Brainstorm. Think about the various processes of fermentation and consider its benefits and disadvantages in food processing. Write all your thoughts down on paper. Diagram or outline your ideas. Discover what ideas interest you most to choose a topic.
Do some preliminary research in your area of interest. Determine if adequate resources exist to provide support for a central question about your topic that your paper will answer.
Formulate a thesis statement that tells the reader the point of your paper. It should clearly outline your argument and offer new insight on the topic to direct your composition. Verify your thesis statement against your research. If your thesis statement argues that the most important reasons for fermentation are its energy efficiency and low cost of preservation, find adequate evidence to support your claim.
Revise your thesis statement. Make sure it is not too broad for focused research, but broad enough to promote various resources. If you claim that fermentation intensifies food flavors by converting sugars into acids, be sure your assertion is narrow enough for in-depth research. Be original. For example, a thesis statement proposing that fermentation makes grains more digestible may not hold your reader's interest. Make sure your thesis statement gives insights and data substantial enough to be worth reading.
Inspect your thesis statement to verify its capability of shaping the basis of your premise. Be sure you audience can disagree with your argument. For example, if you claim that some fermented foods offer medical benefits, others may disagree and provide evidence to support their positions.
Analyze your thesis statement's explanation of the insight or argument you propose, and the evidence you use. Check to see if it is well-defined. Keep in mind your thesis statement must prepare the audience for the body of your paper and offer a hint of its ending.
Show in your thesis statement what your ideas are all about, and your angle on those ideas. By doing so you are stating your topic and the point of your paper. For example, your thesis statement ideas could be about particular fermented foods, and your angle is that these type of foods contain higher levels of vitamins.
Focus on individual insight regarding your fermentation thesis statement and the direction of your research and make sure your work reflects your own thoughts, analysis, argument and interpretation of the topic.