what is the theme thesis statement

Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

• Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
• Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
• Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
• Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
• Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

• Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
• Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.

• The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
• The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

• This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
• I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

• nature = peaceful
• war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
• need for time and space to mourn the dead
• war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

• although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
• _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
• phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

• Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
• Question each part of your draft thesis
• Clarify vague phrases and assertions
• Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

• Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.

Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.

Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

• Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
• As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
• Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
• Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

Writing Process and Structure

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Getting Started with Your Paper

Interpreting Writing Assignments from Your Courses

Generating Ideas for

Creating an Argument

Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

Working with Sources

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

Using Literary Quotations

Citing Sources in Your Paper

Drafting Your Paper

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introductions

Paragraphing

Developing Strategic Transitions

Conclusions

Revising Your Paper

Peer Reviews

Reverse Outlines

Revising an Argumentative Paper

Revision Strategies for Longer Projects

Finishing Your Paper

Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

How to Proofread your Paper

Writing Collaboratively

Collaborative and Group Writing

How to write a theme statement

When you get done with a reading assignment for school, usually an essay, novel, or short story, you'll sometimes be asked to write a theme statement.

The definition of a theme statement can vary, but essentially it's asking you to state what the piece of writing was about — not the plot, but what sort of insight or perspective does it give on life/the world/human nature?

Theme is also sometimes known as the "main idea" of a story.

But how do you find the theme of a story? And how do you write a theme statement?

To write a theme statement, follow these 3 steps:

• Pick the main topic addressed in the story
• Pinpoint the author's view on the topic
• Format that perspective using a theme statement template

Let's dive a little deeper:

Finding the theme of a story using topics

After you're finished reading the book, story, or essay (you did read it, right?!), think back on the main character or characters.

Did they undergo some kind of change throughout the journey? Did their outlook on life evolve in some way?

That's usually a pretty good place to start looking for the theme.

For example, maybe the story deals with the broad topic of "love." Well "love" by itself isn't a theme, but a specific perspective on love could be.

Try this exercise once you've found your topic. Fill in the blank:

"This author believes _____ about (topic)."

In our example about love, maybe the story's about how love conquers all. Or maybe it's about how love is fleeting and fickle.

Your theme at this point might look something like this:

"The author believes that true love doesn't really exist."

(A little dark, but hey, it's just an example!)

Using a theme statement template

Every teacher or instructor is going to have their own way of wanting you to present your theme statement, so be sure to get clarity on that directly from them.

That said, there are some agreed upon "rules" of writing theme statements.

• Don't include specific characters or plot points. This perspective on life should apply to people and situations outside the story.
• Don't be obvious. "War is bad," is not a theme. Dig a little deeper using details from the story. (What specifically is bad about war? How does it negatively impact the characters or the world of the story?)
• Don't make it advicey. "You should always be there for your family," isn't a theme, it's a suggestion. Keep your theme statement objective and based solely on evidence from the story ("The bond between family can overcome any obstacle.")
• Don't use cliches. "Once a cheater, always a cheater," or "Actions speak louder than words," aren't themes. They're just expressions people use all the time and have very little power or real insight.

Here is a general template you can use based on what we learned above:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic) ."

Alternatively, you could try: "In (piece of writing), (author) presents the idea that (position on topic)."

You may also be asked to use supporting details from the story to back up your theme statement. In that case, your full theme statement might look something like this:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic). When (event from the story) happens, it results in (blank), which demonstrates (some element of the theme)."

You're going to have to tweak and adjust this based on how much detail the assignment calls for and which examples from the text you choose to use, but it should be a good starting point!

Theme statement examples

OK, so what does it look like in action?

Here are some example theme statements from stories you're probably already familiar with (I'm doing these mostly to demonstrate how to use the template. I hope you'll put a lot of thought into your own theme statements and play around with different ideas before committing to one) :

In 'The Dark Knight Rises', Christopher Nolan presents the idea that true heroism requires complete and utter selflessness.

The central theme of 'Finding Nemo' is that fear is sometimes more dangerous than danger itself.

In 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare presents the idea that love is more powerful than hate.

Hope this helps! And good luck!

Questions? Let me know in the comments.

