One of the most important part of your academic journey is thesis writing; a thesis writing is the final stage of a research work which may span over two or more semesters depending on your research project, school or Programme. However this article is not centered on that but on how to write a good thesis statement; a thesis statement here refers to an interpretation of the significance of a subject matter under discussion, or simply put, a statement that summarize your position on a subject under discussion.
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How to Write a Good Thesis Statement; 3 easy Steps
What is a thesis statement?
Let say, you are writing an essay on the cause of insecurity in your community, you have listed out some questions that your essay seek to address and you have also listed the possible causes of insecurity in the community, after completing your essay; your readers or listeners will need a short road map to understand your essay. This short roadmap which tells the readers or listeners what to expect from your paper is called a thesis statement. A thesis statement is also a simple sentence that answer the question you raised before starting your write up/presentation.
Example of a Thesis Statement
- Although there are different causes of insecurity; poverty, unemployment, bad government policies are top on the list.
- Street Cameras are total breach of privacy and constitute a great nuisance to the public, thus should be ban.
- No matter how technical the world gets, real connection happens through people.
Types of Thesis Statement
They are majorly 2 types of thesis statement, they include:
- Argumentative
- Explanatory
Things to note before writing a thesis statement
- Collate and list out all evidence regarding the subject matter
- Find possible relationships (e.g., similarities) between popular facts and your conclusion,
- Outline the significance of the similarities/contrast between your conclusion and the popular facts
Step in Writing a good thesis statement
- Step 1: Start with a question or your conclusion: Starting with a question will give your audience or readers, a little insight on what you want to say and inspires their interest in waiting to hear the answers to the questions. Starting with your conclusion will also inspires your audience to want to know why you came to that conclusion
- Step 2: Write your initial answer: Follow up with your answer to your question or why you came to the conclusion.
- Step 3: Develop your answer: Build on the question or your the reasons for your conclusion.
Questions to ask after writing your thesis statement
- Is my thesis statement specific enough?
- Can my statement evoke argument/discussion?
- Can it guide readers/listeners through the paper?
- Am I confident with the outcome?
- Are the choice of words correct?
It is good to have a closing checklist that will guide your final decision when you are reviewing the thesis statement.
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