Thesis Statements

Aug. 26, 2022

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What is a Thesis Statement?

Generally, a thesis statement is a sentence that presents the controlling idea of your paper. Thesis statements are often argumentative, meaning you’re seeking to persuade your reader to adopt your viewpoint on a topic. The following handout considers argumentative thesis statements. In academic writing, a thesis statement is often one or two sentences, and it is often included towards the end of the introductory paragraph.

What a Thesis Does

A basic thesis statement will do three things:

Names the topic
States an evaluative claim about your topic
Provides an overview of the reasons that support the claim

For example: The community policing model (1) benefits relations with the public (2) because it improves public trust and police officer safety (3).

1. Topic: This paper is going to be about the community policing model.
2. Argument: This paper is asserting the benefits of that model.
3. Main points: The structure of the paper will cover first, public trust and second, officer safety.

Step One: Brainstorming and Preliminary Research

It’s difficult and inadvisable to generate a thesis if you haven’t first done some preliminary reading and brainstorming about your topic. As you prepare to write your thesis, take some time to do the following:

Review the purpose of the assignment.
Understand course concepts.
Read some general articles on your topic.
Create a mind-map, or write down some initial thoughts to help you generate ideas for your thesis.
Generate a working research question to help direct your future research, and ultimately, your thesis statement.

Doing preliminary intellectual work like the steps listed above not only helps you formulate your working thesis, but it also contributes significantly to the body of your paper.

Step Two: Create a Working Thesis Statement

Fill in the following template to help clarify a general direction for your research and writing:

I am studying (name the topic) because I want to find out in order to help my reader understand .

For example: I am studying community policing models because I want to find out how they influence public and police relations in order to help my reader understand how to use different policing models to address modern policing challenges.

Step Three: Revisit Your Thesis After You are Finished Writing the Paper

As you research and write your paper, your main point will become clearer. For this reason, don’t hesitate to revisit your thesis statement after you have finished the first draft of your paper to ensure that the thesis accurately reflects the main points, evidence, and structure you’ve presented.

At this stage, make sure your thesis statement is both explicit and specific:

Explicit

Uses signaling words that announce the central claim.

In this paper I will argue,

Specific:

Clarifies vague or unclear terms.

Community policing models ~~play a role~~ partner with key members in the region to improve community health and safety.

Step Four: Finalize Your Thesis Statement

Once you have finished writing your paper and revisited your working thesis, finalize your argumentative thesis by making sure it is debatable, defensible, and focused.

Debatable

It can be argued.

The community policing model was created in the 1970s.

Modern police departments should draw on early community policing models from the 1970s to address current systematic reform in order to understand the history that has shaped current models of policing.

Note: This effective thesis statement is debatable because a reader could argue for or against this claim.

Defensible

It can be supported with logical, plausible evidence.

Community policing models will improve public trust of police officers by 80%

Research shows that community policing models create opportunities for positive contact with police that improve public attitudes toward police.

Note: This in-effective thesis statement is not defensible because the statistic of 80% is conjecture and not substantiated in any studies.

Focused

It fits the scope of the assignment.

Canada should use community policing models to improve public relations.

Ontario Provincial Police should use community policing models to create opportunities for positive contact with police that improve local attitudes toward police.

Note: This effective thesis statement is focused because it refines the scope from Canada generally to the province of Ontario.

Learn More About Thesis Statements

The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald

They Say/ I Say with Readings by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst

Writing Services, Wilfrid Laurier University, CC By-NC 2023