How-to-Write-a-Thesis-Statement

1HowtoWriteaThesisStatementI.WhatisThesisStatement.“Athesisstatementisasinglesentence,preferablyasimpledeclarativesentencethatexpressesthebasicideaaroundwhichthepaperwilldevelop.”—WebsterUniversityWritingCenter.“Athesisstatementisaveryspecificargumentthatguidesyourpaper.Generally,athesisstatementconsistsoftwoparts:1.Aclearlyidentifiabletopicorsubjectmatter,and2.Asuccinctsummaryofwhatyouhavetosayaboutthattopic.”—VanderbiltUniversityWritingCenter.II.HowtoGenerateaThesisStatement.A.AnalyzingMethodSugarconsumption.Reducingsugarconsumptionbyelementaryschoolchildren.Moreattentionshouldbepaidtothefoodandbeveragechoicesavailabletoelementaryschoolchildren.Expertsestimatethathalfofelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar.2B.QuestioningMethod“topic—question—thesis’’topic:MarkTwain’sTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnisagreatnovel.questions：Whyisitsuchagreatnovel?WhatdoHuck’sadventurestellusaboutlife,aboutAmerica,aboutcomingofage,aboutracerelations,etc.？thesisstatement：a.InTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,MarkTwaindevelopsacontrastbetweenlifeontheriverandlifeontheshore.b.Throughitscontrastingriverandshorescenes,MarkTwin’sTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnsuggeststhattofindthetrueexpressionofAmericandemocraticideals,onemustleave“civilized’’Societyandgobacktonature.III.HowtoTellaStrongThesisStatementfromaWeakOneA.Astrongthesisstatementtakessomesortofstand.Eg:weak:Therearesomenegativeandpositiveaspectstobeauty-slimmingtea.strong:Becausebeauty-slimmingteapromotesrapidweightlossthatresultsinthelossofmuscleandleanbodymass,itposesapotentialdangertocustomers.B.Astrongthesisstatementjustifiesdiscussion.Eg:weak:Myfamilyisanextendedfamily.BecausehalfofallAmericanelementaryschoolchildrenconsumeninetimestherecommendeddailyallowanceofsugar,schoolsshouldberequiredtoreplacethebeveragesinsodamachineswithhealthyalternatives.3strong:WhilemostAmericanfamilieswouldviewconsanguineousmarriageasathreattothenuclearfamilystructure,manyIranianfamilies,likemyown,believethatthesemarriageshelpreinforcekinshiptiesinanextendedfamily.C.Astrongthesisstatementexpressesonemainidea.Eg：weak:CompaniesneedtoexploitthemarketingpotentialoftheInternetandWebpagescanprovidebothadvertisingandcustomersupport.strong:BecausetheInternetisfilledwithtremendousmarketingpotential,companiesshouldexploitthispotentialbyusingWebpagesthatofferbothadvertisingandcustomersupport.D.Astrongthesisstatementisspecific.Eg:weak:Worldhungerhasmanycausesandeffects.Strong:Hungerpersistsinwesternareabecausejobsarescarceandfarmingintheinfertilesoilisrarelyprofitable.IV.AvoidingCommonErrorsinThesisStatements.A.Don’tclutteryourthesiswithsuchexpressionsas“inmyopinion,”“Ibelieve,”and“inthisessayI’llarguethat….”Eg:weak:Mythesisstatesthatthefederalgovernmentdevotemoremoneytosolarenergyresearch.strong:Thefederalgovernmentshoulddevotemoremoneytosolarenergyresearch.B.Don’texpressyourthesisintheformofaquestionunlesstheanswerisalreadyobvioustothereader.4Eg:weak:Whyshouldeverycollegestudentberequiredtotaketwoyearsofforeignlanguage?strong:Chemistrymajorsshouldbeexemptfromtheforeign-languagerequirement.V.ReferencesGiltrow,J.(2002).AcademicWriting.NY:BroadviewPress.Swales,M.&Feak,B.(1994).AcademicWritingforGraduateStudents.NY:TheUniversityofMichiganPress.黄国文.英语学术论文写作[M].重庆:重庆大学出版社,2011穆诗雄.英语专业毕业论文写作[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2012田贵森.英语专业毕业论文写作教程[M].北京:北京理工大学出版社,2011