15+ Examples of thesis statements to guide you in your next essay

The debate on how to write a good thesis statement has been there probably since thesis statements were invented. How can you write a brief and detailed statement that forms the basis on which your whole paper is written? Is it possible? Is it practical?

A thesis statement is a sentence that is normally found in the first paragraph of most academic papers including essays and research papers. Before we start looking at examples of thesis statements that you can use in your next essay, it is important to understand the different types because thesis statements are categoized according to the type of paper they are used in. Therefore, they can be divided into:

Argumantative Thesis Statements

In this case, ensure that your thesis statement expresses the stance you have made without the chance of confusion. Your reader should have a hint of the evidence you will present from this sentence.

Examples of argumentative thesis statements are:

“By issuing stricter regulations when it comes to ownership of guns in the US, stating that only security personnel can carry them, the country will turn out safer for it.”

“Abortion should be legalized in every country as it will work as a tool for population control in the word.”

“The rights of the LGBTQ community will be better improved if gay marriages are legalized worldwide.”

More examples of Argumentative Thesis Statements

Gun control is a policy that should have been long implemented already as the current regulations have made guns dispensable to criminals who have used them to do robberies and kill innocents, leading to the loss of lives and property.

Even though gun control is likely to decrease the level of violence in a few regions in the country, it is bound to have a number of detrimental effects to the economy as a lot of small businesses that sell licensed arms might go out of business hence more untaxed revenue for illegal gun dealers.

Aid to Africa should be stopped as instead of developing these countries, it has led to excessive dependency to the west. Instead, these African countries should be given only a limited amount of aid for which they should account for.

The amount of aid that is given to African countries is not enough and should be increased as the amount of money they get is dedicated to solving their problems rather than towards developing their infrastructure and institutions.

While some may argue that the legalization of abortion devalues human life, its free practice ensures that women get to choose what they want to do with their bodies and it eliminates the health risk that is associated with illegal procedures.

Abortions should not be legalized for three simple reasons: they devalue human life, have risks to the life of the mother and doesn’t give the fetus a chance to decide whether it wants to live or not.

The death penalty should be done away with as it runs the risk of having an innocent man convicted and lose his life for something he didn’t do. Its replacement with life imprisonment is a better alternative as it gives the innocent a chance to fight for justice where they are wrongly convicted.

For crimes such as premeditated murder, rape, terrorism, cannibalism, or any other crime of such a heinous nature, the best punishment would be the death penalty.

Countries in the East and ones in the African continent should be encouraged by any means possible to legalize gay marriages as it is the right of every human being to enjoy their sexuality, regardless of their society’s culture.

On gay marriages, each country and state should be allowed to formulate their own policies and rules as suits their religion and culture.

Even though they embody the ultimate template for a relationship – “Till death do us part”, “Romeo and Juliet” is a bad example of a love story because they died and they serve as a bad example for kids, who overly romanticize relationships at a young age.

The examples of thesis statements that have been shown above are all argumentative, and an academic paper on the same issue can take any two directions as shown above.

As you can see in the thesis statements above, there is a controversial issue in play. Each of the statements has taken a side in the debate at hand, clearly indicating to the reader what side the writer is going to take. These thesis statements are the most common.

Expository Thesis Statements

An expository is derived from the word explanation. Expository essays and academic papers aim to inform, discuss and explain different phenomena in the world. The thesis statements from such essays are this referred to as expository.

The thesis statement in your expository essay should hint at what the reader is going to learn in the essay. Below are a few examples to better your understanding:

“Termites make a good alternative for animal proteins and would go a long way in managing food shortages in the world.”

“Africa is a misunderstood continent, especially when it comes to the native cultures and traditions.”

“Student loans are crippling the US economy as the students are unable to spend their income on home purchases and consumer goods.”

Analytical Thesis Statements

Again, analytical thesis statements are used whereby the academic paper that you are working on is of an analytical nature. Analysis of data or a particular concept is the process of breaking down a particular concept in order to examine it piece by piece.

When writing a thesis statement for an analytical thesis, ensure that you break down the concepts that you will discuss in the paper. This clarifies the object of your discussion.

Examples of such thesis statements are:

“Cleaning up, taking breakfast and packing lunches are all activities that have to take place before one leaves for school, hence the reason why school mornings are so chaotic.”

“The effects of tobacco, which includes teeth discoloration, breathing problems, and lung cancer are all reason why its legality should be contested.”

It is best to write the thesis statement of such a paper after completing your paper. This is because you have a better chance of writing an accurate sentence that defines all the concepts that you have broken down after completing the said paper.

As mentioned above, learning how to write a good thesis statement is first aided by knowing the types. Now that you have learned them, the question becomes, what are things to keep in mind when attempting to compose your thesis statement? They are as discussed below:

Expository Thesis Statements

This article on the examples of thesis statements would be incomplete if we haven’t given a few examples of analytical thesis statements. These thesis statements are used where your academic paper is of an analytical nature, that is, where it breaks down a particular concept in order for its different pieces to be discussed.

The examples include:

The book “Hamlet” takes us through a rollercoaster of emotions through the different themes that have been explored which include love, war, power and the struggle to balance good and evil.

Every country should place measures in place in order to deal with global warming and prevent its negative effects that include the melting of ice in the polar regions, the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the change of seasons and the climate in general.

The problem of human trafficking can be dealt with by dealing with the source and distribution of funds that make this possible. This should be done by doing a crackdown on money-laundering businesses and chocking the illegal activities that make this possible including the trade in illegal guns.

The effects of tobacco, which includes teeth discolouration, breathing problems, and lung cancer are all reason why its legality should be contested.

Cleaning up, taking breakfast and packing lunches are all activities that have to take place before one leaves for school, hence the reason why school mornings are so chaotic.

Domestic violence, especially gender-based violence against women in third-world countries, can be solved through education, increased job opportunities and women empowerment to give them the willpower to walk out of abusive marriages.

The causes of poverty can be broadly summarized into three: the lack of education, the lack of appropriate infrastructure for the creation of job opportunities and good old laziness by the said poor persons.

The solution for bullying in school lies in counselling and psychiatry. By counselling the bullies, we will be able to determine why the bully other people and how we can help them get over the behaviour.

What to Note When Writing Your Thesis Statements

a) The Thesis Statement Should Be Debatable

See, the thesis statement is one that forms the basis on which your paper is written. It is impractical to write a thesis statement cannot be discussed, because then, what will your paper be expounding on?

This is especially important where your essay is an argumentative one. A thesis statement stating that “90% of African countries have a third-world economy” is a fact and cannot be argued against. However, one that says “African aid does more harm than good to the continent” is actually debatable.

b) The Thesis Statement Should Be Focused

Another mistake most people make when writing a thesis statement is that they write one that is too broad. A broad thesis statement makes for a paper that is flinty at best, with no particular direction. However, a focused one gives your paper a singular purpose, and this gives you a better chance at writing a quality job.

For example, a thesis statement saying, “Not taking care of yourself when pregnant is bad” has no particular stand. What does “taking care of yourself” in this case entails?

The preferred alternative could be, “Habits such as drinking alcohol, over exercising and smoking cigarettes by an expectant woman could prove harmful to her unborn child.”

c) The Thesis Statement Should Give Claims To Be Supported In The Paper

A summary of the claims that are to be discussed in the paper should be indicated in the thesis statement. Therefore, rather than write one that says, “Tobacco is harmful to your health,” you could write “The effects of tobacco, which includes teeth discoloration, breathing problems, and lung cancer are all reason why its legality should be contested”