A Thesis statement: • Tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. • • Is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. • • Directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. • • Makes a claim that others might dispute. • • Is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation. • • • It states the essay's subject -- the topic that you are discussing. • • It reflects the essay's purpose -- either to give your readers information or to persuade your readers to agree with you. • • It includes a focus -- your assertion that conveys your point of view. • • It uses specific language -- avoids vague words and generalizations. • • It may (but doesn't have to) state the major subdivisions of the essay's topic.

WHAT TO AVOID
Don't Simply State a Fact with your Thesis Statement

Last year saw a decrease in the number of "bad girl" roles in Hollywood.

WHAT TO DO

Try and make your thesis statement a statement that demands proof...proof you will provide by providing evidence in your research.

The decrease in 'bad girl' roles witnessed in 1998 reflects the conservative backlash against strong female characters in the media.

For instance, you might have a thesis statement that goes something like this:

There is much tension today between India and Pakistan. Although some developments like the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Pakistan are partially to blame, much of the level of distrust between the two countries can be traced back to the violence of Indian and Pakistani independence from Britain and partition from each other in 1947.

Or something like this:

Both Hinduism and Buddhism have a monastic tradition - of men and women leaving home to devote their whole lives to religious practice. This shared tradition is due to the dissatisfaction felt by many Hindus toward the dominance of the Brahmin priests and their control over Vedic religion in the last centuries BC.. Buddhism's monasticism comes directly from this slightly earlier Hindu reaction against the spiritual stranglehold of the Brahmin caste up to that time.

Narrowing Down Your Topic

Be sure to narrow down your topic to something manageable.

There are several ways this can be done.

1.) Limit your topic to a particular event or phenomenon that fits under your overall topic.

Example: If you were interested in doing a paper on the history of Indian environmental movements since independence, for instance, merely sticking with that one topic would present too immense a task.

Rather, you can think of ways that controversy about environmental impacts might come about....in India or elsewhere.

Hydroelectric dams often are construction efforts that de-house people and change the land near them. You could then do a keyword search on "hydroelectricity," "hydroelectric," "dams," "Indian rivers," "evacuation," "controversy" or "activism," to find many articles on specific instances of environmental debates surrounding the damming of certain Indian rivers.

Eventually, you might be interested in the impacts of the damming of the Narmada River in the mid 2000's. You can then find plenty of news-reports, journal articles, and possibly even documentary films on the subject to use as sources for your paper.

Topic

Indian Environmental Movements since independence = too broad.

Question: How do I find historical events within this broader topic that are narrow enough? = What particular events might excite environmental controversy? = The damming of rivers. = Keyword search = Narrower sub-topic AND sources on that sub-topic.

2.) Limit your topic chronologically.

Topic

The practice of child-marriages in India = too broad.

The practice of child-marriages in India from 1990-present = more manageable sub-topic.

3.) Limit your topic geographically

The practice of child marriage in the south of India.

4.) Limit your topic chronologically AND geographically.