What this handout is aboutThis handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft. Show
IntroductionWriting in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper. What is a thesis statement?A thesis statement:
If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.) How do I create a thesis?A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming. How do I know if my thesis is strong?If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following:
ExamplesSuppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:
You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.
After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:
This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters. Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:
You begin to analyze your thesis:
Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of
storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children.
After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:
This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation. Works consultedWe consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback. Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers, 6th ed. New York: Longman. Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook, 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s. Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, 8th ed. New York: Pearson. Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers, 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education. You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Make a Gift What expresses the theme or central idea of a speech?The thesis statement expresses the goal of the speech, whereas the specific purpose statement expresses the theme or central idea of the speech.
Is the thesis statement the theme or central idea of the speech?The central idea (sometimes called the thesis) states in one sentence what the speech is about. You can use your specific-purpose statement to help you write your central idea.
What is the theme or central idea of a speech that is stated in the form of a single declarative sentence?thesis statement. (the central idea) is the theme of the speech stated in the form of a single, declarative sentence. the specific purpose describes in action form what you want to achieve with the speech the thesis statement concisely identifies in a single idea what the speech is about.
What is the central idea of a speech with the following main points?A central idea, also known as the main idea of the speech, represents the specific objective of the speech. The central idea statement is usually just one sentence that sums up the major ideas of a speech. It also tells the audience what they should expect to hear about in the rest of the speech.
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