technique to help you get started.

First, phrase your topic as a question. For example, if you want to write about Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, ask yourself, “What influences did Gandhi have on society after his death?”

If you already know the answer, write it down—that’s a good start for your thesis statement. If you don’t know the answer, do some preliminary research to find out; you can certainly use what you discover as evidence and sources in your essay’s body paragraphs .

3 Add some polish

Chances are, your first attempt at a thesis statement won’t be perfect. To get it to its best, try revising , editing , and adding what’s missing.

Remember the core traits for thesis statements we mentioned above: decisive language, a happy medium of specific but not too specific details, and mention of subtopics. If you’re struggling to contain everything in a single sentence, feel free to move the secondary information to the following sentence. The thesis statement itself should only have what’s most necessary.

If you’re in doubt, read your thesis statement to a friend and ask them what they think your paper is about. If they answer correctly, your thesis statement does its job.

Next comes the hard part—writing the rest! While the bulk of the writing lies ahead, at least you’ve nailed down your central idea. To plot out your supporting argument, follow our advice on essay structure and let your ideas flow.

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How to write a thesis statement, what is a thesis statement.

Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement.

Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?

In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores.

How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement?

Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic.

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned

Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. For example, if your assignment is, “Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class,” turn the request into a question like, “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” After you’ve chosen the question your essay will answer, compose one or two complete sentences answering that question.

Q: “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” A: “The potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class are . . .”

A: “Using computers in a fourth-grade class promises to improve . . .”

The answer to the question is the thesis statement for the essay.

[ Back to top ]

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned

Even if your assignment doesn’t ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue you’d like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question you’d like to write about.

A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:

Let’s see how to generate a thesis statement for a social policy paper.

Brainstorm the topic . Let’s say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by changes in the dietary habits of Americans. You find that you are interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume.

You start out with a thesis statement like this:

Sugar consumption.

This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you want to say about sugar consumption.

Narrow the topic . Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the conclusion that elementary school children are consuming far more sugar than is healthy.

You change your thesis to look like this:

Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children.

This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one segment of the population: elementary school children. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree, because while most people might agree that children consume more sugar than they used to, not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. You should note that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions on the topic.

Take a position on the topic. After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what you really want to say about this topic is that something should be done to reduce the amount of sugar these children consume.

You revise your thesis statement to look like this:

More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school children.

This statement asserts your position, but the terms more attention and food and beverage choices are vague.

Use specific language . You decide to explain what you mean about food and beverage choices , so you write:

Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar.

This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. It merely reports a statistic instead of making an assertion.

Make an assertion based on clearly stated support. You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this:

Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.

Notice how the thesis answers the question, “What should be done to reduce sugar consumption by children, and who should do it?” When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights.

How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

1. a strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand..

Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:

There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.

This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague.

Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific.

2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.

Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements:

My family is an extended family.

This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.

While most American families would view consanguineal marriage as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.

This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point.

3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.

Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:

Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.

This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages. To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:

Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support.

This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like because , since , so , although , unless , and however .

4. A strong thesis statement is specific.

A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say:

World hunger has many causes and effects.

This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages. Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:

Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.

This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger.

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Developing Strong Thesis Statements

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The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

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Thesis sentence example

First, we will list the basics of my thesis about the future.

Withers had proposed a disputation against vestments, which the university would not allow; his thesis affirming the excommunicating power of the presbytery was sustained.

The central apologetic thesis is the uniqueness of the "only-begotten"; it is here that " the supernatural " passes into the substance of Christian faith.

Laud early took up a position of antagonism to the Calvinistic party in the church, and in 1604 was reproved by the authorities for maintaining in his thesis for the degree of B.D.

As much as I would like to continue with speculations about molecular-sized machines, I have a larger thesis to prove.

Magnus, he turned his attention to physics, and graduated in 1864 with a thesis on the depolarization of light.

So inefficient, indeed, were the reforms as a whole, and so unsuited to the national character and customs, that the Slavophil critics of a later date could maintain plausibly the paradoxical thesis that in regard to internal administration Peter was anything but a national benefactor.

He studied at Berlin University, where he obtained the degree of doctor of philosophy in 1825, his thesis being an analytical discussion of the theory of fractions.