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Theme Statement Defined: How to Write a Theme Statement

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Feb 8, 2022 • 3 min read

After reading a book, it can be beneficial to extrapolate the central idea of the author’s message into a succinct statement. This simple form of literary analysis helps you discern what the author intended to say about the human condition in the book you just read. Learn more about how to write a theme statement as concise as it is incisive.

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• What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

Published on September 14, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on April 16, 2024.

A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master’s program or a capstone to a bachelor’s degree.

Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation , it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete. It relies on your ability to conduct research from start to finish: choosing a relevant topic , crafting a proposal , designing your research , collecting data , developing a robust analysis, drawing strong conclusions , and writing concisely .

Thesis template

You can also download our full thesis template in the format of your choice below. Our template includes a ready-made table of contents , as well as guidance for what each chapter should include. It’s easy to make it your own, and can help you get started.

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Table of contents

Thesis vs. thesis statement, how to structure a thesis, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your thesis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about theses.

You may have heard the word thesis as a standalone term or as a component of academic writing called a thesis statement . Keep in mind that these are two very different things.

• A thesis statement is a very common component of an essay, particularly in the humanities. It usually comprises 1 or 2 sentences in the introduction of your essay , and should clearly and concisely summarize the central points of your academic essay .
• A thesis is a long-form piece of academic writing, often taking more than a full semester to complete. It is generally a degree requirement for Master’s programs, and is also sometimes required to complete a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts colleges.
• In the US, a dissertation is generally written as a final step toward obtaining a PhD.
• In other countries (particularly the UK), a dissertation is generally written at the bachelor’s or master’s level.

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The final structure of your thesis depends on a variety of components, such as:

• Your discipline
• Your theoretical approach

Humanities theses are often structured more like a longer-form essay . Just like in an essay, you build an argument to support a central thesis.

In both hard and social sciences, theses typically include an introduction , literature review , methodology section ,  results section , discussion section , and conclusion section . These are each presented in their own dedicated section or chapter. In some cases, you might want to add an appendix .

Thesis examples

We’ve compiled a short list of thesis examples to help you get started.

• Example thesis #1:   “Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807” by Suchait Kahlon.
• Example thesis #2: “’A Starving Man Helping Another Starving Man’: UNRRA, India, and the Genesis of Global Relief, 1943-1947″ by Julian Saint Reiman.

The very first page of your thesis contains all necessary identifying information, including:

• Your full title
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date.

Sometimes the title page also includes your student ID, the name of your supervisor, or the university’s logo. Check out your university’s guidelines if you’re not sure.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional. Its main point is to allow you to thank everyone who helped you in your thesis journey, such as supervisors, friends, or family. You can also choose to write a preface , but it’s typically one or the other, not both.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

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An abstract is a short summary of your thesis. Usually a maximum of 300 words long, it’s should include brief descriptions of your research objectives , methods, results, and conclusions. Though it may seem short, it introduces your work to your audience, serving as a first impression of your thesis.

Read more about abstracts

A table of contents lists all of your sections, plus their corresponding page numbers and subheadings if you have them. This helps your reader seamlessly navigate your document.

Your table of contents should include all the major parts of your thesis. In particular, don’t forget the the appendices. If you used heading styles, it’s easy to generate an automatic table Microsoft Word.

Read more about tables of contents

While not mandatory, if you used a lot of tables and/or figures, it’s nice to include a list of them to help guide your reader. It’s also easy to generate one of these in Word: just use the “Insert Caption” feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

If you have used a lot of industry- or field-specific abbreviations in your thesis, you should include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations . This way, your readers can easily look up any meanings they aren’t familiar with.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

Relatedly, if you find yourself using a lot of very specialized or field-specific terms that may not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary . Alphabetize the terms you want to include with a brief definition.

Read more about glossaries

An introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance of your thesis, as well as expectations for your reader. This should:

• Ground your research topic , sharing any background information your reader may need
• Define the scope of your work
• Introduce any existing research on your topic, situating your work within a broader problem or debate
• State your research question(s)
• Outline (briefly) how the remainder of your work will proceed

In other words, your introduction should clearly and concisely show your reader the “what, why, and how” of your research.

