Developing a thesis statement for a research paper

Developing a thesis statement for a research paper

Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write down your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident We all know that thesis for a research paper is very important. Thesis statement conveys the main debatable idea - the last sentence or two of your introduction. You need to make your thesis clear. If not, you may feel frustrated when your teacher asks what the main ideas of your writing were after all hours you spent developing the research paper Now that you're familiar with the story or novel and have developed a thesis statement, you're ready to choose the evidence you'll use to support your thesis. There are a lot of good ways to do this, but all of them depend on a strong thesis for their direction. For example: Here's a student's thesis about Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent

Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement – Writing for Success

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction.

This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid. Once you've read the story or novel closely, look back over your notes for patterns of questions or ideas that interest you. Have most of your questions been about the characters, developing a thesis statement for a research paper, how they develop or change? For example: If you are reading Conrad's The Secret Agentdo you seem to be most interested in what the author has to say about society?

Choose a pattern of ideas and express it in the form of a question and an answer such as the following:. Question: What does Conrad seem to be suggesting about early twentieth-century London society in his novel The Secret Agent? Answer: Conrad suggests that all classes of society are corrupt.

Pitfalls: Choosing too many ideas. Choosing an idea without any support. Once you have some general points to focus on, write your possible ideas and answer the questions that they suggest.

For example: Question: How does Conrad develop the idea that all classes of society are corrupt? Answer: He uses images of beasts and cannibalism whether he's developing a thesis statement for a research paper socialites, policemen or secret agents. To write your thesis statement, all you have to do is turn the question and answer around. You've already given the answer, now just put it in a sentence or a couple of sentences so that the thesis of your paper is clear.

For example: In his novel, The Secret AgentConrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other.

This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth-century London society. Now that you're familiar with the story or novel and have developed a thesis statement, you're ready to choose the evidence you'll use to support your thesis. There are a lot of good ways to do this, but all of them depend on a strong thesis for their direction.

For example: Here's a student's thesis about Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent. This thesis focuses on the idea of social corruption and the device of imagery. To support this thesis, you would need to find images of beasts and cannibalism within the text.

Find Info For Developing a thesis statement for a research paper Info For Academics Admissions Current Students Athletics About Careers Prospective Students Research and Partnerships Quick Links Apply News President Shop Visit Give Emergency.

Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts. Writing Lab Purdue OWL Research Contact Site Map. Subject-Specific Writing Writing in Literature Writing About Fiction.

Welcome to the Purdue OWL This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. Developing a Thesis Summary: This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. In his novel, The Secret AgentConrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other.

How to write a thesis for beginners

, time: 3:44

Developing a Thesis // Purdue Writing Lab

A thesis statement is one sentence that expresses the main idea of a research paper or essay, When developing your one-sentence thesis statement, it is important for you to be: specific, specific, specific. Write your thesis statement once and then rewrite it again with greater specificity Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement. 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.; An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies 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