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See also Thesis statement and skeleton outline.

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Criteria for writing a good thesis statement

• A thesis statement should be one sentence.

• A thesis statement occurs at the end of the Introduction Paragraph and at the beginning of the Conclusion Paragraph.

• A thesis statement is the main idea of your entire paper, so it should state a position, a claim, a viewpoint, a proposition, etc. that reflects a possible solution to a problem related to applied linguistics and pedagogy (if a problem-solution essay). Avoid a thesis statement that focuses on a problem unless the intention is to write a problem-only essay - always check first with your instructor to clarify what type of essay is expected. If writing a problem-solution essay, the problem will be introduced before the thesis statement (in the introduction paragraph); that is, the thesis statement provides a possible solution to the problem. When it comes to doing research about learning (e.g., those taking Thesis Seminar in 8th semester), shift your focus more towards pedagogy due to the limited time we have to research such broad subject matter during a single semester. This does not mean you ignore collecting evidence of student work and/or opinions. It simply means that this kind of evidence must support the collecting of data based on what teachers say and/or do in class.

• A problem statement/thesis statement must support a S.M.A.R.T. topic:

  • Smart
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant and meaningful
  • Timely

Key points

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The thesis statement is the "bridge" between a problem statement and subsequent topic sentences that being each body paragraph (see The M.E.A.L. Plan: A Comprehensive Approach to Paragraph Development:

1. Problem statement (i.e., topic, indirect question, and significance)
2. Indirect question (condition) from the problem statement
3. Direct question (from the indirect question above)
4. The thesis statement that answers the direct question

Thesis Statement

Remember that a thesis statement should have three sections:

Transition

Sentence connector, introductory phrase (e.g., prepositional phrase, participial phrase, or infinitive phrase), or subordinating clause connects what was said in the introduction paragraph (i.e., context of the problem, background information, etc.) to the thesis statement.

A topic

The thesis statement should include a topic (stated explicitly, without using a personal pronoun), which relates directly to the target audience of the essay. The topic is usually the subject of the sentence. Notice "there is/there are" is not being considered.

An opinion, claim, position, proposition, etc.

The opinion can also be considered your position, overall claim, main viewpoint, etc. The opinion is your verb phrase that might also include relevant phrases that provide additional information. The verb phrase in a thesis statement should not include a copula verb (i.e., "to be", etc.)