Every academic essay should include a thesis statement. The thesis is usually placed at the end of the introductory paragraph. After starting with few sentences that draw your audience in and explaining your essay topic, you must conclude the first paragraph with a sentence that explains the purpose of your paper and summarizes the subtopics it discusses.
Structure Your Thesis
In shorter papers, choose three main subtopics you will cover in your essay. Make sure that you have relevant academic sources to back up the three main points you want to discuss. Then put it all into one brief sentence.
Imagine that you are writing a paper about the brain, and the three main points you want to touch on are the different lobes, what their functions are, and the diseases that can affect the brain. Begin the statement with an opening that goes something like this:
“The brain is a marvelous composition of the nervous system…”
You then need to describe the three subtopics in the briefest and clearest way possible, and put a comma between each one. Our Essay on the brain would have a thesis statement such as:
“The brain is a marvelous composition of the nervous system made up of four main lobes, each with their own functions, and with various diseases that can impact them.” – Simple and straightforward, that is all you need.
Use Your Thesis As An Outline
It is usually best to come up with your thesis before the content of your introduction. The thesis statement guides you in what to focus on, so your thoughts are not all over the place. When properly structured, it can be a great help in writing the rest of your paper, so make sure to plan it out before diving in to the details.