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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

This resource provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements.

Contributors: Elyssa Tardiff, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2014-02-10 10:44:43

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g. a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specificit should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.

The paper that follows should:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.

The paper that follows should:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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Writing a law thesis is a challenge. But get it right, and you could be laying the foundations for recognition as an expert in your field.

So you’ll want to be certain you’ve delivered your best effort. This guide contains all the information you need to produce an outstanding law thesis and impress your examiners.

Preliminary Stages

You’ll have outlined your proposal already. Now it’s time to rationalise the elements of the paper.

• Title – be specific. Choose something arresting to excite the reader’s interest. You can come back to this at the end.
• Strong statement of purpose – what you intend to achieve.
• Background – put the work in context.
• Significance – why it’s needed.
• Description of your research – sources of information.
• Literature review – showing your knowledge of the key texts and articles debating the issues.
• Methodology – to support your findings.
• Arrangement of chapters – a logical sequence to your argument.
• Conclusion – what you’ve proved and the remaining questions. Come back to this at the end.

!Tip!

Although planning and research are crucial when writing a good law thesis, don’t spend so much time on this you have to rush the most important thing – the topic itself.

The Exposition

A law thesis requires a straightforward examination of the facts with reference to the legal framework in which they sit. A logical, convincing legal argument should be developed to underpin your conclusion. You will achieve this by:

• Analysing relevant legislation.
• Comparing case law, drawing out similarities and differences.
• Referring to other legal authorities, e.g. treaties, Regulations, obiter etc.
• Discussing legal commentary and applying it to the issues.
• Recognising and evaluating the counter arguments.
• Ensuring quotes, citations and references evidence your work.

!Tip!

Remain focussed on your objective. Regularly relate your points back to the original question to stay on track.

Final Stages

You’ve worked hard researching your area, organising your material and transferring your ideas onto paper. But to be taken seriously, it must read well. Poor sentence construction, an incoherent argument and carelessness all detract from the quality of your work. These finishing touches can be critical in improving the readability, and acceptance, of your law thesis.

• Proofreading – check for consistency in layout, style, tenses etc.
• Editing – ruthlessly cut unnecessary words. Use plain English.
• Spelling – use spell-check.
• Grammar – consult a grammar guide if in doubt.
• Punctuation – read aloud and it becomes more obvious where this is needed.
• Footnotes, references and citations – are they complete, in the correct style, in the right place?

!Tip!

Limit your revisions to two or three drafts. Over familiarity leading to excessive cutting can spoil the flow of the piece.

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