In order for an essay of any kind to be effective, it must contain a clear and concise thesis statement, which will usually appear as the last sentence in the essay’s introductory paragraph. The thesis statement consists of one complete sentence that explicitly identifies the essay’s purpose or position and previews its major points. Think of it as a road map for your reader.
Guidelines for Crafting a Thesis Statement
The thesis is one complete sentence. You’ll have plenty of time later in the paper to expand on the ideas in your thesis statement, which should be concise and to the point. It should offer just enough information to let your reader know what your position is on the topic, event, or issue and how you will go about discussing it.
The thesis for your final project should be a response to the research question for your chosen topic. In the case of this historical event research paper, you have been provided a question that you will want to directly respond to in your thesis statement. That means “turning the question around” and rewriting it as a phrase that indicates your position.
The thesis summarizes each point that will be made in the essay. Thesis statements include a brief overview or list of the topics or subjects that will serve to back up your main position. Then, later in the paper, each of these topics or subjects will be addressed in their own paragraph or paragraphs. In the thesis statement, they should appear in the same order as they will be addressed in the paper. That way, the reader has a clear idea of how your paper is organized.
Your thesis statement is not set in stone. Writers often craft a tentative thesis (or working thesis) first and then return to modify it as their essay expands and changes. Often, writers don’t discover their true purpose—that is, what they “really want to say”—until they’ve done a fair amount of writing and reflecting. Your thesis statement will undoubtedly change several times during the course of the writing process.