These antinomies are four - two mathematical, two dynamical - connected with (I) the limitation of the universe in respect of space and time, (2) the theory that the whole consists of indivisible atoms (whereas, in fact, none such exist), (3) the problem of freedom in relation to universal causality, (4) the existence of a universal being - about each of which pure reason contradicts the empirical, as thesis and antithesis.

The opposite thesis was maintained by Baronius (Annales Ecclesiastici, 1588 ff.), whose work was continued by a number of Roman Catholic scholars.

According to him, the Ego posits first itself ( thesis ); secondly, the non-Ego, the other, opposite to itself (antithesis); and, thirdly, this non-Ego within itself (synthesis), so that all reality is in consciousness.

This consisted in the delivery of a speech and the defence of a thesis on some point of law, selected by the candidate, against opponents selected from among the students.

His main thesis is that the actions of men cannot be divided into lower and higher.

Ingenious as this is, there is really very slender ground for Kirchhoff's thesis .

It was to sustain Augustine's thesis that Orosius produced in 417 his Historiarum libri septem, which remained the standard text-book on world history during the middle ages.

In 1793 he contributed to Paulus's Memorabilien a paper "Ãœber Mythus, historische Sagen, and Philosopheme der altesten Welt"; and in 1795 his thesis for his theological degree was DeMarcione Paullinarum epistolarum emendatore.

He was educated at the University of Halle, and was made doctor of philosophy in recognition of his thesis De Xenophane, Zenone et Gorgia.

The medieval candidate for the doctorate in medicine, although required to have attended practice before presenting himself, discussed as his thesis a purely theoretical question, often semi-theological in character, of which as an extreme example may be quoted " whether Adam had a navel."

For the doctorate in law, a thesis and two oral examinations are required.

His French thesis for the doctorate of letters, Etude sur les pamphlets politiques et religieux de Milton (1848), showed that he was attracted towards foreign history, a study for which he soon qualified himself by mastering the Germanic and Scandinavian languages.

In 1878 he followed his thesis by a study called Les Cours royales Bans les Iles N ormandes.

For this latter purpose he had chosen as his thesis the constitution of the free Lombard cities in the middle ages, the province in which he was destined to do most for the scientific study of history.

But he failed in establishing either thesis .

Its conclusions are predetermined, and the initiative of the individual thinker is almost confined, therefore, to formal details in the treatment of his thesis .

In organic chemistry, his study of the ketones and aldehydes, begun in 1857, provided him with the subject of his other doctoral thesis .

But third, we have now an absolute antithesis to our original thesis .

In the faculty of sciences a candidate for the doctorate may submit two theses, or else submit one thesis and undergo an oral examination.

In the faculty of medicine there is no licentiateship, but for the doctorate six examinations must be passed and a thesis submitted.

For the doctor's degree (where this is not an honorary distinction) a thesis or dissertation is generally, though not in.

Of recent years the Thesls thesis has been introduced into lower examinations; it is required for the master's degree at London in the case of internal students, in subjects other than mathematics (1910); both at Oxford and London, the B.Sc. degree, and at Cambridge the B.A.

His student life was, however, broken by the pope's command to preach to the English in Rome; and a course of his lectures, On the Connexion between Science and Revealed Religion, deservedly attracted much attention, his general thesis being that whereas scientific teaching has repeatedly been thought to disprove Christian doctrine, further investigation has shown that a reconstruction is possible.

What is required, therefore, is to readjust our original thesis in such a way as to include and give expression to both the elements in the process.

From Gottingen he proceeded to Berlin, where he graduated in 1833 as doctor with the thesis De tabulis Eugubinis.

But when men set themselves to cultivate skill in disputation, regarding the matter discussed not as a serious issue, but as a thesis upon which to practise their powers of controversy, they learn to pursue, not truth, but victory; and, their criterion of excellence having been thus perverted, they presently prefer ingenious fallacy to solid reasoning and the applause of bystanders to the consciousness of honest effort.

Fichte cannot be said to have developed a logic, but this rhythm of thesis , antithesis and synthesis, foreshadowed in part for Fichte in Spinoza's formula, " omnis determinatio est negatio," and significantly in Kant's triadic grouping of his categories, gave a cue to the thought of Hegel.

