a thesis can be anywhere

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This 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.

Introduction

Writing 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:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

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 :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose 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:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

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:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

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:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

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. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

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 consulted

We 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

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Writing Process: Prewriting

Working thesis statement, parts of a thesis sentence.

The thesis sentence is the key to most academic writing. This is important and worth repeating: The thesis sentence is the key to most academic writing.

The purpose of academic writing is to offer your own insights, analyses, and ideas—to show not only that you understand the concepts you’re studying, but also that you have thought about those concepts in your own way, agreed or disagreed, or developed your own unique ideas as a result of your analysis. The thesis sentence is the one sentence that encapsulates the result of your thinking, as it offers your main insight or argument in condensed form.

A basic thesis sentence has two main parts:

• Topic:  What you’re writing about
• Angle:  What your main idea is about that topic

Thesis: A regular exercise regime leads to multiple benefits, both physical and emotional.

Topic: Regular exercise regime

Angle: Leads to multiple benefits

Thesis Angles

Most writers can easily create a topic: television viewing, the Patriot Act, Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The more difficult part is creating an angle. But the angle is necessary as a means of creating interest and as a means of indicating the type and organization of the information to follow.

Click on each of the thesis angles in the box below that you want to learn more about.

So what about this thesis sentence? Adult college students have different experiences than traditionally-aged college students.

As a reader, you understand intuitively that the information to come will deal with the different types of experiences that adult college students have. But you don’t quite know if the information will deal only with adults, or if it will compare adults’ experiences with those of typical college students. And you don’t quite know what type of information will come first, second, third, etc.

Realize that a thesis sentence offers a range of possibilities for specificity and organization. As a writer, you may opt to pique reader interest by being very specific or not fully specific in your thesis sentence. The point here is that there’s no one standard way to write a thesis sentence.

Sometimes a writer is more or less specific depending on the reading audience and the effect the writer wants to create. Sometimes a writer puts the angle first and the topic last in the sentence, or sometimes the angle is even implied. You need to gauge your reading audience and you need to understand your own style as a writer. The only basic requirements are that the thesis sentence needs a topic and an angle. The rest is up to you.

Common Problems

Although you have creative control over your thesis sentence, you still should try to avoid the following problems, not for stylistic reasons, but because they indicate a problem in the thinking that underlies the thesis sentence.

Thesis Sentence too Broad

Hospice workers need support.

The sentence above actually is a thesis sentence; it has a topic (hospice workers) and an angle (need support). But the angle is very broad. When the angle in a thesis sentence is too broad, the writer may not have carefully thought through the specific support for the rest of the writing. A thesis angle that’s too broad makes it easy to fall into the trap of offering information that deviates from that angle.

Thesis Sentence too Narrow

Hospice workers have a 55% turnover rate compared to the general health care population’s 25% turnover rate.

The above sentence really isn’t a thesis sentence at all, because there’s no angle idea to support. A narrow statistic, or a narrow statement of fact, doesn’t offer the writer’s own ideas or analysis about a topic. A clearer example of a thesis statement with an angle of development would be the following:

The high turnover rate in hospice workers (55 percent) compared to the general health care population (25 percent) indicates a need to develop support systems to reverse this trend.

Where to Place a Thesis?

In the U.S., it’s customary for most academic writers to put the thesis sentence somewhere toward the start of the essay or research paper. The focus here is on offering the main results of your own thinking in your thesis angle and then providing evidence in the writing to support your thinking.

A legal comparison might help to understand thesis placement. If you have seen television shows or movies with courtroom scenes, the lawyer usually starts out by saying, “My client is innocent!” to set the scene, and then provides different types of evidence to support that argument. Academic writing in the U.S. is similar; your thesis sentence provides your main assertion to set the scene of the writing, and then the details and evidence in the rest of the writing support the assertion in the thesis sentence.

As a writer, you have the option of placing the thesis anywhere in the writing. But, as a writer, you also have the obligation to make the thesis sentence idea clear to your readers. Beginning writers usually stick with “thesis sentence toward the start,” as it makes the thesis prominent in the writing and also reminds them that they need to stick with providing evidence directly related to that thesis sentence’s angle.

Thesis Creation

At what point do you write a thesis sentence? Of course, this varies from writer to writer and from writing assignment to writing assignment. You’ll usually do some preliminary idea development first, before a thesis idea emerges. And you’ll usually have a working thesis before you do the bulk of your research, or before you fully create the supporting details for your writing.

Think of the thesis as the mid-point of an hourglass.

You develop ideas for writing and prewriting, using various strategies, until a main idea or assertion emerges. This main idea or assertion becomes your point to prove—your working thesis sentence.

Once you have a working thesis sentence with your main idea, you can then develop more support for that idea, but in a more focused way that deepens your thinking about the thesis angle.

Realize that a thesis is really a working thesis until you finalize the writing. As you do more focused research, or develop more focused support, your thesis may change a bit. Just make sure that you retain the basic thesis characteristics of topic and angle.

Thesis Checklist

When you draft a working thesis, it can be helpful to review the guidelines for a strong thesis. The following checklist is a helpful tool you can use to check your thesis once you have it drafted.

• Parts of a Thesis Sentence. Provided by : Excelsior OWL. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/writing-process/thesis-sentence/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis can be found in many places—a debate speech, a lawyer’s closing argument, even an advertisement. But the most common place for a thesis statement (and probably why you’re reading this article) is in an essay.

Whether you’re writing an argumentative paper, an informative essay, or a compare/contrast statement, you need a thesis. Without a thesis, your argument falls flat and your information is unfocused. Since a thesis is so important, it’s probably a good idea to look at some tips on how to put together a strong one.

Guide Overview

What is a “thesis statement” anyway.

• 2 categories of thesis statements: informative and persuasive
• 2 styles of thesis statements
• Formula for a strong argumentative thesis
• The qualities of a solid thesis statement (video)

You may have heard of something called a “thesis.” It’s what seniors commonly refer to as their final paper before graduation. That’s not what we’re talking about here. That type of thesis is a long, well-written paper that takes years to piece together.

Instead, we’re talking about a single sentence that ties together the main idea of any argument . In the context of student essays, it’s a statement that summarizes your topic and declares your position on it. This sentence can tell a reader whether your essay is something they want to read.

2 Categories of Thesis Statements: Informative and Persuasive

Just as there are different types of essays, there are different types of thesis statements. The thesis should match the essay.

For example, with an informative essay, you should compose an informative thesis (rather than argumentative). You want to declare your intentions in this essay and guide the reader to the conclusion that you reach.

To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you must procure the ingredients, find a knife, and spread the condiments.

This thesis showed the reader the topic (a type of sandwich) and the direction the essay will take (describing how the sandwich is made).

Most other types of essays, whether compare/contrast, argumentative, or narrative, have thesis statements that take a position and argue it. In other words, unless your purpose is simply to inform, your thesis is considered persuasive. A persuasive thesis usually contains an opinion and the reason why your opinion is true.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best type of sandwich because they are versatile, easy to make, and taste good.

In this persuasive thesis statement, you see that I state my opinion (the best type of sandwich), which means I have chosen a stance. Next, I explain that my opinion is correct with several key reasons. This persuasive type of thesis can be used in any essay that contains the writer’s opinion, including, as I mentioned above, compare/contrast essays, narrative essays, and so on.

