Thesis Statement

As we are studying in a variety of essays we’ll complete this year, a good thesis statement can guide your writing. This research paper lends itself well to an enlarged essay format; thus we’ll begin by writing a thesis statement that will set the focus for your research and writing.

A thesis is an argument or a hypothesis. The thesis statement should state why or how you think something related to your topic happened. The goal of the remainder of the paper is to support, explain, discuss, and prove that argument or hypothesis.

Below are a few examples of both weak and strong thesis statements

Weak: Mahatma Ghandi’s salt march to Dandi was important in furthering the concept of satygraha.

Strong: When Mahatma Ghandi led a march to Dandi in protest of the unfair British salt tax, he sought to demonstrate the concept of satygraha, or peaceful non-resistance. This event marked the beginning of the fight for Indian independence, but more importantly, it forced the rest of the world to take notice of this humble man.

Weak: It is not fair to limit people’s freedoms in times of war.

Strong: Typically in our country, during times of war, the federal government has chosen to place restrictions on our citizens. However, even temporarily, sacrificing our civil liberties in the name of national security proves an unacceptable trade.

To write your own thesis statement for your paper, start with a question you want to answer. The question should be a why question rather than a what question; what happened is important, but why it happened is even more so.

Some further hints for writing your thesis statement:

· If you can’t explain your argument in three sentences or less, you need to refine your thesis.

· If you cannot rephrase your thesis statement in the form of a “why” question, refine your thesis statement.

· Keep your thesis in mind as you conduct your research.

· Don’t force your evidence to support your thesis; modify your thesis so that it explains your evidence.