Regarding evil simply as privation, Eckhart does not make it the pivot of his thought, as was afterwards done by Boehme; but his notion of the Godhead as a dark and formless essence is a favourite thesis of theosophy.

The leading thesis seems to have been that all the great religions of the world originated from the same supreme source, and that they were all to be regarded as so many divers expressions of one and the same fundamental truth, or "Wisdom Religion," in such form and dress as was best adapted to suit the times and the people for whose spiritual growth and development religious instruction was required.

On leaving the Erasmus school at Rotterdam he gave proof of his ability by an Oratio scholastica de medicina (1685), and at Leiden University in 1689 he maintained a thesis De brutorum operationibus, in which he advocated the Cartesian theory of automatism among animals.

Wimmer supports his thesis with great learning and ingenuity, and when allowance is made for the fact that a script to be written upon wood, as the runes were, of necessity avoids horizontal lines which run along the fibres of the wood, and would therefore be indistinct, most of the runic signs thus receive a plausible explanation.

His valedictory thesis at the Ecole des Chartes, Serie chronologique des gardiens et seigneurs des Iles Normandes (1876), was a definitive work and but slightly affected by later research.

An important motif in magico-religious ritual, which may not have been without effect on the development of sacrifice, is, as Dr Frazer's main thesis in The Golden Bough asserts, the imparting of reproductive energy to animals, plants and man himself, its cessation being suggested by such phenomena as old age and the fall of the year.

In 1842 he wrote a thesis in which he announced the discovery of nerve-cells in ganglia.

The thesis is less interesting to a modern reader - because now generally acknowledged - than the argument by which it is supported.

He received the degree of doctor of law in 1836, and in 1838 that of doctor of letters with a thesis on Dante, which was the beginning of one of his best-known books.

He confessed that his object was "to prove the contrary thesis to Gibbon's," and, although any historian who begins with the desire to prove a thesis is quite sure to go more or less wrong, Ozanam no doubt administered a healthful antidote to -the prevalent notion, particularly amongst English-speaking peoples, that the Catholic church had done far more to enslave than to elevate the human mind.

Dodwell's ingenious thesis , that Christianity is not founded on argument, was certainly not meant as an aid to faith; and, though its starting-point is different from all other deistical works, it may safely be reckoned amongst their number.

They are always written in the author's highest style, a style perfectly eloquent and unaffected; they can only be interpreted (on the free-thinking hypothesis) as allegorical with the greatest difficulty and obscurity, and it is pretty certain that no one reading the book without a thesis to prove would dream of taking them in a non-natural sense.

Both the deposed pontiffs protested against the legality of the council of Pisa; each had numerous partisans, and the thesis , constructed rather to meet the exigencies of the case,.

He became aspirant repetiteur at the lycee of Rheims in 1853, and after holding several intermediate positions was appointed in 1862 to the professorship of chemistry in Sens lycee, where he prepared the thesis on electromotive force which gained him his doctor's degree at Paris in the following year.

The thesis written for his doctorate, Application de l'analyse chimique a la toxicologic (1859), was followed by many papers on chemistry contributed to learned journals, and his Principes de chimie fondes sur les theories modernes (1865) reached its 5th edition in 1890.

Wycliffe at a later period of his life developed views on doctrinal matters, not connected with his original thesis about the relations between Church and State, and foreshadowed most of the leading tenets of the reformers of the 16th century.

Having obtained the degree of doctor of letters in 1877 with a Latin thesis upon C. Asinius Pollion and a French one upon Giacomo Leopardi (whose works he subsequently translated into French), he made a study of parliamentary oratory during the French Revolution, and published two volumes upon Les Orateurs de la constituante (1882) and upon Les Orateurs de la legislative et de la convention (1885).

Not twenty years after Luther's defiance of the pope, the startling thesis " that all that Aristotle taught was false " was prosperously maintained by the youthful Ramus before the university of Paris; and almost contemporaneously the group of remarkable thinkers in Italy who heralded the dawn of modern physical science - Cardanus, Telesio, Patrizzi, Campanella, Bruno - began to propound their Aristotelian theories of the constitution of the physical universe.

But the quasi-theistic assumption that what is natural must be reasonable remained in the minds of Hobbes's most docile readers, and in combination with his thesis that egoism is natural, tended to produce results which were dangerous to social well-being.