Read more about introductions

A literature review helps you gain a robust understanding of any extant academic work on your topic, encompassing:

• Selecting relevant sources
• Determining the credibility of your sources
• Critically evaluating each of your sources
• Drawing connections between sources, including any themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing work. Rather, your literature review should ultimately lead to a clear justification for your own research, perhaps via:

• Addressing a gap in the literature
• Building on existing knowledge to draw new conclusions
• Exploring a new theoretical or methodological approach
• Introducing a new solution to an unresolved problem
• Definitively advocating for one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework, but these are not the same thing. A theoretical framework defines and analyzes the concepts and theories that your research hinges on.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter shows your reader how you conducted your research. It should be written clearly and methodically, easily allowing your reader to critically assess the credibility of your argument. Furthermore, your methods section should convince your reader that your method was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• Your overall approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative )
• Your research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment
• Any tools or materials you used (e.g., computer software)
• The data analysis methods you chose (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• A strong, but not defensive justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. These two sections work in tandem, but shouldn’t repeat each other. While your results section can include hypotheses or themes, don’t include any speculation or new arguments here.

Your results section should:

• State each (relevant) result with any (relevant) descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Explain how each result relates to the research question
• Determine whether the hypothesis was supported

Additional data (like raw numbers or interview transcripts ) can be included as an appendix . You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results.

Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is where you can interpret your results in detail. Did they meet your expectations? How well do they fit within the framework that you built? You can refer back to any relevant source material to situate your results within your field, but leave most of that analysis in your literature review.

For any unexpected results, offer explanations or alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your thesis conclusion should concisely answer your main research question. It should leave your reader with an ultra-clear understanding of your central argument, and emphasize what your research specifically has contributed to your field.

Why does your research matter? What recommendations for future research do you have? Lastly, wrap up your work with any concluding remarks.

Read more about conclusions

In order to avoid plagiarism , don’t forget to include a full reference list at the end of your thesis, citing the sources that you used. Choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your thesis, taking note of the formatting requirements of each style.

Which style you choose is often set by your department or your field, but common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

In order to stay clear and concise, your thesis should include the most essential information needed to answer your research question. However, chances are you have many contributing documents, like interview transcripts or survey questions . These can be added as appendices , to save space in the main body.

Read more about appendices

Once you’re done writing, the next part of your editing process begins. Leave plenty of time for proofreading and editing prior to submission. Nothing looks worse than grammar mistakes or sloppy spelling errors!

Consider using a professional thesis editing service or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect.

Once you’ve submitted your final product, it’s common practice to have a thesis defense, an oral component of your finished work. This is scheduled by your advisor or committee, and usually entails a presentation and Q&A session.

After your defense , your committee will meet to determine if you deserve any departmental honors or accolades. However, keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality. If there are any serious issues with your work, these should be resolved with your advisor way before a defense.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

• Survivorship bias
• Self-serving bias
• Availability heuristic
• Halo effect
• Hindsight bias
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

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The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

If you only used a few abbreviations in your thesis or dissertation , you don’t necessarily need to include a list of abbreviations .

If your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they won’t be known to your audience, it’s never a bad idea to add one. They can also improve readability, minimizing confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

A thesis is typically written by students finishing up a bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Some educational institutions, particularly in the liberal arts, have mandatory theses, but they are often not mandatory to graduate from bachelor’s degrees. It is more common for a thesis to be a graduation requirement from a Master’s degree.

Even if not mandatory, you may want to consider writing a thesis if you:

• Plan to attend graduate school soon
• Have a particular topic you’d like to study more in-depth
• Are considering a career in research
• Would like a capstone experience to tie up your academic experience

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Thesis Statements

A thesis statement is:.

• The statement of the author’s position on a topic or subject.
• Clear, concise, and goes beyond fact or observation to become an idea that needs to be supported (arguable).
• Often a statement of tension, where the author refutes or complicates an existing assumption or claim (counterargument).
• Often answers WHY or HOW questions related to the topic at hand.

A thesis statement is NOT:

• A statement of fact or observation (no matter how astute the observation).
• A statement of personal conviction or opinion.
• A generalization or overly broad claim.

For the writer, the thesis statement:

• Helps the writer determine the essay’s real focus. What are you trying to say with the evidence presented? A thesis provides a theory to be tested by evidence.
• Serves as a planning tool. The component parts of the thesis often correspond with the essay’s topic sentences.