2 Styles of Thesis Statements

Just as there are two different types of thesis statements (informative and persuasive), there are two basic styles you can use.

The first style uses a list of two or more points . This style of thesis is perfect for a brief essay that contains only two or three body paragraphs. This basic five-paragraph essay is typical of middle and high school assignments.

C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series is one of the richest works of the 20th century because it offers an escape from reality, teaches readers to have faith even when they don’t understand, and contains a host of vibrant characters.

In the above persuasive thesis, you can see my opinion about Narnia followed by three clear reasons. This thesis is perfect for setting up a tidy five-paragraph essay.

In college, five paragraph essays become few and far between as essay length gets longer. Can you imagine having only five paragraphs in a six-page paper? For a longer essay, you need a thesis statement that is more versatile. Instead of listing two or three distinct points, a thesis can list one overarching point that all body paragraphs tie into.

Good vs. evil is the main theme of Lewis’s Narnia series, as is made clear through the struggles the main characters face in each book.

In this thesis, I have made a claim about the theme in Narnia followed by my reasoning. The broader scope of this thesis allows me to write about each of the series’ seven novels. I am no longer limited in how many body paragraphs I can logically use.

Formula for a Strong Argumentative Thesis

One thing I find that is helpful for students is having a clear template. While students rarely end up with a thesis that follows this exact wording, the following template creates a good starting point:

___________ is true because of ___________, ___________, and ___________.

Conversely, the formula for a thesis with only one point might follow this template:

___________________ is true because of _____________________.

Students usually end up using different terminology than simply “because,” but having a template is always helpful to get the creative juices flowing.

The Qualities of a Solid Thesis Statement

When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is.

Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions. Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause (the opinion) and a dependent clause (the reasons). You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long.

Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences.

Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true.

Example of weak thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easy to make because it just takes three ingredients.

Most people would agree that PB&J is one of the easiest sandwiches in the American lunch repertoire.

Example of a stronger thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are fun to eat because they always slide around.

This is more arguable because there are plenty of folks who might think a PB&J is messy or slimy rather than fun.

Composing a thesis statement does take a bit more thought than many other parts of an essay. However, because a thesis statement can contain an entire argument in just a few words, it is worth taking the extra time to compose this sentence. It can direct your research and your argument so that your essay is tight, focused, and makes readers think.

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6.9: Developing a Working Thesis Statement

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Learning Objectives

• Evaluate the role of a working thesis statement

Thesis Angles

Most writers can easily create a topic: squirrels, television viewing, the Patriot Act, Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The more difficult part is creating an angle. But the angle is necessary as a means of creating interest and as a means of indicating the type and organization of the information to follow. Remember that a basic thesis sentence has both a topic and an angle. The topic is what you’re writing about, but the angle covers the main idea of what you’re conveying about that topic. For example, in the following thesis, the topic is exercise, and the angle is that it leads to benefits:

• A regular exercise regime leads to multiple benefits, both physical and emotional.

Click on each of the thesis angles in the box below that you want to learn more about.

So what about this thesis sentence?

• Adult college students have different experiences than traditionally-aged college students.

As a reader, you understand intuitively that the information to come will deal with the different types of experiences that adult college students have. But you don’t quite know if the information will deal only with adults, or if it will compare adults’ experiences with those of typical college students. And you don’t quite know what type of information will come first, second, third, etc.

Realize that a thesis sentence offers a range of possibilities for specificity and organization. As a writer, you may opt to pique reader interest by being very specific or not fully specific in your thesis sentence. The point here is that there’s no one standard way to write a thesis sentence.

Sometimes a writer is more or less specific depending on the reading audience and the effect the writer wants to create. Sometimes a writer puts the angle first and the topic last in the sentence, or sometimes the angle is even implied. You need to gauge your reading audience and you need to understand your own style as a writer. The only basic requirements are that the thesis sentence needs a topic and an angle. The rest is up to you.

This video reviews the importance of thesis statements and provides examples of how good thesis statements can guide your essay.

You can find the transcript for “How to Write a Killer Thesis Statement by Shmoop” here (opens in new window) .

Thesis Creation

At what point do you write a thesis sentence? Of course, this varies from writer to writer and from writing assignment to writing assignment. You’ll usually do some preliminary idea development first, before a thesis idea emerges. And you’ll usually have a working thesis before you do the bulk of your research, or before you fully create the supporting details for your writing.

Think of the thesis as the mid-point of an hourglass.

You develop ideas for writing and prewriting, using various strategies, until a main idea or assertion emerges. This main idea or assertion becomes your point to prove—your working thesis sentence.

Once you have a working thesis sentence with your main idea, you can then develop more support for that idea, but in a more focused way that deepens your thinking about the thesis angle.

Realize that a thesis is really a working thesis until you finalize the writing. As you do more focused research, or develop more focused support, your thesis may change a bit. Just make sure that you retain the basic thesis characteristics of topic and angle.

Thesis Checklist

When you draft a working thesis, it can be helpful to review the guidelines for a strong thesis. The following checklist is a helpful tool you can use to check your thesis once you have it drafted.

Common Problems

Although you have creative control over your thesis sentence, you still should try to avoid the following problems, not for stylistic reasons, but because they indicate a problem in the thinking that underlies the thesis sentence.

Thesis Problems

Thesis too broad.

Hospice workers need support.

The sentence above actually is a thesis sentence; it has a topic (hospice workers) and an angle (need support). But the angle is very broad. When the angle in a thesis sentence is too broad, the writer may not have carefully thought through the specific support for the rest of the writing. A thesis angle that’s too broad makes it easy to fall into the trap of offering information that deviates from that angle.

Thesis too narrow

Hospice workers have a 55% turnover rate compared to the general health care population’s 25% turnover rate.

The above sentence really isn’t a thesis sentence at all, because there’s no angle idea to support. A narrow statistic, or a narrow statement of fact, doesn’t offer the writer’s own ideas or analysis about a topic. A clearer example of a thesis statement with an angle of development would be the following:

The high turnover rate in hospice workers (55 percent) compared to the general health care population (25 percent) indicates a need to develop support systems to reverse this trend.

Where to Place a Thesis?

In the U.S., it’s customary for most academic writers to put the thesis sentence somewhere toward the start of the essay or research paper. The focus here is on offering the main results of your own thinking in your thesis angle and then providing evidence in the writing to support your thinking.

A legal comparison might help to understand thesis placement. If you have seen television shows or movies with courtroom scenes, the lawyer usually starts out by saying, “My client is innocent!” to set the scene, and then provides different types of evidence to support that argument. Academic writing in the U.S. is similar; your thesis sentence provides your main assertion to set the scene of the writing, and then the details and evidence in the rest of the writing support the assertion in the thesis sentence.

NOTE: Although the usual pattern is “thesis sentence toward the start,” there may be reasons to place the thesis elsewhere in the writing. You may decide to place the thesis sentence at the end of the writing if your purpose is to gradually induce a reading audience to understand and accept your assertion. You may decide to place the thesis sentence in the middle of the writing if you think you need to provide relatively complicated background information to your readers before they can understand the assertion in your thesis.

