A thesis statement is typically on or two sentences in the first paragraph in an essay that explains the writer's point of view or argument about the topic of the essay. The thesis statement has several purposes, such as helping the reader understand the direction the essay is going in, sharing the writer's interpretation of the topic's importance and answering the question posed by the instructor when he or she assigned the essay. Generally, any writing assignment that asks the student to take a position on an issue, interpret information, analyze a topic or demonstrate cause and effect requires a thesis statement.
Almost all writing assignments can be simplified to a basic question. The thesis statement of an essay is an answer to that question. A thesis statement is the result of a thinking process that involves steps such as examining that question, gathering evidence and considering relationships between facts. There are many tools and techniques for working through this process. For example, many writers develop their ideas through one or more brainstorming techniques, such as freewriting or listing. Freewriting is a technique of quickly writing whatever comes to mind without concern for grammar or spelling. Freewriting lets writers put down ideas they would otherwise feel self-conscious about writing. Listing is simply jotting down ideas related to the topic or thesis.
A strong thesis statement has several characteristics. For one, it answers the question posed by the instructor. A strong thesis takes a stand about the topic that other people may disagree with or argue against. A strong thesis is specific. For example, rather than saying "a business was successful," a strong thesis statement summarizes why the business was successful. A strong thesis statement gives the reader a clear impression of your opinion and answers questions such as "why?" and "how?"
There are three types of essay. The argumentative essay expresses a policy position, opinion, interpretation or other claim about a topic and then supports it with specific evidence. An example of a thesis statement for an argumentative essay might be, "People should give to charity because it helps the less fortunate members of a community." The expository, or explanatory, essay simply explains a topic to the reader. An expository essay might contain the thesis statement, "Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492." The analytical essays breaks a complex topic into smaller components and presents the reader with an evaluation of the idea. A thesis for an analytical essay might read, "The analysis of store-bought snack cakes reveals that they are high in sugar and saturated fat."