For the reader, the thesis statement:

• Serves as a “map” to guide the reader through the paper. In the same way the thesis helps you organize your paper, the thesis helps organize the reader’s thinking. Once a solid thesis is presented, the reader will understand that all of the evidence presented is in service of proving the thesis.
• Creates a reason to keep reading. The reader will want to discover the support behind the thesis.

If you are having trouble writing a thesis...

...ask yourself a genuine, difficult question about the topic (usually a “how” or “why” question), and state your response, even if you are not sure why you want to give that answer. Your response may very well be a workable thesis, and the pursuit of proving that answer may reveal to you more about your sources of evidence.

...think of a strong statement or observation you have made about the subject beginning with the words “In this essay, I will...” Then ask yourself why this observation is important, or “So What?” 1 Answer the question with “I believe this is because...” In the draft stage you might phrase a working thesis as the following:

In this essay, I plan to explain how Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contrasts his river and shore scenes. I believe Twain is telling us that in order to find America’s true democratic ideals one must leave “civilized” society (the shore) and go back to nature (the river).

Then revise out the “I” statements. A revised version of this thesis might look like this:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Mark Twain’s Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

Writing in the Disciplines

Keep in mind that thesis statements vary depending on the purpose of the assignment (or type of essay), and also by discipline. Here are a few notes on the thesis statements and the purpose of writing in a few different disciplines. 2

English: “A thesis is an interpretive argument about a text or an aspect of a text. An interpretive argument is defined as one that makes a reasonable but contestable claim about a text; in other words, it is an opinion about a text that can be supported with textual evidence."

Sciences (Biology): “A well-written scientific paper explains the scientist’s motivation for doing an experiment, the experimental design and execution, and the meaning of the results... The last sentences of the introduction should be a statement of objectives and a statement of hypotheses.”

Business: “When you write in business courses, you will usually write for a specific audience. Your goal will be to communicate in a straight-forward manner and with a clear purpose." 3

History: “In historical writing, a thesis explains the words or deeds of people in the past. It shows cause and effect; it answers the question why?... A thesis must change a reader’s mind to be of value. If it presents only facts or an obvious finding, it will merely confirm what the reader already believes.”

1. This strategy comes from Writing Analytically by Jill Stephen and David Rosenwasser.

2.  The following statements on writing in the disciplines have been borrowed from the Writing Guides found at the Writing Across the Curriculum website at http://wac.gmu.edu/guides/GMU%20guides.html .

3.  From A Writer’s Reference, 6th Edition, with Writing in the Disciplines, by Diana Hacker.

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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

What’s Covered:

What is the purpose of a thesis statement, writing a good thesis statement: 4 steps, common pitfalls to avoid, where to get your essay edited for free.

When you set out to write an essay, there has to be some kind of point to it, right? Otherwise, your essay would just be a big jumble of word salad that makes absolutely no sense. An essay needs a central point that ties into everything else. That main point is called a thesis statement, and it’s the core of any essay or research paper.

You may hear about Master degree candidates writing a thesis, and that is an entire paper–not to be confused with the thesis statement, which is typically one sentence that contains your paper’s focus. 

Read on to learn more about thesis statements and how to write them. We’ve also included some solid examples for you to reference.

Typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph, the thesis statement serves as the roadmap for your essay. When your reader gets to the thesis statement, they should have a clear outline of your main point, as well as the information you’ll be presenting in order to either prove or support your point. 

The thesis statement should not be confused for a topic sentence , which is the first sentence of every paragraph in your essay. If you need help writing topic sentences, numerous resources are available. Topic sentences should go along with your thesis statement, though.

Since the thesis statement is the most important sentence of your entire essay or paper, it’s imperative that you get this part right. Otherwise, your paper will not have a good flow and will seem disjointed. That’s why it’s vital not to rush through developing one. It’s a methodical process with steps that you need to follow in order to create the best thesis statement possible.

