Writing a Good Thesis Sentence

E. Siler

Definition

• A thesis sentence is a sentence (or sometimes two) that provides a direct response to the question being asked by the paper.

• The thesis sentence generally appears somewhere near the beginning of the paper and then the rest of the paper “supports” the thesis by providing information, evidence, argument, etc.

• Not every paper will have a thesis sentence, but most do.

The Research Question

• Start with a clear question.• Task: compare the environmental impacts of

coffee, tea, and milk.• Question: How do the environmental impacts

of these three products compare?• Thesis: Must answer the “how” part; must

include environmental impacts and the three products.

Good Examples

• Coffee does the most damage to the environment, while tea and milk have relatively little impact.

• Coffee and tea both negatively impact the environment but milk has almost no impact.

• Tea is a product that environmentally-aware people should avoid; on the other hand, coffee and milk are good choices for the environmentally conscious consumer.

• The environmental damage done by milk production makes it an unwise choice, but coffee and tea can, if carefully chosen, be excellent choices.

Bad Examples

• There are some obvious similarities in the environmental impact of milk and coffee, but tea is different.

• Milk and coffee both involve seriously bad production practices that can pollute rivers and air and also produce lung infections in workers who process them; tea also has some bad effects but is less polluting of rivers and doesn’t always produce lung infections.

• People should drink coffee, not milk and tea.

The Thesis in the Introduction

• The purpose of the introduction is to introduce the question and the background information a person needs to know so that the thesis is understandable.

• Task: compare the environmental impacts of coffee, tea, and milk.

• Question: How do the environmental impacts of these three products compare?

Example: What the Intro Does

• Introduces the idea of products having an environmental impact.

• Introduces the three products to be compared from the perspective of environmental impact.

• Provides the research question.• Ends with the answer -- the thesis --- as a

starting point to the rest of the essay.

Problems

• The question should never be presented as a direct question.

• The question can be presented either indirectly or even in an implied way.

Bad Example

• Since I use these three items every day, I wanted to find out: How do they compare environmentally? Coffee is a much more environmentally destructive substance than milk and tea are.

Good Example

• In a world where environmental choices are important, the choice of beverage can have long-term consequences. However, the consumer who chooses tea, will always be making a more environmentally sound choice than the one who chooses milk or coffee.