Taylor is more persuasive when he is developing his second main thesis - that of the alleged existence of an ultimate dualism in the nature of morality.

In 1875 he published a thesis on the mythology of the Zend Avesta, and in 1877 became teacher of Zend at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes.

Mr. Arlen was a skinny wimp who introduced himself as the author and publisher of the bestselling novel Responsible Drunkdom, his thesis and contention being drunkenness was much maligned in our society.

The center has also supported a PhD thesis on the legal consequences of having the directives implemented.

She is currently writing up her thesis on the feasibility of using virtual reality to treat amblyopia.

In the experimental part of this thesis , a novel method of visualizing flow in a rotating two-layer annulus is implemented.

Be wary of pursuing blind alleys which are not directed toward the principal goals of your thesis plan.

The statement that the ' effectively calculable ' is equivalent to the scope of Turing machines is now generally known as the Church-Turing thesis .

Overview of the thesis Chapter 2 is an introduction to stochastic calculus.

Suppose that you want to publish a PhD thesis on how to wash clothes using your brand of washing machine.

Peacocke himself has recently accepted that arguments from animal cognition do indeed force the acceptance of the Autonomy Thesis (Peacocke 2002 ).

Secondly, there is the more complex technique of presenting counterarguments to the thesis propounded, and then offering arguments which defeat those counterarguments.

Her PhD thesis examines the determinants of the accuracy of analyst earnings forecasts in the UK.

The Three Card Tarot Exercise can be analyzed using the Hegelian dialectic of thesis , antithesis and synthesis.

My thesis title is Studies on the biogenic mediation of sediment dynamics in coastal systems.

My interest in systems was complemented by one in the applied econometrics of aggregation, another aspect of my PhD thesis .

What more can I say, other than that the experience of writing up my thesis is proving quite enjoyable.

Spent the next sixteen years in general veterinary practice being awarded the Fellowship of the RCVS for his thesis entitled Dystocia in the Sow.

Hundreds of anime fans clubbing to sounds of Cruel Angel Thesis on the dancefloor?

The title of my thesis was The modeling of solid oxide fuel cells for power generation, ' writes Ben Todd.

This will be a very brief glimpse of the last chapter of my thesis for about twenty minutes.

What has changed since the " Star Wars " era is that Bush has accepted the experts ' potentially heretical thesis .

The thesis focuses on the development of techniques for the optimal use of the sophisticated instrumentation.

This was an award of postgraduate standard conferred on the presentation of a sufficiently meritorious thesis .

If we follow Iglesias's thesis , this runs from comfortable, bourgeois irrelevance to casual misogyny.

The thesis must be a scholarly monograph dealing mainly with a Canadian topic.

This observation best reflects Lucking's thesis that language is an " unnamed protagonist " in the plays.

My thesis is on the automated assessment of total hip replacements from anteroposterior radiographs.

Ms Fowler is involved in two comparative projects related to her thesis research, on the post-communist centre-right and the 2003 accession referendums.

Challenging some tenets of the resilience thesis , this article seeks to broaden the discussion of welfare-state retrenchment.

The degree requires the preparation of a thesis not exceeding 80,000 words, which must be worthy of publication by a learned society.

The channel sounder is described in detail in my Sub-Surface Communications Book, which is based on my PhD thesis .

But even a less than full belief in an epistemological thesis which showed theism to be unjustified would be damaging.

In many subjects candidates for these degrees are also required to submit a short thesis .

A Doctorate is awarded on the basis of defending a thesis (tesis) as in the UK.

Pinker isn't writing a doctoral thesis or even a research report.

The library does not permit the copying of any unpublished thesis without the prior permission of the author.

Also working on an ma thesis on the impact of off-road vehicles on sensitive areas within the National Park.

This is achieved by theoretical investigation, with readings in cognitive neuropsychology, practice of the relevant research methods, and a research-based thesis .

Depending on the nature of the thesis , students may also be allocated an additional ' thesis supervisor ' .

Hahn was appointed to the teaching staff in Vienna as a privatdozent in 1905 after submitting his habilitation thesis .

The effort will be well worthwhile, not least to appreciate Lyon's radical critique of the secularization thesis .

