What is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement is a sentence that states the topic and purpose of your paper. A good thesis statement will direct the structure of your essay and will allow your reader to understand the ideas you will discuss within your paper.

Where does a Thesis Statement go?

Your thesis should be stated somewhere in the opening paragraphs of your paper, most often as the last sentence of the introduction. Often, a thesis will be one sentence, but for complex subjects, you may find it more effective to break the thesis statement into two sentences.

How do you write a Thesis Statement?

The kind of thesis statement you write will depend on the type of paper you are writing. Here is how to write the different kinds of thesis statements:

An argumentative thesis states the topic of your paper, your position on the topic, and the reasons you have for taking that position. For help making an argumentative thesis, try using our Thesis Generator tool.

Sample Argumentative Thesis:

Sample Argumentative Thesis

An analytical thesis states the topic of your paper, what specifically you analyzed, and the conclusion(s) you reached as a result of that analysis.

Sample Analytical Thesis:

Sample Analytical Thesis

An expository thesis statement states the topic of your paper and lists the key aspects of your topic that will be discussed in the paper.

Sample Expository Thesis:

Sample Expository Thesis

Related Video Tutorials

Thesis Statments Video Tutorial