As a writer, you have the option of placing the thesis anywhere in the writing. But, as a writer, you also have the obligation to make the thesis sentence idea clear to your readers. Beginning writers usually stick with “thesis sentence toward the start,” as it makes the thesis prominent in the writing and also reminds them that they need to stick with providing evidence directly related to that thesis sentence’s angle.

Link to Learning

Use this thesis generator from SUNY Empire State College to help you make your thesis statement—just plug in some of the details, and it can help you come up with a solid foundation!

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/20256

Contributors and Attributions

• Parts of a Thesis Sentence. Provided by : Excelsior OWL. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/writing-process/thesis-sentence/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• How To Write A Killer Thesis Statement by Shmoop. Authored by : Shmoop. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=8wxE8R_x5I0&feature=emb_logo . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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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 this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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5.3 Thesis Statement

A thesis is simply an expression of the main idea of what you are writing about. The thesis will be determined by the kind or genre of paper you are asked to write, but even a summary assignment—a paper in which you summarize the ideas of another writer without adding your thoughts—must have a thesis. A thesis for a summary would be your expression of the main idea of the work you are summarizing. The presence of a thesis, and paragraphs to support that thesis, is what distinguishes a summary from a list.

A thesis statement  is a sentence that expresses the main claim of the entire essay. This means that every paragraph, every major point, every supporting detail, and every source must somehow relate to and support the thesis.

Essentially, when readers want to know what your point is, what they want to know is your thesis. And all college writing assignments expect you to make a point of some kind or another. This means that every one of your college essays should have a thesis. Some assignments emphasize argumentation more than others, so this need for a thesis might be less obvious to you in an essay that focuses more on reporting information, but it’s still there: your audience always expects you to make a point. An essay that has a good thesis has a good chance of succeeding. An essay that has a bad thesis, no matter what other strengths it may display, has a very poor chance of succeeding.

A common thesis statement is capable of being expressed in a single sentence. Much more information will be added to it in later sentences and paragraphs as support, but the primary idea itself will be focused and decisive enough to be stated in one sentence. However, there are times when a thesis statement should be multiple sentences, nevertheless, it should always be concise and clear.

A good thesis takes the form of a declarative sentence . This means that a good thesis is never a question. A question cannot state a point directly, but a thesis is a directly stated point, which means it won’t be a question but instead a possible answer to a question.

Three Characteristics of a Good Thesis

A good thesis statement has three characteristics:

• This means that it focuses on clearly defined ideas, often narrow enough to be discussed in a single essay. Within a thesis, referring to “sports” is not specific, but referring to “combat sports during the COVID-19 pandemic” is.
• This means that equally reasonable, intelligent, and educated readers could hold differing positions on the matter, and that the issues in the thesis can’t be answered with any kind of general certainty. “Bullying is bad” is not arguable for academic audiences, but what schools should do about bullying is. Keep in mind that arguable does not necessarily mean controversial. Academic arguments can be claims of analysis, observation, or other typically non-controversial modes. For example, a thesis claiming that “horror stories function through four primary motifs” is not controversial, but academically it is arguable. See more in the section Rhetoric and Argumentation.
• This means that it has some meaningful bearing on others and/or society. “I think Disney movies are terrible” is not significant, but exploring how “Disney movies have negatively affected the unrealistic worldview of children” is.

Common Errors: Bad Thesis Statements

It is possible for a thesis to be a single, declarative sentence yet still be bad. Often, this is because the thesis fails to display the three characteristics explained above. Here are some examples of bad thesis statements, along with brief explanations:

Bad Example 1: “Drugs have harmful effects on the community .”

Example 1 is bad because it is not specific. It does not indicate what drugs, specific effects, communities, or any other useful information.

Bad Example 2: “Racism should not be tolerated in school because it makes students feel alienated and harms the learning environment.”

Although Example 2 is specific and has good intentions, it is a bad thesis statement because it is not arguable. No one in a modern, rationally-minded audience would disagree and say that racism should be promoted in school. Therefore this thesis tells its readers what they already know, which makes it useless.

Bad Example 3: “Blue ink pens are better than black ink pens.”

Although Example 3 is specific and arguable, it is a bad thesis because it is not significant as is. Nobody cares, or at least it has no important effect on people’s lives or in society.

Good Thesis Statements

Now here are some good thesis statements with brief explanations.

“We should stop experimenting on animals and start experimenting on prisoners because the findings would be more accurate for humans and because prisoners aren’t innocent like animals are.”

This is highly arguable (you might disagree with it already), and that is a good thing: it is arguable while still being rationally able to defend itself (by offering at least two reasons as support). It is also good because it is very specific and because it is significant—it would matter whether America incorporates this idea.

“Divisions in America are getting worse because social media amplifies the voice of a minority of radicals, whom the majority of reasonable people are afraid to speak out against.”

This is a special type of thesis called a “causal analysis.” It argues why something is the way it is, and it is specific (it says exactly what and why), significant (it matters to many), and arguable (this might not be the reason, or at least not a main one—or it might be).

“The original iPhone was the most important invention in the past 20 years.”

Although this may be a bit challenging to support (because of the words “the most”), it is still a good thesis because it is arguable, it is specific (although the word “important” will have to be explained), and it would be significant if it proves to be a viable claim.

How to Build a Thesis

The way you build a thesis is to do the following in the order listed, making sure to use pre-writing strategies (whichever you prefer) to log your ideas each step of the way.

• Pick a broad subject that interests you.
• Pick some issue or controversy within that subject that interests you.
• Develop a guiding question about that issue or controversy, a question that is difficult or impossible for anyone to ever answer for certain.

(Warning: This is where lesser writers stop. They think this guiding question is what their essay is about—its thesis—but they are wrong because questions do not state points and cannot be argued. Do not stop here. Keep going until you have an actual thesis.)

• Make some sort of claim, comment, or point about that issue or controversy.

Improving the Thesis Statement

Early argument thesis statement.

People can’t seem to live without their phones, but spending that time online is detrimental.

• In bold we can see the writer’s opinion.

You’re already off to a good start: this thesis makes a claim, it demonstrates some knowledge or authority, and includes two sides to the issue. How can you make it better? Remember, you have to be able to write a paper in support of your thesis, so the more detailed, concrete, and developed your thesis is, the better. Here are a couple of suggestions for improving any thesis:

• Define your terms
• Develop the parts of your thesis so it answers as many who, what, when, where, how, and why questions as possible

Defining your terms

In your draft or working thesis above, are there any terms that would benefit from more definition? What do you mean by  people , for example? Can that word be replaced with  young people , teenagers, or young adults ? If you replaced  people  with these more specific terms, couldn’t you also then write your paper with more authority, as you are one of the people you’re writing about?

You might also define “can’t seem to live without,” which sounds good initially but is too general without explanation, with something more exact that appeals to your reader and can be supported with evidence or explained at greater length in your paragraphs: people “use their phones in the classrooms, at the dinner table, and even in restroom stalls.”

Teenagers and young adults seem to use their phones everywhere – in the classroom, at the dinner table, and even in restroom stalls , but spending that time online is detrimental.

• In bold we can see more definition and specificity in the terms.

