Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.Īnticipate the counterarguments. Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction. A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. Once you have a working thesis, write it down. There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation-that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem-which is not a thesis.) Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should 'telegraph' how you plan to argue-that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.įirst, analyze your primary sources. Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be 'the best thing'?)Ī good thesis has two parts. It's impossible to weigh every 'thing' that ever happened in Europe.

(Superlatives like 'the best' almost always lead to trouble. 'The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe' is an opinion. 'Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe' is a fact known by educated people. 'Reasons for the fall of communism' is a topic. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be.'Īn effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no.' A thesis is not a topic nor is it a fact nor is it an opinion. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, 'This essay is going to try to convince me of something. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument.

Thesis another word for you