How To Start Writing A Thesis Statement For A Research Paper


If you have this type of essay to write, it may be easy to overlook the importance of such things as getting the thesis statement right- but if you want to create a brilliant and polished assignment, then you’ll pay just as much attention to it as to the rest of the essay!

The basics…


It should be written succinctly and consist of no more than a few sentences (often just one is preferable). It should inform the reader of what to expect from the forthcoming material and interpret the significance of the topic to be researched.

A good essay in this field obviously relies on research as its main driving force. In this type of assignment you are being asked to make a claim about a certain subject and give unbiased, logical, reasonable and reputable information to back it up; and an overview of this needs to be addressed in the opening to encapsulate it.

More specifically…


  • You should create your thesis statement first so that you have set out your exact goals for the essay and know how to proceed with the task. You can always go back and change it at the end if your findings have subsequently led you elsewhere or you want to be more clear in your aims and objectives.
  • Narrow the topic down to the particular aspect to be discussed, and clearly state what questions you hope to answer and how you intend to go about this.
  • Once you have a written a rough version, get it checked out by your teacher before you go on to write your assignment. If you get things wrong from the outset (perhaps from just a silly mistake you’ve overlooked), it won’t be a good basis for creating the main content. So double check your piece fits the bill by asking your tutor to read it over.
  • A good rule of thumb is to not write it in first person tense. (Your reader knows you are the one who’s written it!) It should be as professionally academic as possible, seeing as this project is highly reliant on providing supporting evidence for the investigation in hand.
  • It’s always a good idea to study other examples before you begin. Basically, the more time you spend getting this opener right, the better your whole project will be. So spend some time finding past student essays in your library or online to see how they have been tackled. The more you pay attention to the detail, the better.