Make sure your thesis statement answers questions

Your thesis is a snapshot or summary of your paper as a whole. Thus, you want your thesis to be something you can unfold or unpack or develop into a much longer work. And if your thesis makes a claim, that means it also answers a question. Thus, you want your thesis to answer or discuss the question as deeply and fully as possible. You can do this grammatically by adding prepositional phrases and “because” clauses that bring out the specifics of your thinking and tell your reader who, what, when, where, how, and/or why:

“Teenagers and young adults seem to use their phones everywhere—in the classroom, at the dinner table, even in restroom stalls— because they want to stay connected to their friends and peers at all times , but I think spending that much time online is detrimental  to their social skills and mental health .”

Notice that this thesis, while not substantially different from the draft or working thesis you began with, has been substantially revised to be more specific, supported, and authoritative. It lays out an organized argument for a convincing paper. Because it is so complete and specific it can be easily changed if you find research that contradicts your claim or if you change your mind about the topic as you write and reflect:

“Teenagers and young adults seem to use their phones everywhere—in the classroom, at the dinner table, even in restroom stalls—because they want to stay connected to their friends and peers at all times,  and research suggests that this connection has primarily positive psychological and emotional benefits .”

Teenagers and young adults seem to use their phones everywhere—in the classroom, at the dinner table, even in restroom stalls — because they want to stay connected to their friends and peers at all times , but spending that much time online is detrimental to their social skills and mental health.

• In italics  we see the “who” and the “when/where.”
• In bold we can see the potential counterargument.
• Underlined we see points the writer will support to prove their point and make their argument. These can be referred to as a “roadmap.”

Common Errors

Although constructing a thesis according to the above characteristics and steps will help you avoid the biggest problems, it’s still possible to run into a few common errors.

One such error is confusing an essay’s subject with a thesis , which is a claim or position about that subject. This is particularly problematic when students focus on arguing for the existence of what they believe to be facts. Some are easy enough to identify and revise, such as “America still allows the death penalty in some places.” This does not yet take a position on that subject, but a student could easily enough reach one once this error is noticed. Others create more complicated problems. Consider these examples: “Aliens exist.” Or: “Ghosts are real.” These might seem to fit the characteristics of good thesis statements above, but they do not. That is because these are merely subjects for the writer. The writer who has asserted these as facts in the world has, by doing so, not yet claimed them and has failed to take a position on them. Such a position might be what the writer thinks universities or research institutions should do with their budgets based on evidence of the existence of aliens, or ghosts. But taking such positions and supporting them often becomes quite complex and shaky, especially when directed toward academic audiences, which is why these kinds of “secret facts about the universe” subjects are too problematic for student writers to handle successfully. Some professors simply ban them to help students avoid inevitable trouble.

Another such error is confusing a self-referential announcement with a thesis . This kind of announcement often looks something like, “My essay will be about…,” or, “I think that…,” or, “For this assignment, I will tell you about…,” or something in the essay that similarly refers to itself as an essay. Sometimes the revision is simple: eliminate the needless phrase. Consider this example: “I think that the teaching of Shakespeare should be banned in American schools.” As it stands, it is not a thesis because it is a simple announcement about the writer, but simply removing “I think that” makes it a thesis, for it then makes an arguable, specific, and significant claim that would need to be supported. In other cases, needless self-referential announcements such as “my essay will be about” hide the fact that the student has just confused the subject with a thesis, as noted above. So, “My essay will be about the death penalty” is only a subject, not yet a thesis.

Another common error is confusing the role of personal opinion in a thesis . Some students come to believe that personal opinions are banned in English class essays, or college writing in general, but this is self-evidently wrong. The only way to make a thesis arguable is to take some opinion-based position on a matter. Opinions are therefore required in constructing a good thesis. But the simple statement of a personal opinion is rarely sufficient for a thesis; instead, it often becomes a mere statement of taste, which is neither arguable nor significant. “I love pineapple on pizza, no matter what anyone else says,” is just a statement of personal opinion, which means it can’t be arguable, nor is it significant. “I hate that Americans only get two options when voting for president” is just a personal opinion as it stands, but this one has the potential for a good thesis with just a little more revision.

One of the most difficult errors to face is confusing personal beliefs or convictions with claims . It is not necessary for college for student writers to personally believe all the ideas they explore in their essays, but this is hard for some students to comprehend or accept. Many students come to college having worked only on figuring out what they believe to be right and wrong, true and false, good and bad. That is fine up to a point, but it places the student in the prison of a singular perspective. One great aim of a true college education is, as Oscar Wilde put it, the ability to “play gracefully with ideas” rather than being stuck in “the violence of opinion merely.” So essays can serve as an opportunity to work through ideas that you have not necessarily given your heart, mind, and soul over to. This kind of serious play enriches you, makes you more perceptive, adaptable, and confident, and is indeed one main reason to bother writing at all. So avoid the temptation to write only about your convictions, or to fear any challenge to them. Instead, “play gracefully with ideas.”

These ideas will continue to be expanded upon as you read on and develop as an academic writer. However, it is important to build and practice a strong fondation.

Attributions

The Writing Textbook  by Josh Woods, editor and contributor, as well as an unnamed author (by request from the original publisher), and other authors named separately is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

A Guide to Rhetoric, Genre, and Success in First-Year Writing  by Melanie Gagich & Emilie Zickel is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

This chapter has additions, edits, and organization by James Charles Devlin.

5.3 Thesis Statement Copyright © by James Charles Devlin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Come Up with a Great Thesis Statement for Your Research Paper

By Alex Yang

Graduate student at Southern Methodist University

7 minute read

A thesis statement is an essential part of any as it serves as the main point or argument that the entire paper and supporting evidence revolves around. Crafting a strong thesis statement can be a challenging task, but it’s important in ensuring that your research paper is focused, clear, and persuasive. This post will provide some tips to help you create a compelling thesis statement.

A thesis statement is an essential part of writing any research paper as it serves as the main point or argument that the entire paper and supporting evidence revolves around. Crafting a strong thesis statement can be a challenging task, but it’s important in ensuring that your research paper is focused, clear, and persuasive. This post will provide some tips to help you create a compelling thesis statement.

Identify the Purpose of Your Research Paper

Not all research papers share the same purpose. For example, your research paper may be a way for you to share your findings from an experiment, like Carmen’s paper about “Behavioral Economics Theories in the Colombian Navi Market.” This is a research paper that is intended to inform the reader about a key finding or discovery. 

Carmen’s thesis: We found that the default effect was the most effective at influencing people's purchasing decisions in the Navi market. Furthermore, because of different variables, the framing effect, nudge effect, and decoy effect were found to not influence consumer behavior or choices when personalizing a Navi motorcycle.

In this example, Carmen’s research paper is centered around an experiment that she conducted and what she found. In this case, the thesis only really has to summarize the key findings of the experiment, as that’s the central point of the research. Thesis statements in the natural sciences and sometimes social sciences will often look like Carmen’s and are more objective and data-driven. For more information about how to write strong experimental research papers and outlines in STEM , check outour blog post.

There are other research papers that have a more persuasive purpose and are making arguments. A great example of this is Eshaan’s paper on “​​British Colonialism’s Detrimental Impact on India’s Hijra Community.”

Eshaan thesis: After examining the origins of modern homophobia in England, this essay unpacks how British colonial institutions and stereotypes enforced an agenda of Hijra extermination and replaced India’s fluid understanding of sexuality with strict heteronormativity. Ultimately, since these homophobic colonial laws and thinking continue to impact India, this paper uniquely argues that the fight for queer and Hijra equality in postcolonial India is a fight for decolonization.

