Steps in writing the essay: Thesis statement.

All papers that highlight controversial issues should comprise a thesis: a statement that serves as the premise in the argument. Once you have come up with the topic, the thesis should reveal your point of view on the subject and the problem. Your point of view should be supported with reliable evidence. In the process of developing the thesis, timing is one of the most crucial factors- so develop your thesis at the very beginning of the essay writing process.

The thesis should guide in the course of essay writing. Certainly you will acquire new information and ideas as you go along but the thesis should serve you as one of the starting points.

To formulate the thesis you should reconsider it several times and make some preliminary readings and participate in the discussion of the problem. It is necessary to ask several questions on the problem and prepare several answers. Concentrate on the central issue, cynosure of the investigated problem. Thesis is your answer to the main question while writing an essay.

Once you have formulated the thesis, convert it into a brief statement. The thesis statement is put into the essay introduction and it should reveal your point of view on the matter, or position you intend to support in your paper. A well-formulated thesis is vital for your assignment - it is the central part of your essay - all other parts of the essays are built on the basis of a strong thesis.

A good thesis should neither be very long nor too short. One of the most widespread mistakes that the students make in organizing their essays is the simplification of the thesis (making statement that is well-known, banal or obvious).

For example:

The topic: "The Basic healthcare for cats". The oversimplification of the thesis: "Basic healthcare for cats is vital for these animals".

The thesis that is too broad:

"Basic health care for cats should comprise several services". (The writer might wind up with the enumeration of the health care services that should be provided, thus making the paper boring to read).

More perfected thesis:

"There is controversy as to whether human medicines are effective in treatment of cats".