Creating a Thesis Statement Myths and Misconceptions

The thesis statement consists of one-two sentences, which renders the main aim of the assignment. It is usually placed in the final part of the introduction and should be backed with all the arguments in the middle paragraphs. Some students think that this part is not compulsory and simply ignore it. Others believe that a thesis should only be one sentence long.

All the above are common misconceptions that may significantly complicate your life. In this article, we will discuss creating a thesis statement myths and will share only the real facts. After reading our guidelines, you’ll master the art of thesis statement creation.

Seeking professional writing service? – Buyessayclub.com is just the right place!

When Not to Ignore These Myths

Let us start these guidelines by discussing the situation when following ‘myths’ is a must. If a teacher provides you with exact requirements, you ought to meet them. For example:

• a thesis must be underlined;
• it should consist of three parts;
• your thesis should only be one sentence long;
• a thesis must be the last sentence of an introduction.

If the teacher prefers sticking to the common rules, there is no need to break them and ruin your grades and even reputation. However, if the tutor is flexible and gives students some freedom, ignore some of the most common thesis statement myths.

Thesis Myths That You Can Ignore From Time to Time

The thesis statement is extremely important because it gives readers an idea of what you will discuss in the paper. As with any part of a written assignment, numerous rules may significantly confuse the author. Below we will introduce you to the five most common myths concerning the thesis statement.

Thesis Statement Must Be One Sentence Long

The majority of students believe that a thesis should always be one sentence long. However, it is not always the case, and we are happy to dispel this myth. While the common rules actually claim that this statement should consist of a single sentence, no specific guidelines say that it mustn’t be one sentence long.

For example, if you are writing coursework or a research paper, you will need at least two or three sentences to properly develop the thought. Here is a good example of an out-of-the-ordinary thesis statement:

The latest research shows that children from low-income families struggle with education. The solution to such a problem is to provide additional academic assistance and help those children master the subjects by supplying them with free materials and tutors.

These two sentences are necessary to convey the thought. If you combine them, the text will be hard to read, and the statement would create an unfavorable image of your work. That is why a thesis of two-three sentences is normal under certain circumstances.

Here is another example of a longer thesis that works perfectly well:

Even though it is considered that depression usually leads to extremely low self-esteem, researchers have proved the opposite: it is the damaged self-esteem that urges the development of depression, especially among teenagers. Youngsters who come from unfavorable households, have bad relationships with parents and classmates, have poorer self-esteem, and with time are at higher risk of developing depression.

The Thesis Needs to Be the Last Part of the First Introductory Paragraph

When reading different thesis statement guidelines, you might see that the authors suggest you place these sentences at the end of the first paragraph. However, the introduction is quite often more than one paragraph long, so you can place it at the end of the 2-3 paragraph.

We would like to mention some exceptions when a thesis can be written in conclusion. This allows emphasizing the moral of the paper. For example, when writing a narrative essay or educating the audience. This is a great approach for students who are not afraid of changes and want to try new writing techniques. However, if you decide to place your thesis in conclusion, we recommend discussing this step with the tutor.

Every Paper Should Contain a Thesis

In the overwhelming majority of cases, a thesis is required to establish the paper’s main idea. However, there are several essay types where the thesis may look awkward and out of place. Here are the examples:

Narrative essay

Such a paper aims to share a story, so a thesis might not be a good idea. Let’s say that you are telling a thrilling story of how an alligator attacked you. The audience holds its breath and waits impatiently for what will come, and you interrupt the story with a thesis trying to introduce the moral. This moral will be quite evident once you render the whole story, so there is no need to indicate it at the beginning.

If you still have to include a thesis in your narrative essay, we recommend placing it in the final paragraph.

Short papers

A thesis statement may be a good idea for a long essay, but what if it is only several paragraphs long? Yes, brief essays need a focus, but they are so short that there is no need to devote several sentences to a thesis.

A Thesis Should Be Supported by Three Arguments

Everyone who is learning to write essays needs to master a common ‘five-paragraph structure’: an introduction, three main paragraphs, and a conclusion. Every main paragraph should start with an argument that supports your thesis. But what if the essay should actually be longer?

For example, it may consist of five or even six arguments because of the topic complexity and the tutor’s requirements. One of the most common mistakes that students make in such a case is to enumerate all the arguments within a single thesis statement.

This results in poor readability, complex phrases, and boredom. Try to paraphrase your thesis and include only the main arguments. The audience will still read your paper and find out about your findings. And remember that you will always have time to rewrite your thesis if something seems out of place or new key elements are added.

As long as your thesis looks readable and clear, you can avoid the ‘three-argument’ structure. The good idea is to get familiar with examples of good statements to see what you can or can’t do when writing one of your own.

A Thesis Ought to Be Attention-Grabbing

For sure, everyone and their mother are expecting an interesting thesis statement that will motivate them to continue reading and learn more about the topic. However, the primary requirement for a thesis statement is to be clear and to the point. It simply has to do the job and introduce readers to the things you are going to discuss. For example:

Results of the recent research show that additional measures are necessary to attract schoolers to outer-class activities.

As you see, this statement is far from being attention-grabbing. However, it is still appropriate for a formal paper because it introduces readers to the main idea and explains what they will read about.