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How to Write a Thesis Statement for an Essay in High School

How to Write a Thesis Statement for an Essay in High School

Knowing how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school is key in the delivery of unique and good essay papers in different subjects. In fact, a well thought-out and defined thesis can provide a unique angle to your essay and make it look quite outstanding from the rest. That is one of the reasons why it is always recommended that you first formulate a thesis before writing the paper.

A thesis is the backbone or main argument that your essay will be addressing. It should indicate the particular direction that you will pursue in writing the essay in order to achieve the intended purpose. Knowing how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school will make even the task of doing research quite easy since you will have advance knowledge on the specific areas to focus on.

Another important role of a good thesis statement is telling readers, about how the argument will be developed throughout the body and conclusion. This entails stating how the discussion will be tabled in the essay, according to the right order so readers can know exactly what to expect.

Thesis statements are written for almost all academic papers, hence, the skills on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school can as well be applied in other papers. In fact, the skills can be quite useful even in college and university since the writing format is similar to all study levels.

Tips on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school

Considering the significant role played by a thesis in an essay, it should always be written on the last part of the introduction. However, you must begin by knowing how to create a strong thesis that will make your essay different and objective.

The following guidelines will assist you on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school.

Understand the subject of the paper

Writing about a topic that you know quite well is always much easier compared to one that you are less familiar with, so, try to get some information about the subject of the essay beforehand.

Consider your readers

You should know the audience or people to whom the essay will be addressed in order to come up with an argument that can be of interest to them.

A strong thesis should be a claim that your readers are able to identify to. By knowing your audience, you can also be able to get even more ideas on how to make the thesis more appealing and provocative using the appropriate language and tone.

Get to understand the purpose of the paper

Before writing the thesis, it is also recommended that you get a proper understanding of the reason for the essay. Writing an essay paper without a clearly defined aim could mean a poorly crafted and disorganized thesis. Carefully read and digest the topic question of the essay in order to determine the requirements.

Determine the type of essay

There are different kinds of essay papers that can be asked to write including argumentative, explanatory, and analytical among others. Although the thesis still plays a similar role in all these types of essays, the way each is written varies from one to another.

For instance, an argumentative essay makes a claim about a subject and defends it while an analytical essay breaks down and evaluates an idea. This implies, the thesis statements for these essays should take different formats.

Depending on the type of essay that you are planning to write, the thesis statements may vary in length and even context. However, each must present your main point in the paper and how you intend to discuss it.

Formulate an opinion

A thesis statement should be an argument that others can dispute and also explain in their own terms. Based on the subject of the essay, you should choose an approach or make a claim that you are able to fully discuss in the paper.

In simple terms, the thesis should be your precise answer to the question of the paper. It is the chief point that you will explain into detail in the body paragraphs. In order to make a logical argument that can convince readers, you should go for an idea that you can easily address or support comprehensively.

Avoid arguments that are too complex and may require very extensive research. Instead, go for something simple and interesting both to you and your readers.

One of the approaches that you can pursue in developing an idea for the thesis can be expressed in the following order.

After outlining the above details, you can go ahead and create a statement that puts all of them into one fold. The statement that you come up with should be specific and open-ended such that others can also see something else to say about it.

Qualities of a strong thesis statement

There are certain basic characteristics of strong thesis statements that you should refer to in order to determine a good one. They include;

  • Expresses a clear and specific opinion about the topic of the essay
  • Short and precise, preferably two or three sentences long
  • Well distinguished from the rest of the details in the introduction, but properly linked to other parts of the paper for smooth flow.
  • Relevant to the topic and accurately capture the argument to be presented in the paper.
  • Based on an important and interesting argument that your audience would want to read about.
  • Have sufficient supporting evidence that will be used in the body paragraphs

Although a good thesis statement should be generally brief, the lengths, contents and contexts always vary from one essay to another. However, it is advisable that you always try to frame your main claim in short and simple sentences to fit into the introduction.

To ensure that you get the best angle to address in the essay, it is advisable that you create about two and three drafts of a thesis. From the statements, you can make comparisons and further analysis in order to come up with an appropriate hypothesis for the essay.

Steps on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school

Writing a thesis statement for a high school essay is quite easy considering that it does not involve much.

The simple procedures outlined below will direct you on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school.

  • Begin writing the thesis by addressing the question of the paper or simply restating it so readers can know where your argument is coming from.
  • Point out opposing views on the topic of the essay then narrow down to state your stand and why you are pursuing it. The reason given in supporting your stand should be strong enough to reveal the importance of reading your article.
  • Briefly say how you plan to organize the discussion through to conclusion. On this sentence, you can simply state the key points that will be discussed in the essay.

Remember the thesis is only to point out your claim and direct readers on how it will be discussed. Therefore, leave elaborate details to the body.

Besides, also take time to revise the thesis statement to make sure that it represents your key argument and qualifies as a strong one. It should also be noted that the thesis is not absolute and can be altered to reflect your specific purpose later on.

Sample thesis statements for high school essays

Reading sample thesis statements for high school essays can also enable you to easily master the art of how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school. The following are professionally crafted samples that you can refer to for more insights on writing thesis statements for high school essay papers.

Example 1

Sample thesis statement for an essay on; ‘’Analysis of Why the North and South Fought the Civil War’’

‘’While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners were focused on the oppression of slaves while the Southerners were acting in defense of their own right to self-government.’’- Get the thesis and more illustrations about the sample on this link.

Example 2

Sample Persuasive Essay thesis statement

‘’A college education is not the right choice for everyone, as many students graduate with a large amount of student debt and limited job opportunities.’’ – Read this sample and others here.

Example 3

Analytical essay thesis statement

‘’Home schooling is good for kids because they get individual attention based on their comprehensive level. It helps in keeping the negative influences at bay and also encourages excellent academic process.’’ – Simply follow this link to read the sample and more insights.

In case you may need help on how to write a thesis statement for an essay in high school, talk to us. You can also refer to our homepage for more information on how to easily acquire professional academic paper writing services.     

 

References

http://education.seattlepi.com/teacher-tips-write-thesis-statements-high-school-papers-3043.html

https://www.evansville.edu/writingcenter/downloads/thesis.pdf

https://www.fsd1.org/schools/wilson/kimberley.l.cooper/Documents/qualities%20of%20an%20effective%20thesis%20statement.pdf

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/20762-thesis-statement-lesson-plan/

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