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The Writing Process

2 Find Your Thesis

An essay’s thesis or thesis statement is its central or controlling idea, its essence, its main idea. It is the focal point for your topic. It is usually expressed as an opinion or an assertion, usually in a single sentence, which the rest of the essay supports and augments. It is typically the last sentence of the opening paragraph (when you are using paragraphs in a longer essay), though it can also be effectively placed elsewhere.

If, for example, your topic is on the search for life on other planets, your thesis, among the many possibilities, might be:

  • Recent research into the topography of Mars increases the odds that Earth is not the only planet in our solar system that harbours life.
  • While the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is an important function of the SETI Institute, the Institute also provides resources for students and educators in all aspects of astronomy and keeps the public informed about current issues in the field.
  • Among the scores of movies about extraterrestrial intelligence, Arrival and Close Encounters of the Third Kind are the most thought-provoking.
  • The Drake Equation provides no hard evidence of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, but it does suggest that the odds are in its favour.
  • No official government investigation or serious scientific study has confirmed the existence of UFOs.

A good essay will develop the thesis in a series of paragraphs that provide some combination of examples, details, definitions, anecdotes, comparisons, contrasts, causes, and effects so that readers feel satisfied that the writer has established the validity of the thesis.

Keep in mind that your thesis might evolve and change as you work your way through the process of composing your essay. While revising your first or second draft, you may realize that some of the content of your essay does not quite relate to your thesis, which you may then have to refine.

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Composition and Literature Copyright © 2019 by James Sexton and Derek Soles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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