As you can see above, beyond just the difference in topics, Eshaan and Carmen’s theses are very different in their content. Eshaan’s research paper does not involve an experiment that he conducted, but is more about unpacking history and making an argument for something. He is making a statement that represents his argument. Thesis statements in the humanities will typically be more analytical and interpretative as they are looking to make an interpretation of history or texts. 

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Do Your Research First

It’s pretty hard to write a good thesis statement without having some context first about your topic. Think about it: it’s difficult to create a strong argument without first understanding what you’re supposed to be arguing about, and whether there might be any evidence to support your argument.

As a result, do some preliminary research on your topic of interest, and the articles and ideas that you find will help give you some ideas for your thesis statement. If you’re already familiar with a topic or field, perhaps you don’t need to do as much research, but try to poke around the Internet to see if any specific idea interests you.

If you’re looking to do an experiment like Carmen, a similar process of exploring the Internet and doing research may help you. You can take ideas that you come across and place them into a different context. For example, if you’re interested in marketing and reading online about how big brands like Coca-Cola do brand marketing, you can take that idea and research local businesses in your area to see how their marketing might differ or be similar. Often, broad concepts like behavioral economics, marketing, and colonization already exist, but the unique angle you can provide in your research paper is the context in which you apply that concept.

How to Write a Great Thesis Statement

Let’s revisit our two example thesis statements: 

A Thesis Does Not Have to Fit Into One Sentence

If you can fit it into one sentence, then great. But if you’re struggling and it reads like a run-on sentence, then it’s totally fine to split it into several sentences. The most important thing about the thesis statement(s) is that it is understandable. 

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Be As Specific As Possible

Notice how the example theses are very specific in their language. Carmen talks specifically about the Navi market (since that was the scope of her experiment), and Eshaan uses specific language like “heteronormativity” and “Hijra extermination.” Being specific is important in making sure that your argument is unique. Making a broad statement like " Social media has changed the world ” does not really mean much as it doesn’t provide any clear direction for the essay. What specifically has social media changed about the world? What specific aspects of social media have been the most impactful?

A more specific thesis statement for the topic of social media could be:

" The widespread use of social media has transformed the way teens communicate with their friends, both positively and negatively. "

Make Your Argument and Use Strong Language

A thesis statement uses language that is not only specific but also strong and persuasive. “Strong” means that the thesis has a clear stance on something. Our goal with a thesis is not to sit on the fence about a particular topic, but to take a side and provide our most compelling arguments for why we’ve taken that side. You may be thinking, “why not just play it safe and not commit to a certain side of the argument? That way you can’t really be wrong in your paper.” True, you may not necessarily be wrong, but a lack of a clear argument can confuse the reader. They won’t really know where you stand, and therefore won’t find your article as helpful.

Here’s the example thesis we used for social media:

" The widespread use of social media has transformed the way teens communicate with their friends both positively and negatively ."

This thesis doesn’t use strong language, because it’s saying that there are both positive and negative effects of social media transforming how teens communicate. It would make our thesis more compelling and our argument more focused if we took a stance on whether this trend is more positive or negative. At the same time, we can make the thesis even more specific by talking about some of the specific negative consequences of social media. 

" The widespread use of social media has transformed the way teens communicate with their friends, harming their social skills and mental health .”

Make Sure Your Thesis is Arguable

If you take a strong stance in your thesis, there should ideally be an opposing side to that opinion. A thesis cannot just be an obvious statement or fact. Making a compelling argument that can be debated is what makes a thesis exciting! 

Let’s go back to the thesis we’ve been working on about social media:

"The widespread use of social media has transformed the way teens communicate with their friends, harming their social skills and mental health.”

Although we’ve talked about how to make this thesis more specific and take a firm stance, this thesis statement is a bit obvious. There’s been a good amount of research released on how social media is harmful to the mental health of teens. If that’s already well-established, how can we move forward with this thesis? We can look to add a recommendation or call to action at the end of the thesis.

"The widespread use of social media has transformed the way teens communicate with their friends, harming their social skills and mental health. To solve these issues, social media apps should add age restrictions to their platforms.”

Now, our thesis is very debatable, and the onus is on you - the writer - to prove your point through leaning on primary and secondary research . Many people would disagree about whether age restrictions can help solve the issues of social media. As a result, we have an opportunity to make a debatable recommendation that we can hopefully support with evidence and research. 

However, let’s say you’re doing a research paper in the natural sciences, and your experiment / research study clearly shows a certain finding. That can still be argued! In your research paper, you might want to discuss how there may have been flaws or limitations in your research methodology and how this might have impacted the results.

A specific, strong, and arguable thesis is crucial to any research paper , and once you have a solid thesis in the works, finding evidence (don’t forget to cite your sources !) and writing the body paragraphs of your paper should be much easier!

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Home » Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Table of contents.

Definition:

Thesis is a scholarly document that presents a student’s original research and findings on a particular topic or question. It is usually written as a requirement for a graduate degree program and is intended to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and their ability to conduct independent research.

History of Thesis

The concept of a thesis can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject. However, the modern form of the thesis as a scholarly document used to earn a degree is a relatively recent development.

The origin of the modern thesis can be traced back to medieval universities in Europe. During this time, students were required to present a “disputation” in which they would defend a particular thesis in front of their peers and faculty members. These disputations served as a way to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and were often the final requirement for earning a degree.

In the 17th century, the concept of the thesis was formalized further with the creation of the modern research university. Students were now required to complete a research project and present their findings in a written document, which would serve as the basis for their degree.

The modern thesis as we know it today has evolved over time, with different disciplines and institutions adopting their own standards and formats. However, the basic elements of a thesis – original research, a clear research question, a thorough review of the literature, and a well-argued conclusion – remain the same.

Structure of Thesis

The structure of a thesis may vary slightly depending on the specific requirements of the institution, department, or field of study, but generally, it follows a specific format.

Here’s a breakdown of the structure of a thesis:

This is the first page of the thesis that includes the title of the thesis, the name of the author, the name of the institution, the department, the date, and any other relevant information required by the institution.

This is a brief summary of the thesis that provides an overview of the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions.

This page provides a list of all the chapters and sections in the thesis and their page numbers.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the research question, the context of the research, and the purpose of the study. The introduction should also outline the methodology and the scope of the research.

Literature Review

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the relevant literature on the research topic. It should demonstrate the gap in the existing knowledge and justify the need for the research.

Methodology

This chapter provides a detailed description of the research methods used to gather and analyze data. It should explain the research design, the sampling method, data collection techniques, and data analysis procedures.

This chapter presents the findings of the research. It should include tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate the results.

This chapter interprets the results and relates them to the research question. It should explain the significance of the findings and their implications for the research topic.

This chapter summarizes the key findings and the main conclusions of the research. It should also provide recommendations for future research.

This section provides a list of all the sources cited in the thesis. The citation style may vary depending on the requirements of the institution or the field of study.

This section includes any additional material that supports the research, such as raw data, survey questionnaires, or other relevant documents.

