If you have written an academic essay at least once in your life, you probably know that it needs to have a strong thesis statement. It may determine your grade for the whole essay, as it introduces what it will be about. If your thesis statement is not compelling enough, it may influence the validity of your argument or even mislead your reasoning. However, if you create a thoughtful one, half of the structure of your essay is ready and you will know for sure what conclusion you will arrive at in the end. For that reason, it is important to be able to start your essay with a strong argumentative thesis statement, and this article will help you with that.
What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is a concise idea you want to prove in your essay or paper. Essentially, it is your whole essay in a nutshell. Usually, the thesis statement is placed at the end of the introductory paragraph, which gives the context to the reader and explains what you are going to discuss. An argumentative essay is a type of work in which a strong thesis statement is vital, as it must be in its conventional three-element constitution.
Additionally, writing a strong thesis statement is necessary because you will refer to it throughout your whole work, and if it is weak, you will have nothing to use. It is supposed to express the idea you want to deliver, so different aspects of it will be mentioned in the topic sentences of the essay and in its conclusion.
Elements of a strong thesis statement
Ideally, a strong thesis statement can be easily constructed and may not even require any special writing skills. However, you will need to do some research before writing it. Below, we’ll list the three main components which, when added up, do not require any creativity from you. For example, you need to write an essay on the sugar tax in the United Kingdom, and we will try to compose a decent thesis statement with its three main components:
1. The statement on your position
It is the short part of the thesis statement that gives your opinion on the issue. In fact, it is just what you want to say in your essay, namely, “the UK government should introduce the sugar tax for food manufacturers.”
It is a good beginning for a thesis statement. Yet, it is not enough because there are no limitations or support, so there are two elements remaining.
2. The reason why you believe in your opinion
To make your thesis statement strong, you need to acknowledge why you stand by the position you have chosen. For example, with the given topic and the position you chose, the reason might sound like this: “The consumption of sugar must be reduced due to the increasing health issues among the population of the United Kingdom.”
When you give a reason to support your position, your argument becomes more valid than a bare opinion.
3. The limitation factor
To make your argument complex, you need to discuss a controversial issue. If the issue is not controversial, you do not need to make an argument because the solution itself is obvious. Thus, you need to acknowledge the limitation or and opposite argument in your thesis statement. With the example of the previously mentioned problem, its limitation might be as follows: “The introduction of the sugar tax is challenging procedurally and economically.”
The existence of the limitation, increases the importance of the issue discussed and enhances the validity of your reasoning.
When you clear all the three components for yourself, you are ready to compose your thesis statement in one or two sentences. To make it concise and cohesive, use linking words when you construct a thesis statement of the elements you figured for yourself.
Due to the increasing health issues related to sugar consumption and despite procedural complications, the UK government should introduce the sugar tax for food manufacturers.
Argumentative vs. descriptive ones
The main criterion for a thesis statement is that it must contain an argument—namely, it should be argumentative. Therefore, the most common mistake in composing a thesis statement is making it descriptive instead of argumentative. In fact, you have the whole introductory paragraph to describe the problem, and all the remaining paragraphs to make your argument, so repeating the title in the thesis is not strong enough for a compelling essay. Although the core difference between these two is explained in their names, we will show you distinctive features that will help you avoid such a mistake in the future.
An argumentative thesis statement
Expresses a statement on the topic you are writing about. When you read an argumentative statement, you see what the paper will prove.
For example, if your topic is, “Should the government introduce a sugar tax?” your statement must answer this question instead of repeating it. Thus, a strong thesis statement on this topic will look as follows:
Due to the increasing health issues related to sugar consumption and despite procedural complications, the UK government should introduce the sugar tax for food manufacturers.
A descriptive thesis statement
Restates the title of your essay without any distinctive position on it. In fact, it gives as much information as the very topic of the paper.
For example, if your topic is, “Should the government introduce a sugar tax?” and your thesis statement is, “This paper will speculate whether or not the government should introduce the sugar tax,” the reader still does not know the aim of your work.
As you can see, a specific and strong thesis statement does not require any creative competencies and may be built simply as a constructor. It is always better to start thinking with element 1, and then move onto the reasons why you believe so and the limitations that justify the discussion and the controversy of the issue. It is best to start it with three separate sentences for each element: in this case, you will know for sure it is strong. However, if you omit this stage, read your thesis statement one more time to make sure it does not repeat the essay title. When you have completed the thesis statement properly, the three aspects of the issue will help you to develop body paragraphs in your work, as you need to discuss each one in-depth.
