First-Year English FAQs
General Guidelines for a Thesis Statement
For most papers in English 101 and English 102, you should have a clear thesis statement. A thesis statement is a single sentence statement of purpose that includes a limited topic plus a position. The thesis statement is your conclusion. The thesis states your final position or point. In most papers it is placed in the introduction. In a short two to three page paper the thesis statement comes in the introductory paragraph. In longer papers such as the research paper for English 102, it usually comes some place in the introduction to the paper. Sometimes the introduction in a seven to ten page research paper will be more than one paragraph long, so the thesis statement may not be in the first paragraph.
Preliminary Thesis Used to Begin a Research Paper
When writing a research paper, even before the research has begun, some instructors will ask you to come up with a "preliminary conclusion" or "preliminary thesis statement" to your research in order to help you focus your research on a specific topic. This preliminary thesis is not always exactly the same thesis statement that you may actually use in writing your final paper because you may find that your sources suggest a new and better conclusion. Your preliminary thesis statement may change a little or a lot during the research project depending on whether or not your research supports your preliminary conclusion.
Formulating a "Preliminary Thesis Statement"
An acceptable preliminary thesis statement should contain all of the following elements:
- The preliminary thesis statement should be a single sentence.
- The sentence should contain a limited topic.
- The sentence should draw a preliminary conclusion about that topic.
- The preliminary thesis statement should lead to an argumentative research paper.
Poor Preliminary Thesis Statement
The following is a poor preliminary thesis statement because the thesis contains two separate general topics that are not limited or focused. The phrase "too much stress in our society" is much too general. The lack of a single focused topic and the vagueness of the "stress" phrase makes this a poor choice for a preliminary thesis statement.
Obesity and anorexia nervosa are caused by too much stress in our society.
The next preliminary thesis statement is slightly better because it focuses on a single topic, but the statement is still too general because it does not limit the topic of "stress."
Anorexia nervosa is caused by too much stress in our society.
A better preliminary thesis statement than either of the first two would be:
One of many factors that may lead adolescent girls to anorexia nervosa is too much stress from multiple sources in their lives.
The above preliminary thesis statement is better because the topic is limited to anorexia and adolescent girls. In addition, the term "stress" is more clearly limited and defined.
After choosing a focused and limited research question or a preliminary thesis statement, the final test in determining whether you have a good thesis statement is that there are adequate sources available.