I wasn't sure then, if I would write my diploma thesis here.

Donate Your thesis Would you like your postgraduate thesis or dissertation on the moving image to reach a wider audience?

Much unhappiness is caused by students ending up with masses of research material, no money, and most of the thesis still unwritten.

Chapter Thesis The conception of welfare used by preference utilitarians and many modern welfare economists is that of want-satisfaction.

On Monday, Neil Pemberton passed the viva for his PhD thesis on the construction of deafness in Britain.

Suppose that you want to publish a PhD thesis on how to wash clothes using your brand of wash clothes using your brand of washing machine.

His thesis on that occasion was devoted to a question in organic chemistry, for he held the opinion that the study of chemistry is an indispensable preliminary to the pursuit of physics, which was his ultimate aim.

When he revised the book in 1875, his modifications were very slight, and it is conceivable that, had he recast it, as he often expressed the desire to do in the last years of his life, he would not have abandoned any part of his fundamental thesis .

Michel Le Tellier having ordered him to refute a thesis of the college of Clermont on the infallibility of the pope, Marca wrote a treatise which was most Gallican in its ideas, but refused to publish it for fear of drawing down "the indignation of Rome."

To him was indirectly due, in the main, that troubling of the Realistic waters which resulted in so many modifications of the original thesis ; and his own somewhat eclectic ruling on the question in debate came to be tacitly accepted in the schools, as the ardour of the disputants began to abate after the middle of the century.

At the Ecole des Chartes, where his career was remarkably brilliant, his valedictory thesis was an Essai sur les revenus publics en Normandie au XII' siÃ¨cle (1849), and it was to the history of his native province that he devoted his early works.

And yet the Roman Catholic Church had upon its hands one great unsettled question - the thesis of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin.

Studien aus Wurttemberg (1888), p. 36 seq.; Nardin, "Essai sur les prophetes de l'eglise primitive," Thesis , (Paris, 1888); Weinel, "Die Wirkungen des Geistes and der Geister im nachapostolischen Zeitalter bis auf I renaeus," (1899); Selwyn, "The Christian Prophets 1 See Lucian's story about Peregrinus, and that chapter of the OcSax,i where the author labours to establish criteria for distinguishing false prophets from true.

In 1793 he contributed to Paulus's Memorabilien a paper "ÃƒÅ“ber Mythus, historische Sagen, and Philosopheme der altesten Welt"; and in 1795 his thesis for his theological degree was DeMarcione Paullinarum epistolarum emendatore.

There is also a special doctorate, the " doctorat d'Universite," awarded on a thesis and an oral examination; and there are diplomas (Diplo nes d'Etudes superieures) awarded on dissertations and examinations on subjects in philosophy, history and geography, classics or modern languages, selected mainly by the candidate and approved by the faculty.

Thesis , antithesis and synthesis, a Fichtean formula, is generalized by Hegel into the perpetual law of thought.

His graduation thesis was on the ambitious subject of " the historical development of epidemic and contagious diseases all over the world, with the laws of their diffusion," which showed the influence of Schonlein.

Its doctrinal thesis (which is supported with great philosophic acumen and rhetorical power) is the divinity and consubstantiality of the Word; incidentally the character of Basil, which Eunomius had aspersed, is vindicated, and the heretic himself is held up to scorn and contempt.

These analytical methods of research were well known to the second Monro in Edinburgh, and to his pupils, one of whom, William Alexander, wrote a thesis in 1790 entitled "De partibus corporis animalis quae viribus opii parent."

In this thesis we also implement a relaxation oscillator of van der Pol type into an autoparametric system.

His doctoral thesis was concerned with the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in semiconductor heterostructures.

Three softbound copies of the thesis should be prepared.

Students who go beyond the four-year thesis submission deadline will not be allowed to keep their desk.

Hmm that 's interesting tho, so do you expect supervisors to weed out the plagiarism and before submission of thesis .

I am presently supervising a doctoral thesis on Stephen King.

Unpublished master 's thesis , University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Pinker is n't writing a doctoral thesis or even a research report.

Depending on the nature of the thesis , students may also be allocated an additional ' thesis supervisor '.

The effort will be well worthwhile, not least to appreciate Lyon 's radical critique of the secularization thesis .