Step 1: Decide what kind of paper you’re writing

When you’re assigned an essay, there are several different types you may get. Argumentative essays are designed to get the reader to agree with you on a topic. Informative or expository essays present information to the reader. Analytical essays offer up a point and then expand on it by analyzing relevant information. Thesis statements can look and sound different based on the type of paper you’re writing. For example:

• Argumentative: The United States needs a viable third political party to decrease bipartisanship, increase options, and help reduce corruption in government.
• Informative: The Libertarian party has thrown off elections before by gaining enough support in states to get on the ballot and by taking away crucial votes from candidates.
• Analytical: An analysis of past presidential elections shows that while third party votes may have been the minority, they did affect the outcome of the elections in 2020, 2016, and beyond.

Step 2: Figure out what point you want to make

Once you know what type of paper you’re writing, you then need to figure out the point you want to make with your thesis statement, and subsequently, your paper. In other words, you need to decide to answer a question about something, such as:

• What impact did reality TV have on American society?
• How has the musical Hamilton affected perception of American history?
• Why do I want to major in [chosen major here]?

If you have an argumentative essay, then you will be writing about an opinion. To make it easier, you may want to choose an opinion that you feel passionate about so that you’re writing about something that interests you. For example, if you have an interest in preserving the environment, you may want to choose a topic that relates to that. 

If you’re writing your college essay and they ask why you want to attend that school, you may want to have a main point and back it up with information, something along the lines of:

“Attending Harvard University would benefit me both academically and professionally, as it would give me a strong knowledge base upon which to build my career, develop my network, and hopefully give me an advantage in my chosen field.”

Step 3: Determine what information you’ll use to back up your point

Once you have the point you want to make, you need to figure out how you plan to back it up throughout the rest of your essay. Without this information, it will be hard to either prove or argue the main point of your thesis statement. If you decide to write about the Hamilton example, you may decide to address any falsehoods that the writer put into the musical, such as:

“The musical Hamilton, while accurate in many ways, leaves out key parts of American history, presents a nationalist view of founding fathers, and downplays the racism of the times.”

Once you’ve written your initial working thesis statement, you’ll then need to get information to back that up. For example, the musical completely leaves out Benjamin Franklin, portrays the founding fathers in a nationalist way that is too complimentary, and shows Hamilton as a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that his family likely did own slaves. 

Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing

Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and that you feel like you can truly write a paper on the topic. Once you’ve done that, you can then begin writing your paper.

When writing a thesis statement, there are some common pitfalls you should avoid so that your paper can be as solid as possible. Make sure you always edit the thesis statement before you do anything else. You also want to ensure that the thesis statement is clear and concise. Don’t make your reader hunt for your point. Finally, put your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph and have your introduction flow toward that statement. Your reader will expect to find your statement in its traditional spot.

If you’re having trouble getting started, or need some guidance on your essay, there are tools available that can help you. CollegeVine offers a free peer essay review tool where one of your peers can read through your essay and provide you with valuable feedback. Getting essay feedback from a peer can help you wow your instructor or college admissions officer with an impactful essay that effectively illustrates your point.

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Writing a Paper: Thesis Statements

Basics of thesis statements.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a shorter paper. Specific means the thesis deals with a narrow and focused topic, appropriate to the paper's length. Arguable means that a scholar in your field could disagree (or perhaps already has!).

Strong thesis statements address specific intellectual questions, have clear positions, and use a structure that reflects the overall structure of the paper. Read on to learn more about constructing a strong thesis statement.

Being Specific

This thesis statement has no specific argument:

Needs Improvement: In this essay, I will examine two scholarly articles to find similarities and differences.

This statement is concise, but it is neither specific nor arguable—a reader might wonder, "Which scholarly articles? What is the topic of this paper? What field is the author writing in?" Additionally, the purpose of the paper—to "examine…to find similarities and differences" is not of a scholarly level. Identifying similarities and differences is a good first step, but strong academic argument goes further, analyzing what those similarities and differences might mean or imply.

Better: In this essay, I will argue that Bowler's (2003) autocratic management style, when coupled with Smith's (2007) theory of social cognition, can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover.

The new revision here is still concise, as well as specific and arguable.  We can see that it is specific because the writer is mentioning (a) concrete ideas and (b) exact authors.  We can also gather the field (business) and the topic (management and employee turnover). The statement is arguable because the student goes beyond merely comparing; he or she draws conclusions from that comparison ("can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover").

