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HOW DO I COME UP WITH A THESIS STATEMENT FOR MY RESEARCH PAPER?
by Kathy McLain, M.A.  

A thesis statement, sometimes called a central or controlling idea, is the main point you want to make in any paper.  In an argumentative research paper, your thesis statement is the answer or conclusion to your research question or hypothetical thesis.  Specifically, the thesis statement for the research paper is a single sentence statement of purpose that clearly states the limited topic and your position, conclusion, or findings on or toward that limited topic.

A good thesis statement includes all of these items:

1. The thesis statement should be a single sentence.
2. The sentence should contain a limited topic.
3. The sentence should take a position or draw a conclusion about that topic.
4. The thesis statement should lead to an argumentative research paper.

If your research question was

Is human cloning ethical?

Your thesis statement would answer this question based on your research:

Human cloning is unethical because it takes away from human individuality, creates emotional and psychological trauma for the cloned child, and eliminates necessary biological gene selection.