How to write Thesis

Here are some steps to help you write a thesis:

• Choose a Topic: The first step in writing a thesis is to choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. You should also consider the scope of the topic and the availability of resources for research.
• Develop a Research Question: Once you have chosen a topic, you need to develop a research question that you will answer in your thesis. The research question should be specific, clear, and feasible.
• Conduct a Literature Review: Before you start your research, you need to conduct a literature review to identify the existing knowledge and gaps in the field. This will help you refine your research question and develop a research methodology.
• Develop a Research Methodology: Once you have refined your research question, you need to develop a research methodology that includes the research design, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.
• Collect and Analyze Data: After developing your research methodology, you need to collect and analyze data. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, or analyzing existing data.
• Write the Thesis: Once you have analyzed the data, you need to write the thesis. The thesis should follow a specific structure that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.
• Edit and Proofread: After completing the thesis, you need to edit and proofread it carefully. You should also have someone else review it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.
• Submit the Thesis: Finally, you need to submit the thesis to your academic advisor or committee for review and evaluation.

Example of Thesis

Example of Thesis template for Students:

Title of Thesis

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

References:

Appendices:

Note: That’s just a basic template, but it should give you an idea of the structure and content that a typical thesis might include. Be sure to consult with your department or supervisor for any specific formatting requirements they may have. Good luck with your thesis!

Application of Thesis

Thesis is an important academic document that serves several purposes. Here are some of the applications of thesis:

• Academic Requirement: A thesis is a requirement for many academic programs, especially at the graduate level. It is an essential component of the evaluation process and demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct original research and contribute to the knowledge in their field.
• Career Advancement: A thesis can also help in career advancement. Employers often value candidates who have completed a thesis as it demonstrates their research skills, critical thinking abilities, and their dedication to their field of study.
• Publication : A thesis can serve as a basis for future publications in academic journals, books, or conference proceedings. It provides the researcher with an opportunity to present their research to a wider audience and contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
• Personal Development: Writing a thesis is a challenging task that requires time, dedication, and perseverance. It provides the student with an opportunity to develop critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are essential for their personal and professional development.
• Impact on Society: The findings of a thesis can have an impact on society by addressing important issues, providing insights into complex problems, and contributing to the development of policies and practices.

Purpose of Thesis

The purpose of a thesis is to present original research findings in a clear and organized manner. It is a formal document that demonstrates a student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. The primary purposes of a thesis are:

• To Contribute to Knowledge: The main purpose of a thesis is to contribute to the knowledge in a particular field of study. By conducting original research and presenting their findings, the student adds new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• To Demonstrate Research Skills: A thesis is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their research skills. This includes the ability to formulate a research question, design a research methodology, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• To Develop Critical Thinking: Writing a thesis requires critical thinking and analysis. The student must evaluate existing literature and identify gaps in the field, as well as develop and defend their own ideas.
• To Provide Evidence of Competence : A thesis provides evidence of the student’s competence in their field of study. It demonstrates their ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems, and their ability to communicate their ideas effectively.
• To Facilitate Career Advancement : Completing a thesis can help the student advance their career by demonstrating their research skills and dedication to their field of study. It can also provide a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.

When to Write Thesis

The timing for writing a thesis depends on the specific requirements of the academic program or institution. In most cases, the opportunity to write a thesis is typically offered at the graduate level, but there may be exceptions.

Generally, students should plan to write their thesis during the final year of their graduate program. This allows sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis. It is important to start planning the thesis early and to identify a research topic and research advisor as soon as possible.

In some cases, students may be able to write a thesis as part of an undergraduate program or as an independent research project outside of an academic program. In such cases, it is important to consult with faculty advisors or mentors to ensure that the research is appropriately designed and executed.

It is important to note that the process of writing a thesis can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of effort and dedication. It is important to plan accordingly and to allocate sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis.

Characteristics of Thesis

The characteristics of a thesis vary depending on the specific academic program or institution. However, some general characteristics of a thesis include:

• Originality : A thesis should present original research findings or insights. It should demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study.
• Clarity : A thesis should be clear and concise. It should present the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions in a logical and organized manner. It should also be well-written, with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Research-Based: A thesis should be based on rigorous research, which involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources. The research should be well-designed, with appropriate research methods and techniques.
• Evidence-Based : A thesis should be based on evidence, which means that all claims made in the thesis should be supported by data or literature. The evidence should be properly cited using appropriate citation styles.
• Critical Thinking: A thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically analyze and evaluate information. It should present the student’s own ideas and arguments, and engage with existing literature in the field.
• Academic Style : A thesis should adhere to the conventions of academic writing. It should be well-structured, with clear headings and subheadings, and should use appropriate academic language.

Advantages of Thesis

There are several advantages to writing a thesis, including:

• Development of Research Skills: Writing a thesis requires extensive research and analytical skills. It helps to develop the student’s research skills, including the ability to formulate research questions, design and execute research methodologies, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Contribution to Knowledge: Writing a thesis provides an opportunity for the student to contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. By conducting original research, they can add new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• Preparation for Future Research: Completing a thesis prepares the student for future research projects. It provides them with the necessary skills to design and execute research methodologies, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Career Advancement: Writing a thesis can help to advance the student’s career. It demonstrates their research skills and dedication to their field of study, and provides a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.
• Personal Growth: Completing a thesis can be a challenging and rewarding experience. It requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It can help the student to develop self-confidence, independence, and a sense of accomplishment.

Limitations of Thesis

There are also some limitations to writing a thesis, including:

• Time and Resources: Writing a thesis requires a significant amount of time and resources. It can be a time-consuming and expensive process, as it may involve conducting original research, analyzing data, and producing a lengthy document.
• Narrow Focus: A thesis is typically focused on a specific research question or topic, which may limit the student’s exposure to other areas within their field of study.
• Limited Audience: A thesis is usually only read by a small number of people, such as the student’s thesis advisor and committee members. This limits the potential impact of the research findings.
• Lack of Real-World Application : Some thesis topics may be highly theoretical or academic in nature, which may limit their practical application in the real world.
• Pressure and Stress : Writing a thesis can be a stressful and pressure-filled experience, as it may involve meeting strict deadlines, conducting original research, and producing a high-quality document.
• Potential for Isolation: Writing a thesis can be a solitary experience, as the student may spend a significant amount of time working independently on their research and writing.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Is writing a masters thesis hard? Tips on how to write a thesis

Graduate school quite often requires its students to create a thesis showcasing the research work they have done throughout their course.

It’s funny that quite often students do not have any practical guidance on how to complete a thesis with the least amount of stress.

Writing a master’s thesis can be incredibly difficult if you try to write it without any structure or knowledge of the process. However, by focusing on structure and story first you’ll be able to significantly cut down the effort required to produce a Masters thesis.

I was able to write my master’s thesis in a couple of months due to the fact I had all of my data already collected and readily available for interpretation.

This article will go through everything you need to know about writing a Masters thesis and how to make it as easy as possible.

What is a master’s thesis?

A master’s thesis is an academic document that is produced in a postgraduate masters degree that demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct independent research within a specific field of study.

It is written and submitted to the University as evidence that the candidate can provide a deeper analysis into the chosen topic than what is expected from undergraduate studies.

It is typically between 30 and 100 pages or 25,000 to 50,000 words in length. However, the exact length can be very different depending on the field of study.

The thesis can include:

• research and findings from previous studies – in order to provide a background and justification for the current study.
• original work developed by the student – highlighting the student’s ability to formulate a research question, develop methodology to answer that question, create data and analysis, and present the work in a clear and logical fashion.