Making a Unique Argument

This thesis draft repeats the language of the writing prompt without making a unique argument:

Needs Improvement: The purpose of this essay is to monitor, assess, and evaluate an educational program for its strengths and weaknesses. Then, I will provide suggestions for improvement.

You can see here that the student has simply stated the paper's assignment, without articulating specifically how he or she will address it. The student can correct this error simply by phrasing the thesis statement as a specific answer to the assignment prompt.

Better: Through a series of student interviews, I found that Kennedy High School's antibullying program was ineffective. In order to address issues of conflict between students, I argue that Kennedy High School should embrace policies outlined by the California Department of Education (2010).

Words like "ineffective" and "argue" show here that the student has clearly thought through the assignment and analyzed the material; he or she is putting forth a specific and debatable position. The concrete information ("student interviews," "antibullying") further prepares the reader for the body of the paper and demonstrates how the student has addressed the assignment prompt without just restating that language.

Creating a Debate

This thesis statement includes only obvious fact or plot summary instead of argument:

Needs Improvement: Leadership is an important quality in nurse educators.

A good strategy to determine if your thesis statement is too broad (and therefore, not arguable) is to ask yourself, "Would a scholar in my field disagree with this point?" Here, we can see easily that no scholar is likely to argue that leadership is an unimportant quality in nurse educators.  The student needs to come up with a more arguable claim, and probably a narrower one; remember that a short paper needs a more focused topic than a dissertation.

Better: Roderick's (2009) theory of participatory leadership  is particularly appropriate to nurse educators working within the emergency medicine field, where students benefit most from collegial and kinesthetic learning.

Here, the student has identified a particular type of leadership ("participatory leadership"), narrowing the topic, and has made an arguable claim (this type of leadership is "appropriate" to a specific type of nurse educator). Conceivably, a scholar in the nursing field might disagree with this approach. The student's paper can now proceed, providing specific pieces of evidence to support the arguable central claim.

Choosing the Right Words

This thesis statement uses large or scholarly-sounding words that have no real substance:

Needs Improvement: Scholars should work to seize metacognitive outcomes by harnessing discipline-based networks to empower collaborative infrastructures.

There are many words in this sentence that may be buzzwords in the student's field or key terms taken from other texts, but together they do not communicate a clear, specific meaning. Sometimes students think scholarly writing means constructing complex sentences using special language, but actually it's usually a stronger choice to write clear, simple sentences. When in doubt, remember that your ideas should be complex, not your sentence structure.

Better: Ecologists should work to educate the U.S. public on conservation methods by making use of local and national green organizations to create a widespread communication plan.

Notice in the revision that the field is now clear (ecology), and the language has been made much more field-specific ("conservation methods," "green organizations"), so the reader is able to see concretely the ideas the student is communicating.

Leaving Room for Discussion

This thesis statement is not capable of development or advancement in the paper:

Needs Improvement: There are always alternatives to illegal drug use.

This sample thesis statement makes a claim, but it is not a claim that will sustain extended discussion. This claim is the type of claim that might be appropriate for the conclusion of a paper, but in the beginning of the paper, the student is left with nowhere to go. What further points can be made? If there are "always alternatives" to the problem the student is identifying, then why bother developing a paper around that claim? Ideally, a thesis statement should be complex enough to explore over the length of the entire paper.

Better: The most effective treatment plan for methamphetamine addiction may be a combination of pharmacological and cognitive therapy, as argued by Baker (2008), Smith (2009), and Xavier (2011).

In the revised thesis, you can see the student make a specific, debatable claim that has the potential to generate several pages' worth of discussion. When drafting a thesis statement, think about the questions your thesis statement will generate: What follow-up inquiries might a reader have? In the first example, there are almost no additional questions implied, but the revised example allows for a good deal more exploration.

Thesis Mad Libs

If you are having trouble getting started, try using the models below to generate a rough model of a thesis statement! These models are intended for drafting purposes only and should not appear in your final work.

• In this essay, I argue ____, using ______ to assert _____.
• While scholars have often argued ______, I argue______, because_______.
• Through an analysis of ______, I argue ______, which is important because_______.