I was n't sure then, if I would write my diploma thesis here.

Thesis topic i lawsuits and divorce as saying i said to be.

But hard comparisons raise the issue of the truth of the trichotomy thesis , and it has been challenged in two ways.

The Christian doctrine of the triune creator God cannot be verified scientifically, it is a theological idea, not a scientific thesis .

Would you want to be treated by a doctor who cheated her way through biology or have your children taught by a teacher who bought his/her senior thesis ?

Some will include a thesis , which is similar to a dissertation, but it will be shorter and require less research.

If the graduate course requires a thesis , then the research, the presentation and the level of the work must be up to graduate-level standards.

Thesis work helps students combine these critical areas of learning, and makes it possible for professional designers to take their work to the next level.

Students are not required to take a final test or to complete a master's level thesis as part of the requirements to complete this degree.

Rather than writing a thesis , all students are required to create a final Engineering Report.

A dissertation in support of a thesis on public health issues is also a typical requirement at the completion of the degree program.

The game is actually part of a thesis developed by developers at the University of Southern California.

Its overt thesis is that there are some studies, such as the creation of life, that should be left solely to the province of God the Creator.

Sandburg believes that Ellison is the living embodiment of his thesis topic, a Sentinel.

The more celebrated and central thesis of the book - this finite universe, the best of all such that are possible - also restates positions of Augustine and Aquinas.

This thesis he further developed in a magazine article written in view of the colonial conference held in London in 1907.

On the occasion of his inauguration he maintained for thesis De Sacerdotio Christi.

On the occasion of taking his degree (1536) he actually took as his thesis "Everything that Aristotle taught is false."

The student desiring to proceed to the doctorate is free from examinations thereafter until he presents his thesis for the doctor's degree,' when, if it is accepted, he is submitted to a public oral examination not only in his principal subject (Haupt f ach), but also as a rule in two or more collateral subjects (Nebenfeicher).

Among the other works of Griesbach (which are comparatively unimportant) may be mentioned his university thesis De codicibus quatuor evangelistarum Origenianis (Halle, 1771) and a work upon systematic theology (Anleitung zur Kenntniss der popularen Dogmatik, Jena, 1779).

Unpublished master's thesis , University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

And it is hard to say whether Lamarck or Treviranus has the priority in propounding the main thesis of the doctrine of evolution; for though the first volume of Treviranus's Biologie appeared only in 1802, he says, in the preface to his later work, the Erscheinungen and Gesetze des organischen Lebens, dated 1831, that he wrote the first volume of the Biologie " nearly five-and-thirty years ago," or about 1796.

In 1669, when the chair of philosophy at the College Royal fell vacant, one of the four selected candidates had to sustain a thesis against " the pretended new philosophy of Descartes."

Meckel proceeds to exemplify the thesis , that the lower forms of animals represent stages in the course of the development of the higher, with a large series of illustrations.

His Reasonableness of Christianity (1695) is the thesis of " a whole century " of theologians.

While this sceptical thesis was embraced by philosophers who had lost their interest in religion, the spiritually minded sought their satisfaction more and more in a mysticism which frequently cast itself loose from ecclesiastical trammels.

Young Adams graduated from Harvard College in 1740, and three years later, on attaining the degree of A.M., chose for his thesis , "Whether it be Lawful to resist the Supreme Magistrate, if the Commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved."

After the Franco-Prussian War Lavisse studied the development of Prussia and wrote Etude sur l'une des origines de la monarchie prussienne, ou la Marche de Brandebourg sous la dynastie ascanienne, which was his thesis for his doctor's degree in 1875, and Etudes sur l'histoire de la Prusse (1879).

Some have questioned whether Friedman's thesis is 100 percent true, mentioning NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia as a potential exception.

His graduation thesis , published in 1819, on the history of the Merovingian mayors of the palace, attracted the attention of Baron Stein, by whom he was engaged in 1820 to edit the Carolingian chroniclers for the newly-founded Historical Society of Germany.

This thesis he sustained brilliantly in his Histoire des institutions politiques de l'ancienne France, the first volume of which appeared in 1874.

This conception of will, though consistent and convenient to the main thesis , must be rigidly distinguished from the ordinary significance of will, i.e.

