Writing Instruction Tutorial

Essays

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the central or controlling idea in a paper that explains the purpose of the paper, supports an idea, or advances a position.

Thesis statement that advances a position:

A college newspaper should focus on campus activities and affairs and refrain from commentary on national and international events.
Thesis statement that demonstrates intention:

This essay will report on student-faculty relations on this campus and recommend ways to improve them.

If a thesis is firm and clear, it may immediately indicate the best way to organize supporting material and eliminate the need for elaborate planning. A thesis must have something to say about a subject or to present a particular viewpoint. The rest of the paper breaks down the thesis and proves it persuasively.

A thesis is different from a topic, which is a general subject area. For example, education is a general subject area that should be narrowed to a more manageable topic. Studying for the SATs narrows the broader subject area education. Brainstorming ideas about a subject helps students to come up with a topic and to formulate a "working" thesis.

A thesis for short essays may be formulated in one sentence. For longer research papers, it may take several sentences to state the thesis.