A faculty member or academic supervisor typically guides the student throughout the entire Masters process, providing feedback on ideas and drafts and ensuring academic robustness.

In some cases, students may be required to present their thesis to a panel of faculty members for review and evaluation before graduation. For example, when I finish my masters in chemistry I was required to present my computational chemistry research project to my peers and faculty members who then questioned and critiqued my work.

Having their work critiqued in front of others can be quite confronting process for many students, however, this is a normal part of academia and learning to navigate this process will help you in your future career.

Why is writing a thesis or a dissertation hard? Thesis writing tips

There is no doubt that writing a thesis or dissertation is a difficult challenge for many graduate students. That is because they have, quite simply, not done anything quite like this before.

Not only are they required to conduct research, but they must also use their technical writing skills in order to organize their thoughts and turn them into an effective paper. Not something that is explicitly taught in universities.

Quite often we hope that students will absorb the thesis writing skills by a process of osmosis and by doing.

Writing your thesis requires a large amount of time and effort, as it involves:

• researching and gathering relevant data,
• formulating an argument,
• conducting analysis and evaluation, and finally
• organizing the results into a report.

All of these tasks can be daunting for someone who may not have had much experience with academic writing before.

Most graduate students will also need to learn how to correctly cite sources in order to avoid plagiarism. As such, this is not a task that should be taken lightly and requires significant dedication from the student in order to complete successfully.

In order to complete your thesis successfully this is the order in which I go through tasks:

How is a Masters thesis assessed and examined? Submit a thesis successfully

A Masters thesis is typically submitted to the University for review by an internal review panel or is sent out to experts in the field for a more thorough peer-review.

Exactly what process is used is dependent on the University policy and guidelines.

For example, my chemistry master’s thesis was reviewed internally whereas my friend who went to another UK institution for his masters had his thesis sent out for peer review in other institutions.

Understanding exactly what would happen to your thesis before you submit is important part of having your thesis passed.

Institutions may require different criteria for assessment and examination, such as originality of content and how well it meets the objectives set out in the initial proposal.

Universities may also require submission of supporting evidence if needed by the examiners.

The examiners can:

• pass the thesis with no corrections
• pass the thesis with minor corrections – common in academia
• suggest a major rewrite of the thesis – this happens if there are major scientific or research-based mistakes throughout the thesis
• rejected the thesis – if the examiners are not confident that the thesis provides enough evidence for submission into the degree the reviewers may outright reject and suggest that it gets downgraded.

Your supervisor should do everything in their power to ensure that you are passing with minor or no corrections.

If you want to know more about a Masters’s thesis you can check out my other articles:

• How Long is a Masters Thesis? [Your writing guide]
• How to write a masters thesis in 2 months [Easy steps to start writing]

How long should a thesis or a dissertation be? Effective tips 

A Masters thesis should be an original work of research and writing, typically between 30 and 100 pages in length.

Whereas a PhD thesis can be anywhere between 50 and 450 pages and between 60,000 and 80,000 words.

The exact length will vary significantly depending on the subject and specific requirements set by your university or department.

While a thesis may be shorter than a dissertation, it will still require a significant amount of research and analysis. And sometimes it is easier to write words than to try and condense what you are trying to say into a smaller thesis.

If you want to know more about how long a thesis or dissertation as you can check out my other article – click here – it will give you all of the juicy data.

It is important to thoroughly develop your argument and provide sufficient detail to support your claims. To ensure that you have covered all necessary information, it is best to consult with faculty members or colleagues who have gone through the dissertation or thesis process before.

How long should a master’s thesis be? Tips on how to write

A master’s thesis can be a huge undertaking and should not be taken lightly.

It is important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all answer for how long a Masters thesis should be. My thesis is 60 pages long however a more theoretical thesis may be much shorter.

It is much better to break down the thesis into sections and make sure that you provide enough information to satisfy a reviewer. That focus on length rather focus on making pass peer-review for your subject.

It should include:

• a title page,
• table of contents,
• introduction, including a literature review
• main body, presenting all of your results and findings in a logical fashion
• conclusion and discussions
• references.
• Appendices (optional)

Depending on the subject matter and the research methodology used, some theses may be longer than others.

As a general rule of thumb, most master’s theses are between 50 and 100 pages in length including citations.

Writing a master’s thesis can be an intimidating task but it doesn’t have to be too daunting if you start writing early and break down your project into smaller chunks.

I always start with the heading outline and you can check out my exact process in my YouTube video, below.

Make sure you review all guidelines given by your supervisor or instructor before starting your thesis so that you will have an idea of what needs to be included in order to fulfill all criteria successfully.

What is writing a masters thesis like? 

From experience I can tell you that writing a master’s thesis can be both exciting and daunting.

That is because the skills to complete a thesis without losing your mind are not specifically taught in undergraduate.

It requires dedication, focus, and hard work to complete a successful thesis. Many students find themselves combating imposter syndrome as they write because there are many stages where you feel like your writing is rubbish and you are not clever enough.

However, with continual improvements and feedback from your supervisor, you’ll be able to overcome this hurdle and if it is good enough you supervisor – it is good enough for you.

The general steps of a Masters means that you’ll need to identify your research topic, develop an outline of your project, write drafts of each chapter, edit your work thoroughly, and potentially defend the final product in front of a panel of experts.

During this process it is important to stay organized, keep track of deadlines, and remember to take time for yourself while also staying focused on your studies.

With determination and effort you can successfully complete a master’s thesis that will be rewarding not only academically but also personally as you reflect on all the hard work that went into it.

Can I finish masters thesis in 2 months? Your advisor will be the road block

Completing a master’s thesis in two months is an ambitious goal, but it is not impossible.

As long as you are able to work continuously little by little breaking up the big goal into small achievable chance you can get there.

I wrote my master’s thesis in two months by locking myself in the University library and fuelling myself with chocolate and V (caffeine energy drink).

I’m not saying that this is the best way to do it – I just needed to get it done and this was how I survived.

No matter what the path you choose writing a Masters thesis in two months requires determination, organization, and dedication to make it happen.

You will need to create a detailed plan which incorporates the research process, writing style and pace, and any necessary revisions.

It’s very important that you also set aside time for self-care so you don’t become overwhelmed or exhausted with the task and it remains manageable. 

Additionally, enlisting the help of friends, and any other academic that you trust (even outside of your field) to provide feedback on your drafts can be very beneficial in ensuring that your final product meets your expectations.

With careful planning and hard work it is possible to finish a master’s thesis in two months.

Wrapping up

This article has been through everything you need to know about how hard it is to write a Masters thesis.

The skills required to complete your thesis are not explicitly taught in universities, but following a process of setting out the headings and chapters, placing bullet points under each heading and chapter with data, turning the bullet points into words and sentences, seems to be the only way to ensure that you complete your thesis without going insane.

Remember to factor in some time for self-care so you don’t become overwhelmed.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

Thank you for visiting Academia Insider.

We are here to help you navigate Academia as painlessly as possible. We are supported by our readers and by visiting you are helping us earn a small amount through ads and affiliate revenue - Thank you!

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How to connect to your NAS remotely

If you have a NAS and want to connect to it from anywhere, this is the best way to do so.