For his degree as doctor he presented a thesis on the Histoire poetique de Charlemagne (1865).

At the Ecole des Chartes, where his career was remarkably brilliant, his valedictory thesis was an Essai sur les revenus publics en Normandie au XII' siècle (1849), and it was to the history of his native province that he devoted his early works.

In Part II., ch i., he makes three assumptions about the senses, and, without stopping to prove them, or even to make them consistent, deduces from them his thesis that the evidence of the senses is not a foundation of belief in Nature.

Presently, labeling of GMO content isn't a requirement—and since labeling is a complex and controversial issue that has no bearing on my thesis , I will pass it by.

After studying law for a time he took up medicine; his graduation thesis De Somno was well received.

She wrote a la diable, starting with some central thesis to set forth or some problem to investigate, but with no predetermined plot or plan of action.

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The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

If you’ve ever summed up your feelings about your favorite croissant or reflected on the moral of a story about your grandfather, you’re already familiar with the basics of a thesis! There are some nuances, but you already have the foundations of thesis statements in mind. With a little refining, you’ll have no problems coming up with a thesis for your next essay.

Unsurprisingly, graduate school is immensely challenging, forcing you to learn some real skills that will help you in your career while building new connections with other people in your field. If it was easy, everyone would have a graduate degree, but to really prove that you learned something in your graduate studies, schools will require you to write a dissertation or thesis to move on to the next phase of your life. But what is a dissertation or thesis?

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How To Write A Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is the most important part of an essay. It’s the roadmap, telling the reader what they can expect to read in the rest of paper, setting the tone for the writing, and generally providing a sense of the main idea.

Because it is so important, writing a good thesis statement can be tricky.

Before we get into the specifics, let’s review the basics: what thesis statement means. Thesis is a fancy word for “the subject of an essay” or “a position in a debate.” And a statement , simply, is a sentence (or a couple of sentences).

Taken together, a thesis statement explains your subject or position in a sentence (or a couple of sentences). Depending on the kind of essay you’re writing, you’ll need to make sure that your thesis statement states your subject or position clearly.

While the phrase thesis statement can sound intimidating, the basic goal is to clearly state your topic or your argument . Easy peasy!

The basic rules for writing a thesis statement are:

Now comes the good stuff: the breakdown of how to write a good thesis statement for an informational essay and then for an argumentative essay (Yes, there are different types of thesis statements: check them all out here ). While the approach is similar for each, they require slightly different statements.

Informational essay thesis statements

The objective of an informational essay is to inform your audience about a specific topic. Sometimes, your essay will be in response to a specific question. Other times, you will be given a subject to write about more generally.

In an informational essay , you are not arguing for one side of an argument, you are just providing information.

Essays that are responding to a question

Often, you will be provided with a question to respond to in informational essay form. For example:

If you are given a question or prompt, use it as a starting point for your thesis statement. Remember, the goal of a thesis statement in an informational essay is to state your topic.

You can use some of the same vocabulary and structure from the questions to create a thesis statement. Drop the question words (like who , what , when , where , and why ). Then, use the keywords in the question or prompt to start your thesis statement. Be sure to include because if the question asks “why?”

Check out the following example using the first prompt:

Original question : Who is your hero and why? Drop the question words : Who is your hero and why? Answer the question using the key words : My hero is Amelia Earhart, because she was very brave, did things many women of her time did not do, and was a hard worker.

If we were to write the rest of the essay based on this thesis statement, the outline would look something like this:

Introduction : My hero is Amelia Earhart, because she was very brave, did things many women of her time did not do, and was a hard worker. Body paragraph 1 : Details about how Amelia Earhart was brave Body paragraph 2 : Details about how she did things many women of her time did not do Body paragraph 3 : Details about how she was a hard worker Conclusion: It is clear that Amelia Earhart was a brave woman who accomplished many things that women of her time did not do, and always worked hard. These are the reasons why she is my hero.

These general guidelines work for other thesis statements, with some minor differences.

Essays that are responding to a statement or given subject

If you aren’t given a specific question to respond to, it can be a little more difficult to decide on a thesis statement. However, there are some tricks you can use to make it easier.

Some examples of prompts that are not questions are:

For these, we recommend using one of the following sentence starters to write your thesis with:

As an example of how to use these sentence starters, we’ve put together some examples using the first prompt: Write about your favorite sports team.

