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Developing a Thesis Statement
At the end of this tutorial, you will understand the process of writing a one-sentence
thesis, or research statement.
A thesis statement is a one-sentence summary of
the writer’s argument, a main point to be supported
by solid evidence and reasoning.
An example thesis statement:
The exclusive use of biofuels would solve the
United States’ dependence on fossil fuels.
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Steps in writing a thesis statement:
1.
Choose a topic.
For example, ‘violent video games and children’
Steps in writing a thesis statement:
2.
Brainstorm keywords related to your
topic and do preliminary research.
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After looking at a couple of the articles, ask yourself some questions about the topic.
For example,
Does playing violent video games have a positive effect on children’s social skills?
Does playing violent video games make children behave aggressively?
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The next step would be to pose an answer to one of the questions - this
would be your thesis statement.
Example: the second question:
Does playing violent video games make children behave aggressively?
The thesis statement could be:
Playing violent video games causes children to behave more aggressively.
You now have a thesis statement, and
you would continue to do research to help
support your assertion.
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To recap:
The steps in writing a thesis statement are:
1. Choose a topic and brainstorm keywords.
2. Do some preliminary research.
3. Ask some questions about the topic.
4. Answer one of the questions and use that as your thesis.
In conclusion:
A thesis statement is a one-sentence assertion that takes a position.
It justifies discussion (it does not just state a fact or an observation).
It is supported by solid evidence.
It makes one main point.
More resources are available.
Updated 7/12/11