The links in this Guide will help you meet the research schedule laid out in the Research Paper Planner and support your research for completing essays, research papers, and theses. The schedule portion is located at http://planner.bulibtools.net
Would you be more inspired to write if you had the writing box displayed below?
Writing Box, India, 19th Century
Your thesis statement is the cornerstone of your paper.
For the humanities, your thesis statement should present the main argument of your paper. For the sciences, your thesis statement should present the hypothesis of your study. For a literature review, your thesis statement should present the main themes you found in your research or how the topic you are covering has evolved over time.
Depending on the length of your paper your thesis statement could be a single sentence or a short paragraph. Because your thesis statement sets up the structure of the rest of your paper, you can include a preview or roadmap of the main subarguments you will be using.
Check back with your thesis statement as your write your paper. You may need to tweak your thesis statement, or it might remind you to keep the rest of your paper on topic.
The authors of this web page at the University of Richmond Writing Center state that "a fully formed articulation of thesis to be one of the final steps in writing." They demonstrate the different kinds of thesis statements you might arrive at as the result of your research, and discuss how to use the thesis statement as you write your paper.
Echoing the University of Richmond Writing Center, the UNC Writing Center states: "A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment." Provides further suggestions for how to derive a thesis statement from your research and very good guidelines for knowing if you have a "strong" thesis statement (and, no it has nothing to do with working out at the gym).
A third site which provides a sense of what a thesis statement is (and is not), how to work up to a thesis statement in your thesis paragraph, and includes samples from authors and essayists with thesis statements highlighted so you have some good examples.
This link from the Purdue University OWL (Online Writing Center) has a useful description of argumentative, analytical, and expository papers with examples of a thesis statement for each.
This site identifies vague and irrelevant types of thesis statements and dispels common myths about them. Thanks to the University of Toronto's Writing web site.
(This site enumerates the characteristics of effective thesis statements together with examples of good and poorly constructed thesis statements.)
Don't forget to contact the tutors at the University Writing Center on 2nd floor of Moody Library. Given enough lead time, they'd be glad to help you craft a thesis statement or review one you've already written. They also help you with drafts of papers. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are best, so don't wait til the last minute.
