Developing a thesis statement requires practice and investigation of a chosen topic. Writing a working thesis statement or drafting an introductory paragraph can provide guidelines for developing a solid thesis that frames and directs the rest of the article. Brainstorming ideas and revising the thesis statement until a solid thesis is developed is also important.
Thesis development can be quite complicated for many students, but it takes practice to write a thesis. Simply put, the thesis states the purpose of the research paper, which may be to analyze, explore, or argue a position. The thesis statement usually appears at the bottom of the first paragraph after a brief introduction to the topic and should contain terms and ideas that can be defined and tested. Writing the introductory paragraph first can provide some guidelines for thesis development, defining the salient points of a paper’s topic, which can help to develop a solidly structured thesis that frames and directs the rest of the article. On the other hand, writing several thesis statements first and brainstorming ideas can provide material to work with and test against the overall research of the paper, revising the statements along the way until something clicks.
The first tip for thesis development is to investigate a topic. Once a topic is chosen, information about the topic must be gathered from books, articles and journals. Carefully analyzing the information and looking for patterns can help in the further development of a thesis. Taking notes and considering “why” and “how” during the research phase can help develop the overall point of the article, a great first step in thesis development.
Once the background research for the topic is completed, an outline or working thesis can be written. The purpose of the work thesis is to serve as a starting point. Once the working thesis has been refined, it can be finalized into a final thesis statement that the paper will support.
Generally, there are two main ways to approach working thesis development. The first is to write several work thesis statements and then write the introductory paragraph that will go above. On the other hand, the introductory paragraph can be written first, which can help generate some working thesis statements. Sometimes the latter is easier.
With the first method, ideas for a possible thesis are discussed. These work thesis statements are usually a little clunky and somewhat vague, which is fine. Brainstorming many ideas that analyze, explore, or discuss a position on the article’s topic can provide enough material to eventually enhance a solid thesis. The next step is to determine whether the discussion to be used in the paper will reflect any of the working thesis statements. If the work cannot adequately support the thesis statements, they will need to be revised. After a few revisions of the thesis statements of work, it becomes clear which ones are worth keeping. This revision process—working through the thesis statements, seeking support in the planned research document, and rewriting the thesis statements—continues until a solid thesis is developed.
Another way to develop a thesis statement is to draft an introductory paragraph on the topic first, before worrying about the thesis. The introduction should generally focus on the most important points about the topic of the article, what its purpose is and what direction it will take. The introductory paragraph should set the context and naturally lead into a solid thesis statement that will guide the rest of the paper and provide good structure. This approach may be a little easier for some students as it provides more material to start with earlier in the process.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
