Formulating a thesis statement: How to write a thesis

Picture yourself as a member of the jury; as the lawyer presents his argument to the court, you would want to know whether he believes the accused person is innocent or guilty and what evidence he has of that fact. A thesis statement serves the same purpose; it is a sentence that condenses the main points of the paper. A good thesis also explains how you intend to support the claim. There are three main steps in the formulation of a strong thesis statement. 

To develop a good thesis, it is important to have a clear idea of what you want its basis to be. You can do this by coming up with a question. For example, if you’re writing an argumentative essay that seeks to establish whether online learning has affected the quality of education, the question might be:

If it’s an expository essay on the same subject, the question will be:

To further develop the thesis statement, provide an answer to the initial question.

For argumentative essays, you are required to pick a side. For instance, the answer to the argumentative essay question, ‘has online learning had a positive or negative impact on the quality of education?’ might be:

Once you establish and state your position on a particular topic, the next step will be to explain how and why you arrived at it and convince the reader to agree with your sentiments on the issue. 

The thesis statement in the case of the above-mentioned example of online learning will be:

 

In conclusion, a good thesis statement should be clear, concise and coherent. It should answer a question, and also provide a strong argument that is convincing to the reader.