Essay
Everything you need to know about Thesis Statements
A thesis statement is a sentence that makes an argument and usually takes a stand, expresses a feeling, or highlights a feature of a subject. A thesis statement says something that has to be proved, and when you read or hear a good thesis statement, your reaction will be "Really?" or "How do you figure that?" or "Oh yeah? Prove it!" or "That sounds interesting -- tell me more." In short, a thesis will set up the paper and prepare the reader to consider the evidence.
When writing a thesis statement, some students have found the following formula to be helpful:
A manageable or limited subject + a specific stand, feeling, or feature = thesis statement
For example: Multicultural education is vital to a society made up of many peoples.
Here, multicultural education is the limited subject, and the stand the author takes is that multicultural education is vital to a society made up of many peoples.
Let’s look at some other thesis statements:
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a charming reminder of the imaginary world of children.
John Keats’ “To Autumn” seems like an ode praising a good-intentioned season; however, in actuality, it is a paradoxical commentary on the sometimes harsh reality of the beneficial cycle of life.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Ethan Brand” contradicts my fundamental doctrinal beliefs by positing an unpardonable sin while challenging me to delve into the apparent dichotomy between faith and reason that proves Ethan Brand’s demise.
In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, Mitty is a henpecked, insignificant, and insecure husband who runs from his reality to a world of fantasy created in his mind. Once there, he is superior, confident, and capable of handling any occasion.
In “The House on Mango Street,” Sandra Cicernos’s descriptions of the narrator’s living conditions reveal binary oppositions that often contradict one another.
A thesis statement is a sentence that makes an argument and usually takes a stand, expresses a feeling, or highlights a feature of a subject. A thesis statement says something that has to be proved, and when you read or hear a good thesis statement, your reaction will be "Really?" or "How do you figure that?" or "Oh yeah? Prove it!" or "That sounds interesting -- tell me more." In short, a thesis will set up the paper and prepare the reader to consider the evidence.
When writing a thesis statement, some students have found the following formula to be helpful:
A manageable or limited subject + a specific stand, feeling, or feature = thesis statement
For example: Multicultural education is vital to a society made up of many peoples.
Here, multicultural education is the limited subject, and the stand the author takes is that multicultural education is vital to a society made up of many peoples.
Let’s look at some other thesis statements:
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a charming reminder of the imaginary world of children.
John Keats’ “To Autumn” seems like an ode praising a good-intentioned season; however, in actuality, it is a paradoxical commentary on the sometimes harsh reality of the beneficial cycle of life.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Ethan Brand” contradicts my fundamental doctrinal beliefs by positing an unpardonable sin while challenging me to delve into the apparent dichotomy between faith and reason that proves Ethan Brand’s demise.
In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, Mitty is a henpecked, insignificant, and insecure husband who runs from his reality to a world of fantasy created in his mind. Once there, he is superior, confident, and capable of handling any occasion.
In “The House on Mango Street,” Sandra Cicernos’s descriptions of the narrator’s living conditions reveal binary oppositions that often contradict one another.