Tips for Creating a Thesis Statement for Your Persuasive Essay
The key to writing great persuasive essays is a solid thesis statement. A thesis statement is usually one or two sentences in length and it is where you introduce your subject matter or topic to your readers. It is where you give your view of that topic and it sums up the argument you will put forward in your essay, which you will support with strong evidence. A well-written thesis statement should encompass all the key points of your persuasive essay. The thesis is placed near the end of the introductory paragraph after the topic has been introduced.
The information provided below can be treated as a type of persuasive essay example and is designed to help you craft a thesis statement for your paper.
Offer Your Opinion
Once you have examined a number of persuasive essay topics, have selected one and are ready to start writing the thesis statement for your essay, it is important you have a strong opinion on your chosen topic. This is because you must make some assertion or other that might be disputed by others. A thesis is essentially a summary of the argument you will be putting forward so you need to ensure you viewpoint is clear and will stand up to debate. One way to test a thesis is to consider whether the readers could oppose or challenge it. If the thesis you have written merely summarizes some information that others might not agree with, it may be that you are summarizing some issue or other instead of offering a clear viewpoint on it.
A Thesis Needs to Be Specific
Where persuasive essays are concerned, a good thesis statement should be specific and highly focused. It should be clear to the reader what your argument is going to be and why you are making it. A thesis statement such as: “Online learning is a good option for students” is weak because it isn’t sufficiently focused or specific. A better thesis could read: “Online learning is a better option than its conventional classroom counterpart because it offers greater flexibility for all those concerned, is less costly and allows students to learn at a pace that suits them.”
Support Your Thesis with Evidence
When writing a persuasive essay, it is essential a thesis statement includes evidence to support the writer’s opinion. This lets the reader know you have researched the topic, which lends greater credibility to your work. Furthermore, it provides the reader with a roadmap that allows them to see what type of evidence you will be putting forward later. If, for instance, your thesis says that animals should not be used for product testing because it is not ethical or humane, the reader immediately understands your opinion and what type of evidence you will offer to support your view.
Once you understand these principles, you will at least know how to start a persuasive essay.
Test Your Thesis – How and Why
There are two basic questions a thesis statement should be able to answer – how and why. If, for instance, you believe online instruction is better than conventional classroom learning, then you should say in your thesis why you think it is better. If the thesis in your persuasive essay does not allow the reader to see the “how” and/or “why,” it may be too broad and may need to be revised so that it is clearer and more focused.