Hungry for tacos? Feel like you can’t fully concentrate on your writing assignment until you make a trip for a late-night snack?
As tempting as a few tacos and a burrito sound right now, don’t rush to satisfy your cravings just yet.
Instead, continue reading as this blog post contains important information you’ll need to write that paper—in particular, how to write a thesis statement step by step.
This blog post discusses tacos too, so that alone should give you incentive to keep reading!
What Is a Thesis Statement?
The short answer
The purpose of a thesis statement is to inform readers of the following:
- the subject of your paper and
- your claim (or opinion) about the topic.
The longer answer
A thesis statement generally appears at the end of the introductory paragraph. It tells your readers what you’re writing about and tells your readers your opinion of the topic.
The thesis essentially serves as a mini-outline for the paper.
A thesis statement is necessary to focus your paper. It helps you articulate your ideas and helps readers understand the purpose of your paper.
Don’t think you really need an effective thesis? Think again!
Have you ever read the first one or two paragraphs of a paper and wondered, “What’s the point?” or, “So what?”
Has someone ever read one of your papers and said, “I don’t get it. What’s this paper about?”
If so, chances are the paper is missing a thesis statement. Without a thesis statement, readers are less likely to understand the main point (or focus) of your paper and are less likely to keep reading.
How to Write a Thesis Statement: 5 Essential Steps
Okay, so here’s where we talk tacos.
No, tacos aren’t part of essay writing or thesis statement writing…though they can be. It’s always good to maintain your strength, and you shouldn’t write on an empty stomach. So feel free to make that trip for tacos after reading this post.
First, let’s go through the five essential steps of how to write a thesis statement.
How to write a thesis statement step #1: Pick a topic
To write an effective thesis statement, you first need a topic for your paper.
If you’re not yet sure what you want to write about, go check out these expository essay topics, argumentative essay topics, persuasive essay topics, and many more essay ideas. (I’ll wait.)
For the purpose of this example, though, I’ll pick.
Today’s paper topic: Taco Bell.
Now that you have a basic topic for your paper, think about what you want to say about the topic in the body paragraphs of your essay.
This is where you’ll begin to develop an effective thesis statement.
How to write a thesis statement step #2: Be specific
Let’s say you started developing your ideas with the following working thesis:
A lot of people go to Taco Bell.
The first problem with this thesis is that it’s not specific at all. Ask yourself, “Who goes to Taco Bell?” Ask, “Why do they go to Taco Bell?”
Let’s try again:
College students often go to Taco Bell late at night because it’s open 24 hours.
This time, you’ve managed to be a bit more specific, but readers are still going to say, “So what?” You’ve included a topic, but you haven’t yet included your opinion about the topic.
Let’s move on to the third component and revise again.
How to write a thesis statement step #3: Be arguable
Our most recent revision (College students often go to Taco Bell late at night because it’s open 24 hours) doesn’t provide any form of argument. It’s merely a statement.
Think about how you could create an argument about Taco Bell. What is it you want to say about Taco Bell?
Pretend you and a group of friends are sitting around late at night trying to think of where you should go to eat. A friend mentions another fast-food restaurant, but you argue for Taco Bell. What would you say to convince your friend that you should eat there?
Let’s try thesis statement revision #2:
College students like to go to Taco Bell because it’s one of the best fast-food restaurants around.
Now we’re getting somewhere. We have a specific statement that is arguable.
But it’s still missing something. It doesn’t explain why Taco Bell is so great and doesn’t tell readers the key points of your paper.
Because the thesis statement still isn’t perfect, we’ll move on to the next essential component.
How to write a thesis statement step #4: Create a mini-outline of the paper
A basic thesis statement will provide readers with a clear outline of your paper. It will tell readers what to expect in the upcoming paragraphs.
Our thesis doesn’t do that yet.
When your readers see your current thesis, they know the subject and the stance of your paper, but they don’t yet know what they’ll be reading in the body of the paper.
Let’s revise again.
Thesis revision #3:
College students like to go to Taco Bell because it’s one of the best fast-food restaurants around and has cheap prices, good food, and is open 24 hours.
This thesis statement seems to meet all of the requirements, right? It includes a topic and offers your opinion. It’s specific and arguable, and it creates a mini-outline for your paper.
While your thesis does include all of the required elements, the wording is less than perfect, and you still need to revise for clarity and style.
How to write a thesis statement step #5: Choose your words wisely
“Are we done yet?”
Not yet. Let’s look at your current thesis statement again:
College students like to go to Taco Bell because it’s one of the best fast-food restaurants around and has cheap prices, good food, and is open 24 hours.
Ask yourself these questions to refine your wording.
- Do all college students go to Taco Bell? Clearly not all college students do, so you might revise to say “Many college students…”
- Are the words “cheap” and “good” the most effective word choices? Probably not. These words are boring and general. Use more specific wording. You might try “inexpensive” and “delicious” instead.
Let’s try our 4th (and hopefully final) revision:
Many college students believe Taco Bell is the best fast-food restaurant because it is inexpensive, offers delicious food, and is open 24 hours.
Now this is a thesis statement!
It includes the topic and your opinion. It’s clear, specific, and arguable and provides readers with a mini-outline of your paper. And of course, it’s now worded effectively.
This is a thesis that deserves a celebration! It’s time to make that trip for tacos. You’ve earned it!
Ready to Move On? Let’s Taco ’bout What’s Next
You can use this checklist I made to make sure that your thesis statement covers all the bases:
Before you go on that taco run, I also recommend reading 15 Thesis Statements to Inspire Your Next Argumentative Essay and this quick Thesis Statement Handout. And don’t miss this handy infographic!
Or check out how other students have (or haven’t) crafted a good thesis statement by browsing some example essays.
Once your own thesis is perfected, check out these posts to ensure that the rest of your essay is just as solid as your thesis statement:
- How to Write an Essay Introduction in 3 Easy Steps
- How to Write a Paragraph That Supports Your Thesis
- How to Write a Killer Essay Conclusion
If you need additional assistance with your paper, including feedback on how effective your thesis statement is, Kibin editors are always willing to help.
Good luck!
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on February 9, 2015, but has been updated to keep things fresh and spicy.