If you have a NAS , you're probably already aware of how useful they can be. I built one recently using an old PC and already use it to host a media server, a Minecraft server, and Pi-hole DNS filter for my home. However, some of those things (like the media server) you may want to access from outside your home, but it's not immediately obvious how you would do that.

Depending on your level of comfort with your NAS's services being exposed to the web, there are a few options to consider. You could port forward all of these services on your router to be accessible via your IP address, or you could go a little bit more complicated and create a VPN on the NAS so that you can access everything, which is the more secure option.

Why would you want to access your NAS remotely?

If you run a NAS, there are a few reasons why you may want to access it remotely. The first and biggest is simply just to access your files. As NAS stands for network-attached storage, it's presumed you have some important files being kept on it, like photos, documents, or videos.

However, another reason you may want to is to stream content you keep on it. I have a litany of movies and TV shows I've ripped from DVDs over the last roughly 15 years, and I keep them on multiple drives. Migrating them to my NAS means that I can access them from anywhere so long as I can connect to it remotely.

Finally, it also allows you to use your NAS as a VPN. If you're traveling but want to access your country's Netflix or Disney+ catalog, for example, then you could VPN to your NAS and then watch those services normally. Either way, being able to access our NAS remotely can be quite useful.

For Synology users: QuickConnect

If you have a Synology NAS, it's actually quite easy to access your NAS from outside of your home network:

• Log into your Synology NAS .
• Open Control Panel .
• Go to External Access > QuickConnect .
• Enter your preferred ID in the QuickConnect ID box.
• Make sure the Automatically create port forwarding rules box is checked.
• Check the box to agree to the terms of service as well.
• Click Apply .

You shouldn't need to set up any port forwarding rules, and it should just work easily. If it doesn't work though, you can set up port forwarding rules for ports 5000 and 5001 for the DSM service and port 6690 for Synology Drive. Synology has more documentation that you can follow to configure it based on your network.

There are a ton of Synology applications that you can download and install online to access your NAS remotely once this is configured, with many on the Google Play Store for example. And if you're in the market for a new Synology NAS, the Synology DiskStation DS224+ is a solid two-bay enclosure at a good price.

Synology DiskStation DS224+

The Synology DiskStation DS224+ is the direct successor to the popular DS220+, which was praised for the value it offered to consumers looking to buy their first enclosure. The DS224+ has an Intel Celeron processor, 2GB of DDR4 RAM, and support for Synology's excellent DSM operating system and catalog of apps.

WireGuard VPN Tunnel

A quick and easy solution is to set up WireGuard . On a TrueNAS setup, I used wg-easy from the TrueCharts catalog , and it truly took only five minutes. Of course, you'll need to add the TrueCharts Catalog to your NAS first. To do this, go to Apps > Manage Catalogs > Add Catalog and enter the following information:

• Name: TrueCharts
• Repository: https://github.com/truecharts/catalog
• Trains: Enterprise, Stable, Operators (commas separate each option you should select)
• Branch : Main

Once you've done this, you can browse the catalog to install wg-easy and set up WireGuard. What this does is turn your NAS into a VPN that you can connect to from anywhere so long as you port forward the WireGuard port on your router, and it works very well.

In WireGuard's web UI, you can create new profiles and export them to a .conf file, and this file (or QR code) can be imported into any WireGuard client. I created one for my laptop, one for my phone, and even one for my dad so that he can still access Irish Netflix when he's traveling. From there, I can access all the services on my network the same way I would if I were physically there. Creating a new configuration will look like you see below, where you simply name it and click "Create".

This will make a configuration file that you can download and save anywhere, or generate a QR code that you can scan on your mobile device. This .conf file can be imported easily on desktop and mobile clients using the WireGuard app, which is available on Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone, plus a few Linux distributions.

You will also need to port forward on your router to ensure that the connection can get through, and the default port for this is 51820. Make sure that the port is the same, and also make sure that you do not share your configuration files with anyone. These files will allow anyone to gain access to your network as if they were a part of it.

Port forwarding is available through your router's setting, which can typically be accessed via a specific URL or using an app. Check your router's manual for instructions how to access configuration options.

It's a pretty basic solution and doesn't take a lot of setup, but it's secure thanks to the usage of client certificates instead of login credentials. It still requires remembering all of your different port numbers for different services, but your TrueNAS UI (or whatever service you use) will be accessible to check what those port numbers need to be for navigating to them.

Another alternative is OpenVPN, though WireGuard is considered safer thanks to using more modern cryptographic standards. WireGuard is also typically faster, too.

A reverse proxy

If you want to access your NAS from outside of the network, a reverse proxy is a great way to do so. Not only can you access all of your services from anywhere, but you can configure them to be accessible via custom domain names. A popular piece of software to do this is nginx, and on TrueNAS, people will often use something like Traefik. You can create a reverse proxy using it that you can connect to from anywhere, which in turn then grants access to the rest of your network.

It requires a bit of setup and isn't as secure as a VPN tunnel, but the results can be very rewarding. You could create custom domains where you can access your Jellyfin server using an address of "jf.lan" for example, and it would work, as opposed to typing in a string of numbers and a port sequence at the end. It's not the biggest inconvenience to do that, but if you're looking for more optimizations to make for your NAS and how you access it, then that's something to look into.

Connecting to your NAS from anywhere can be easy

If you want to connect to your NAS from anywhere, these are some of the most popular ways to do so. It's not really possible to write a tutorial on how to configure each of these as, aside from Synology, it will be very different depending on your particular setup. However, typically searching the name of the program and a tutorial for your chosen operating system will net you results on how to set it up for your exact configuration.

For example, configuring a reverse proxy on TrueNAS will likely be vastly different from doing so on OpenMediaVault. Likewise, WireGuard's setup may differ from machine to machine as well, with wg-easy doing most of the work for me on a TrueNAS setup. It's a Docker image that you can set up on any machine that supports Docker and WireGuard, but that may not be possible depending on what your setup is.

If you want to connect to your NAS from afar, there are many ways to do so, so be sure to research what will work best for your machine.

Dynamic and Composable Enclave Measurement

Evgeny pobachienko, eecs department, university of california, berkeley, technical report no. ucb/eecs-2024-102, may 14, 2024, http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/pubs/techrpts/2024/eecs-2024-102.pdf.

An enclave is an execution environment isolated from the rest of the system, including the OS, providing security and privacy guarantees. The technology is maturing and seeing more adaptation in large and security-niche products, for security and confidentiality, but is still too difficult to use for wider adoption to occur. Specifically, the trust derivation from a measurement of the loaded memory proves incompatible with the design of modern applications because applications are redeployed with different workloads, load resources gradually, can be optimized by using available dependencies, etc. This leads to workarounds, inefficiencies, and unnecessary complexity.

We introduce Dynamic and Composable Measurement -- following a design paradigm shift to the measurement securely relaying a collection of resources to be used instead of blindly capturing exact runtime state. The report takes on the abstraction of guaranteeing that only these resources can be used, independently of how and when they are delivered. This approach is especially helpful for dealing with resources that vary across instances, like dynamic libraries, inputs, and configurations; or that come from mutually distrusting providers. The measurement design is modular and implementation-agnostic, without having any side effects on trust assumptions. New use cases of enclaves become feasible thanks to new capabilities.

Advisors: Dawn Song

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