Your thesis dictates a lot about what direction your writing is headed. Start out with a weak main thesis and you’ll spend your time working on a mediocre premise. How good of a piece can you turn up with that?
1. Your thesis should answer a “how” or “why” question. This puts the focus on your analysis and insights about the topic, rather than in the seemingly endless world of description, as you would get if you framed your thesis to answer a “what” question. Always review what kind of question your thesis is answering to achieve optimal results.
2. Your thesis should answer a relevant research question. Will people care about the thesis you’re proposing or is it something that can be ignored entirely? The more relevant your thesis is, the more powerful it will come across.
3. Make sure your thesis paragraph is well organized. If you need help, you can use this standard organizational format:
- One sentence about the subject of your paper.
- One sentence listing your argument about the topic.
- One sentence providing a general overview of the evidence you’ll be presenting.
4. Your thesis should present an argument, not describe the subject. Be wary when you find your writing crossing over to explaining details about the topic.
5. Be as succinct as possible. You don’t want to risk losing the reader very early on by being verbose. Keep your first paragraph as tight as possible to ease them into the piece. Use a writing help software to assist you.
