A thesis is the central argument or purpose of an essay. It acts as a map for your reader by telling them where your essay is going and how it will get there. There are two types of thesis statements:
Standard Thesis
Use when you are being asked to do only one writing task.
For Example: Describe the most important characteristics of a great job.
Topic
Overall topic of your assignment
Focus
Argument
Attitude
Opinion
Position
Scope
Main Points
Supporting points
Subtopics
Topic: "Characteristics of a great job" is the topic in the example below.
Focus: In the example below "The most important" is the focus.
Main Points: In the example below "flexibility, a good work environment, and nearness to home are the main points."
Statement of Intent
Use when you have several different writing tasks in one assignment.
For Example: In the essay,
- identify the main communication issues in the case study
- discuss how these problems impact the situation, and
- provide suggestions on how communication can be improved.
Stem
This essay will…
This report will…
The purpose of this essay is…
The purpose of this report is…
Tasks
What you intend to do/include in the paper
Use tasks word* from the assignment
e.g. identify a, discuss b, provide c.
The purpose of this essay is to identify the main communication issues creating the problems in the case study, discuss how these problems impact the situation, and provide suggestions on how communication can be improved.