Words to Avoid and to Embrace

When drafting your thesis statement, avoid words like explore, investigate, learn, compile, summarize , and explain to describe the main purpose of your paper. These words imply a paper that summarizes or "reports," rather than synthesizing and analyzing.

Instead of the terms above, try words like argue, critique, question , and interrogate . These more analytical words may help you begin strongly, by articulating a specific, critical, scholarly position.

Read Kayla's blog post for tips on taking a stand in a well-crafted thesis statement.

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What is Theme? Definition, Examples of Theme in Literature

Home » The Writer’s Dictionary » What is Theme? Definition, Examples of Theme in Literature

Definition of theme: The theme of a literary work is a salient abstract idea that emerges from the treatment of its subject matter. Common themes are love, war, deceit, revenge, fate, destiny, etc .

What Does Theme Mean in Literature?

What is a theme in literature? A theme is a message or abstract idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment of its subject matter.

The theme differs from the subject itself. The subject of a work can be described in concrete terms, usually through actions.

For example,

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The subject matter is Huckleberry Finn’s adventures. The theme, however, is more of an abstract idea. The primary theme of Huck Finn, for example, is the conflict between civilization and natural life.

Theme vs. Subject

Example of Theme:

• Theme = Coming of Age.
• Subject Matter = A newcomers difficulties in moving from a small town to the big city.
• Explanation: The theme coming of age will explore the growing pains adolescents are likely to experience in the world. The subject matter for our hypothetical literary work is someone who recently moved from a small town to “the big city.”
• Theme = Pride.
• Subject Matter = The struggles of varsity football players to work together.
• Thematic Statement = It is important to maintain a balance between pride and humbleness because too much self-confidence can be destructive.
• Explanation = In this example, we see the author’s opinion regarding the theme of pride and how it relates to the work’s subject matter.

The thematic statement of a work is rarely said explicitly. Instead, people interpret it through characters, actions, and events within a book.

Thematic Concept vs. Thematic Statement

A thematic statement , however, can be read to be more of an argument about that concept. In an essay, a thematic statement would be called your thesis statement.

• Theme / Thematic Concept = Freedom.
• Thematic Statement = Freedom should be extended to all citizens of the world.

As you can see, the theme of freedom is abstract and broad, and it doesn’t have a thesis statement. The thematic statement of a work, however, will make a claim about this concept. Think of the thematic statement as being an opinion held by the author about the theme itself.

In our example above, the theme is freedom , and the thematic statement is freedom should be extended to all citizens of the world .

There are also central themes and minor themes in literary works, which are just as they sound.

• Central theme = the central or main message of a literary work.
• Minor themes = other, less important messages of a literary work.

Examples of Theme in Literature

• In Paulo Choelo’s novel, The Alchemist , the author explores the subject of fate through a person’s dreams. His thematic statement regarding dreams is that one should always follow his heart and pursue his dreams at any cost.
• In William Blake’s poem, The Poison Tree , the author explores the theme of anger. The thematic statement of the poem is if anger is not dealt with, the feeling will intensify and eventually leads to destruction.

Define theme in literature: In summation, the theme is an idea or concept that a literary work explores: love, despair, honor, etc .

The author explores the theme through the subject matter of his or her work, and when telling the story, arrives at some kind of thematic statement.

Here is a final example of theme found in the short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry.

In “The Gift of the Magi,” Henry conveys the message that love is more important than material possessions.

• Theme: Love, charity, sacrifice.
• Subject matter: Young couple struggling financially during Christmas.
• Thematic Statement: Love is more important than material possessions.

What is a Thesis Statement and How to Write It (with Examples) 

A thesis statement is basically a sentence or two that summarizes the central theme of your research. In research papers and essays, it is typically placed at the end of the introduction section, which provides broad knowledge about the investigation/study. To put it simply, the thesis statement can be thought of as the main message of any film, which is communicated through the plot and characters. Similar to how a director has a vision, the author(s) in this case has an opinion on the subject that they wish to portray in their research report.  

In this article, we will provide a thorough overview on thesis statements, addressing the most frequently asked questions, including how authors arrive at and create a thesis statement that effectively summarizes your research. To make it simpler, we’ve broken this information up into subheadings that focus on different aspects of writing the thesis statement.

