How to check your thesis statement?

First of all, we should understand why the thesis statement is so important and why we cannot ignore it when we write an essay.

Thesis statement for readers

Thesis statement gives an opportunity for an essay reader to get the idea what is your essay about and what is writer’s personal opinion about the “problem” raised in the essay paper. Later in the body of the essay, you will provide detailed arguments to support your main idea, but the thesis statement should show from the beginning of your point of view to the reader.

Thesis statement for writers

For essay writer, it is very helpful to summarize his/her thoughts and to understand from the beginning that you know what you are going to write about.
If you feel that you are not ready to write a thesis statement for your essay then you probably are not ready to write the whole essay. You should make more deep research, check more outside sources, discuss details with your tutor or classmates. Clear and strong thesis statement indicates that you know the subject of your essay very well and you are ready to write A+ essay.

“Working Thesis” – what is it?

When you are not sure that you have a strong final thesis you can use intermediate thesis statement that has a special term “working thesis”. For “working thesis” you can be more flexible: it can be more than one sentence, it can reflect only half of your ideas, you can change it in the process of writing.
Remember, “working thesis” statement is only good for your first draft, you can show it to the instructor, but do not submit final draft essay paper with “working thesis”.

Not all student know how to realize is your thesis statement ready for submission or you have to work more on it. For sure the best way is to consult with a specialist, but what to do when you have no chance to get some help?
You can test your thesis statement and if it passes all these 8 points – you are ready to submit. If one or more points are missing – it is better to reconsider the thesis again.

Use this checklist to evaluate your thesis statement:

1. The thesis statement clearly states the main idea of my research paper.
2. The thesis statement indicates that I am writing a persuasive essay.
3. If the thesis statement is in response to an assignment, it fulfills the requirements and meets the parameters.
4. The thesis statement is the appropriate scope for the assignment, neither too broad nor too general.
5. From the thesis statement, readers can see the order in which my ideas will be presented.
6. The thesis statement uses specific language rather than vague, general terms.
7. The thesis statement is interesting, lively, intriguing; it makes my audience want to read the entire paper.
8. The thesis statement shows evidence of original thought and effort. The topic is fresh and worth my effort to write.