Identifying and Selecting A Thesis Statement

The first step in writing a thesis proposal is the identification and selection of a thesis statement or a research problem. Many students find it difficult to write a thesis proposal because they are confused in selecting a thesis statement. This might be due to any of the following reasons:

Thesis Statement - How To Write A Thesis Statement

Arguments will be the one that will sustain a thesis statement. With the evidence to sustain its validness the thesis statement should also be discussed firmly. As a student in a University,one is obliged to compose a thesis statement as a compliance of your class. One must know how to write a thesis statement because it is one of the basic parts of the student thesis and it can be an essay or an article.

How To Write a Thesis Statement: Quantitative

A Quantitative Thesis Statement


Quantitative thesis statements differ considerably from the qualitative models just presented, in terms of the rhetorical and methodological paradigm assumptions.


To properly write a quantitative thesis statement, one needs a firm understanding of variables. At this point it might be useful to review the meaning and use variables. A variable is a discrete phenomenon that can be measure or observed in two or more categories. Psychologists use the term construct interchangeably with variable,. Variable could be gender, age, social and economic status, or attitudes or behaviors such as racism, social control, political power and socialization. Because the phenomena vary ( in tow or more categories), they are called "variables". Several texts provide detailed discussions about the types of variables one can use and their scale of measurement. In brief, variables might be distinguished by two characteristics their temporal order and their measurement. 

How To Write A Thesis Statement: Qualitative

 A Qualitative Thesis Statement

A fundamental characteristic of a good thesis statement is that it implies or express the assumptions of the qualitative paradigm, such as the language of qualitative research and the methodology of an emerging design based on experiences of individuals in a natural setting.

Thus one might consider several basic design features of writing this statement:

• Use such words as statement, intent, and objective to call attention to this statements as the central controlling idea in a study. Set off the statement as a separate paragraph and use the rhetoric of research by employing such words as " The statement ( or intent or objective ) of this study is ( was or will be ).." The present or past verb tense often used in journal articles and dissertations; the future tense is used in dissertation proposals because researchers are presenting a plan for a study.

• Use words that convey an emerging design because of the inductive mode of the research process in qualitative designs. Such words as describe, understand, develop and discover convey this sense.

• On how to write a thesis statement eliminates the words that suggest a directional orientation to the study (e.g., successful, informing, useful). Also refrain from using such word as relationship or comparison, which convey quantitative cause and effect or group comparison methodology. By eliminating these words, the researchers conveys an open, evolving stance in the design referred to the need in qualitative interviews to let the respondent describe his or her experience. Interviews (or thesis statement writers) violate the " law of non direction" when they used words that suggest a directional orientation.

• On how to write a thesis statement clearly mention the central concept or idea being explored or understood in the study. Methodologically a central concept or idea is being understood, discovered, or developed in a qualitative study. This central concept maybe a single idea or an umbrella idea with several sub-ideas. For example, assume that the central idea is to explore chairpersons' roles in enhancing faculty development. One might specify this central idea, as well as key terms used in this exploration, such as the roles of advocate, mentor and coach in the study.

• On how to write a thesis statement provide a general definition of the central concept or idea. Consistent with the rhetoric of qualitative research, this definition is not rigid and st, but rather is tentative and evolving throughout a study based on information from informants. Hence a writer might use the words " A tentative definition at this time for ____ is .." Another point: This definition is not to be confused with the detailed " definition of terms"

How to write a thesis statement for a qualitative research?

The intent here is to convey to readers a general sense of the key concept so that they can better understand the study at an early juncture in the research plan.

• Include words denoting the method inquiry to be used in data collection, analysis and the process of research (e.g., ethnographic study, grounded-theory study, case study, a phenomenological study).

• Mention the unit of analysis (e.g., individual, group, culture or research site (e.g., classroom, organization, program, event for the study. A methodological characteristics of qualitative inquiry is that the study is context-bound.

How to Write a Thesis Statement for Your English Essay

Before we begin, lets define what is a thesis statement:

It’s the single, specific claim that your essay supports.

A good thesis statement is not simply an observation, a question, or a promise. 

It includes a topic, a precise opinion and reasoning.

Parts of a thesis statement

First thing you have to know is:

There are three parts to every thesis statement.

• The subject
• The precise opinion
• The blueprint of reasons

But what exactly are those things?

The subject: That’s basically the topic of your essay

The precise opinion: Your opinion on the subject or the topic of your essay.

The blueprint of reasons: This is where you show your reader how you plan to argue and prove your opinion. Typically, you should have 3 strong pieces of evidence to support you opinion. Later, you will expand on each detail in the body of the essay.

Now that you have an idea of how to write a thesis statement. Let’s have an example of it.

Let’s say you have an example of music. 

Well that’s too broad so let’s narrow it down a bit. Lets select a particular genre of music, like Country, Pop, or Hip Hop

Lets say we selected Hip Hop music as our topic.

What comes next?

Write your opinion on the topic. If you’re not sure what that is, you should do a little research to help you formulate your opinion.

Let’s say your opinion on Hip Hop is that Hip Hop is not offensive and positively influences urban growth.

Does that sound arguable? Will others disagree with that statement?

Yes?

Good!

A thesis statement is an arguable statement

Now you need to support your opinion!

How? You need to research evidences to support your opinion.

Blueprint of reasons is the research that you find answerable to your opinion so we can say:

• It gives urban youth a chance for artistic expression
• It give a form of street poetry
• It inspires youth to overcome challenges.

Polished thesis statement:

Though many people dismiss hip hop as offensive, hip hop music inspires urban youth to overcome challenges, offers an important opportunity for artistic expression and allows them to articulate the poetry of the street.

Those pieces of evidence or “the blueprints” are only effective if:

• It explain what it mean about each blue print point in the body paragraphs
• It provides detailed examples for each blue print point

So lets have a recap of what have we done so far.

The thesis statement tells your reader where you are going in your essay and
how you plan on getting there that is why you need to:

• You need to narrow your subject or topic

Whats your opinion on that subject or topic? 

• If you don’t know, you should research a bit to help you form an opinion
• Once you have formed your opinion about your topic, list 3 reasons/evidences to support your opinion.