This page provides general guidance on writing thesis statements. Always consult your assignment instructions to see what your instructor is expecting. If you have questions about a specific assignment, contact your instructor.
A thesis statement is the central argument or purpose of a paper. It maps out the order of a paper. A thesis statement is usually found at the very end of an introduction paragraph. It will typically be one or two sentences long.
This guide provides basic tips on how to structure a thesis statement for an argumentative essay. In this type of paper, you are given one task where you must create an argument and persuade your reader to adopt your point of view on a topic.
Some other types of analytical essays like process essays can use an adapted version of this type of thesis; they do not require an argument but have a clear focus instead.
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Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming to help students emotionally, socially, and academically.
Topic: Conestoga College
Focus: Should implement therapy dog programming
Main Points: to help students emotionally, socially, and academically.
Due to the emotional, social, and academic benefits, Conestoga College should offer therapy dog programming to support student mental health.
Main Points: Due to the emotional, social and academic benefits
Topic: Conestoga College
Focus: Should offer therapy dog programming to support student mental health.
Tip
Choose a manageable topic: a 5-page paper will need a more specific topic than a 20-page paper.
Example
Conestoga College (specific)
Canadian colleges (a bit broader)
Canadian schools (very broad)
Tip
Make sure someone could disagree with your argument.
Example
Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming. (Debateable)
Therapy dog programming has many benefits. (Not debatable)
Tip 1
List points in the same order they appear in your paper.
Example
If the first point in your thesis is 'emotionally,' the first section of your paper will explore the emotional benefits.
Tip 2
Limit to 3-4 main points. In larger papers, combine similar paragraph topics into one main point in your thesis.
Example
This sample paper has two paragraphs grouped together under the main task called 'emotionally.'
Body Paragraph 1: How Therapy dog programs reduce stress and anxiety.
Body Paragraph 2: How therapy dog programs help students access other mental health supports.
Tip 3
Ensure that your points are all different.
Example
The points 'make friends' and 'be social' are too similar in the following thesis because 'make friends' could be an example in the 'be social' section.
Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming to help students make friends, be social, and improve mental health.
Tip 4
Be careful that none of your points contradict your argument.
Example
An argumentative essay is meant to persuade your reader. The point 'it is expensive' in the following thesis would not convince your reader to agree with your argument to start a therapy dog program.
Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming because it offers students emotional support, social support, and it is expensive.
Tip 5
Keep the list of points grammatically parallel .
Example
Everything in your list should be the same type of speech (e.g. noun or verb) or use the same grammatical structure.
Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming to help students emotionally, socially, and academically.(Parallel)
Conestoga College should implement therapy dog programming to help students emotionally, socially, and with their school assignments. (Not parallel)
Papers that have more than one task and do not require an argument typically use a statement of intent. This is often seen in reports or papers that require you to answer a list of questions. The statement of intent maps out the order of the paper for your reader and is usually the last sentence of your introduction.
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*use task words from your assignment instructions
This report establishes a need for expanded student mental health programs at Conestoga College, assesses the benefits and drawbacks of therapy dog programming as a possible solution, and offers recommendations for the program's implementation based on this analysis.
Stem: This report
Tasks:
The purpose of this report is to discuss why more mental health services are needed at Conestoga, analyze the strengths and weakness of therapy dog programming, and provide recommendations to successfully implement this type of programming.
Stem: The purpose of this report is to
Tasks: