Before we begin, lets define what is a thesis statement:
It’s the single, specific claim that your essay supports.
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
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.
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.
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?
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:
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.