13.5: Writing Thesis Statements for the Research Essay

We did not call attention to this at the time, but in the paragraphs above, you’ll find the student’s thesis statement, which is “K-12 teachers should receive a pay increase.” This statement is clear and straightforward, but how did the student get from the assignment prompt to a thesis?

When you look at your assignment sheet, after you read through all the specific requirements, you should start thinking of subjects and topics that interest you. In this student’s case, it is likely that they thought something like “I’m a college student…I’m interested in education in general now that I’ve spent most of my life in school…but I don’t want to write about higher education because I’m probably too close to it right now…but I do remember that some of my high school teachers were really dedicated and well-trained, and one of them mentioned that they hadn’t had a pay raise in several years. I think they deserved a raise. So how should I argue that position?

The student followed this path: SUBJECT >> TOPIC >> THESIS

Of course, their thought process was more complicated than this simple linear diagram can illustrate, since they likely sifted through several sub-topics before deciding on this one. But this is a reasonable representation of how you, too, can work toward a thesis statement, especially for a persuasive paper.

While thesis statements will look slightly different depending on whether you are writing an informative or persuasive paper (and you can find some of these differences highlighted below), a strong thesis statement will always be a complete sentence, signal what the author will argue in the paper, and make a clear, obvious claim. While it is fine to include a question in your introduction as a way of leading up to your thesis statement, your thesis itself should never be a question (it is, after all, a thesis statement); instead, the thesis should answer your research question rather than stringing the reader along and making them guess at your claim.

Characteristics of a strong thesis statement

For an informative paper, a thesis should

• Be one complete sentence
• Be a statement rather than a question
• Clearly indicate the paper’s main idea
• NOT make a claim
• NOT be arguable

Informative papers make it their goal to describe a process, explain an idea, show an uncontroversial cause and effect relationship, etc. If anything about the ideas contained within them is arguable, they cease to be informative. It is the student’s responsibility to do enough excellent research to ensure that their paper does not make claims with which reasonable people might disagree. In some ways, this is a more difficult task than writing an argumentative paper. For instance, an informative paper on our solar system could present a thesis like “The Kuiper Belt contains many orbiting bodies of wildly varying masses, including Pluto.” That statement is entirely based on observations with which no astronomer would disagree. However, if the thesis is changed to “The Kuiper Belt contains many orbiting bodies of wildly varying masses, including the planet Pluto,” it has become an attempt at persuasion since not all astronomers agree that Pluto should be classified as a planet.

If your paper is informative rather than persuasive, you do not need to develop an argument. Instead, you should maintain an objective, neutral tone throughout the essay and describe your chosen process or issue. You should not try to argue that something is true or untrue; the topic you choose for this sort of paper should not be controversial or arguable. You should also avoid highlighting your personal ideas and beliefs in an informative essay. An example topic for an informative essay might be an analysis of how cocaine affects the human brain. Researchers have a good idea of the chemical processes involved, and those will not be arguable. The temptation for a student writing on this topic might be to assert that it is best to avoid cocaine or to assure the audience that they do not partake in the drug themselves, but these kinds of asides are neither necessary nor helpful in a paper which is intended to simply explain a process. Sharing personal opinion nudges a paper into argumentative territory, so make sure to avoid this if you have not been asked to write an argumentative paper.

If your paper is meant to be persuasive, you will want to construct your thesis to reflect this.

For a persuasive paper, a thesis should

• Be one complete sentence
• Be a statement, rather than a question
• Clearly indicate the paper’s main idea
• Be arguable (to a reasonable audience)
• Make a claim

The thesis must be arguable if the paper itself will be an argument. This means that the thesis cannot merely state a fact or make a statement few people would disagree with, such as “Child abuse is bad.” None of us would want to meet the audience who might disagree with this statement. If the writer changes the statement to “All spanking should be considered child abuse,” that is an arguable claim.

Example Thesis Statements for the Rhetorical Modes Exemplification Methamphetamines have several observable effects on the human brain. Xeriscaping has beneficial effects on the land; it uses less water, decreases pollution from lawn mowers, and eliminates the need for pesticides and fertilizers. Narration A series of events in Wes Moore’s life led to his eventual life sentence for murder. The life cycle of a typical star follows a predictable path from birth in a cloud of dust to an explosive and dramatic death. Comparison and Contrast Whereas the author Wes Moore had beneficial adult influences during his childhood, the “other” Wes Moore had to work toward adulthood on his own. Chemical addiction and behavioral addiction share many characteristics, but they differ in several important ways. Cause and Effect The design of some kinds of wearable technology can cause people to develop an addiction to exercise. The policies adopted by some states after the Civil War contributed to the peonage system and eventually to Jim Crow laws that oppressed African Americans for a century after the war’s end. Definition Although Hitler’s party called itself National Socialist, its vision of government can actually be termed fascist. Contrary to popular opinion, cheerleading is a sport, as evidenced by its incorporation of features like tryouts, practices, and competitions that are central to other forms of athletics. Process Massive stars collapse into black holes according to a known sequence of events. A habit can be broken by the interruption of any of the three elements of the “habit loop.” Problem/Solution Student loan debt is a major reason college graduates struggle financially, but this problem could be solved by a national service program that offers free college tuition after a set term of service. Daily meditation can alleviate some of the anxiety endured by college students.

See this page from Research.com for more help developing thesis statements for research papers.