Any one of these thesis statements (or all three!) could be used for an informational essay about the Pittsburgh Steelers football team and their impact on the history and culture of Pittsburgh.

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Argumentative essay thesis statements

The basic building blocks of an informational essay also apply when it comes to an argumentative essay . However, an argumentative essay requires that you take a position on an issue or prompt.

You then have to attempt to persuade your reader that your argument is the best. That means that your argumentative thesis statement needs to do two things:

Some examples of argumentative essay prompts are:

In order to create a good thesis statement for an argumentative essay, you have to be as specific as possible about your position and your evidence. Let’s take a look at the first prompt as an example:

Prompt 1: Should high school students be required to do volunteer work? Why or why not? Bad thesis statement: No, I don’t think high school students should be required to do volunteer work because it’s boring. Good thesis statement: I think high school students should not be required to do volunteer work because it takes time away from their studies, provides more barriers to graduation, and does not encourage meaningful volunteer work.

Let’s look at a couple other examples:

Prompt 2: What is the best way to cook a turkey? Bad thesis statement: The best way to cook a turkey is the way my grandma does it. Good thesis statement: The best way to cook a turkey is using my grandmother’s recipe: brining the turkey beforehand, using a dry rub, and cooking at a low temperature.

Prompt 3: Some argue that video games are bad for society. Do you agree? Why or why not? Bad thesis statement: Video games aren’t bad for society, because they’re super fun. Good thesis statement: Video games aren’t bad for society because they encourage cooperation, teach problem-solving skills, and provide hours of cheap entertainment.

Do you notice the difference between the good thesis statements and the bad thesis statements? The bad statements are general, not specific. They also use very casual language. The good statements clearly lay out exactly what aspects of the argument your essay will focus on, in a professional manner.

By the way, this same principle can also be applied to informational essay thesis statements. Take a look at this example for an idea:

Prompt: What are the three branches of government, and what do each of them do? Bad thesis statement: There are many branches of government that do many different things. Good thesis statement: Each of the three branches of government—the executive, the legislative, and the judicial—have different primary responsibilities. However, these roles frequently overlap.

In addition to being more specific than the bad thesis statement, the good thesis statement here is an example of how sometimes your thesis statement may require two sentences.

Final thoughts

A thesis statement is the foundation of your essay. However, sometimes as you’re writing, you find that you’ve deviated from your original statement. Once you’ve finished writing your essay, go back and read your thesis statement. Ask yourself:

Don’t hesitate to edit your thesis statement if it doesn’t meet all three of these criteria. If it does, great! You’ve crafted a solid thesis statement that effectively guides the reader through your work. Now on to the rest of the essay!

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A Good Thesis Statement Should Apex
Makes a claim, or backs up an opinion, to change other peoples' minds.
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How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples - Scribbr
How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Step 1: Start with a question. You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis, early in the writing process. As soon as ... Step 2: Write your initial answer. Step 3: Develop your answer. Step 4: Refine your thesis ...
How to Write a Thesis Statement | Grammarly Blog
A thesis statement is a sentence in a paper or essay (in the opening paragraph) that introduces the main topic to the reader. As one of the first things your reader sees, your thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your entire paper—but also one of the hardest to write!
Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips - Purdue ...
1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing: An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience. An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
How to Write a Thesis Statement - Writing Tutorial Services
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One. 1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand. Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you ... 2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. 3. A strong thesis statement expresses ...
Strong Thesis Statements - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University
Developing Strong Thesis Statements Establishing Arguments Using Research and Evidence Organizing Your Argument Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion Developing Strong Thesis Statements The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim.
Use thesis in a sentence | The best 163 thesis sentence examples
Thesis sentence example thesis Meanings Synonyms Sentences First, we will list the basics of my thesis about the future. 345 78 Withers had proposed a disputation against vestments, which the university would not allow; his thesis affirming the excommunicating power of the presbytery was sustained. 22 13
How To Write A Strong Thesis Statement | Thesaurus.com
For these, we recommend using one of the following sentence starters to write your thesis with: In this essay, I will … [Subject] is interesting/relevant/my favorite because … Through my research, I learned that …