Table of Contents

• What is a thesis statement? 
• What should a thesis statement include (with examples)? 
• How to write a thesis statement in four steps? 
• How to generate a thesis statement? 
• Types of thesis statements? 
• Key takeaways 
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement, in essence, is a sentence that summarizes the main concept the author(s) wishes to investigate in their research. A thesis statement is often a “question/hypothesis” the author(s) wants to address, using a certain methodology or approach to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims and findings. However, it isn’t necessarily the topic sentence (first sentence) in a research paper introduction, which could be a general statement.  

Returning to our movie analogy, a thesis statement is comparable to the particular viewpoint a director wants to convey to his audience. A thesis statement tells the reader the fundamental idea of the study and the possible course it will take to support that idea. A well-structured thesis statement enables the reader to understand the study and the intended approach, so both its placement and clarity matter here. An appropriately placed thesis statement, usually at the end of an introductory paragraph, ensures the reader will not lose interest. A thesis statement plays another crucial role, it summarizes the main idea behind the study so that readers will understand the question the author is trying to answer. It gives the reader some background information and a sense of the topic’s wider context while also hinting at the work or experimental approach that will come next. To summarize, thesis statements are generally that one key phrase you skim over to rapidly understand the thesis of a study.  

What should a thesis statement include (with examples)?

Now that we have understood the concept, the next step is learning how to write a good thesis statement. A strong thesis statement should let the reader understand how well-versed you are, as an author, in the subject matter of the study and your position on the topic at hand. The elements listed below should be considered while crafting a statement for your thesis or paper to increase its credibility and impact.  

• The author should take a position that a sizable portion of the readership may disagree with. The subject should not be a well-known, well-defined issue with just unanimity of view. This form of thesis statement is typically viewed as weak because it implies that there is nothing substantial to investigate and demonstrate. To pique readers’ interest, the thesis statement should be debatable in some way, and the findings should advance the body of knowledge. 
• A review of pertinent literature on the subject is a must in order for the author to establish an informed opinion about the questions they wish to pose and the stance they would want to take during their study, this is the basis to develop a strong thesis statement. The authors of the study should be able to support their statements with relevant research, strengthening their stance by citing literature.  
• The thesis statement should highlight just one main idea, with each claim made by the authors in the paper demonstrating the accuracy of the statement. Avoid multiple themes running throughout the article as this could confuse readers and undermine the author’s perspective on the subject. It can also be a sign of the authors’ ambiguity. 
• The main objective of a thesis statement is to briefly describe the study’s conclusion while posing a specific inquiry that clarifies the author’s stance or perspective on the subject. Therefore, it is crucial to clearly establish your viewpoint in the statement. 

Based on the considerations above, you may wonder how to write a thesis statement for different types of academic essays. Expository and argumentative essays, the most common types of essays, both call for a statement that takes a stand on the issue and uses powerful language. These kinds of thesis statements need to be precise and contain enough background material to give a comprehensive picture of the subject. However, in persuasive essays, which typically integrate an emotive perspective and personal experiences, the opinions are presented as facts that need supporting evidence. The sole difference between argumentative and expository essays and persuasive essays is that the former require the use of strong viewpoints, while the latter does not. Last but not least, the thesis statement for a compare-and-contrast essay addresses two themes rather than just one. Authors can choose to concentrate more on examining similarities or differences depending on the nature of the study; the only caveat is that both topics must receive equal attention to prevent biases. 

How to write a thesis statement in four steps?

Coming up with a research question might be challenging in situations when the research topic is not decided or it’s a new field of study. You may want to delve deeper into a widely researched subject, continue with your current research, or pursue a topic you are passionate about. If you don’t have a thesis statement yet, here are four easy stages to get you started. 

• Start with a working thesis statement : Writing the statement is not so straightforward; you won’t magically write the final thesis statement at once. It is preferable to choose an initial working thesis after reviewing relevant literature on the topic. Once you have chosen a subject that interests you, attempt to think of a specific query that has not been raised or that would be fascinating to contribute to the body of literature. For example, if you are writing an article or paper about ChatGPT, you could want to look into how ChatGPT affects learning among students. You can even get more specific, like, “How does ChatGPT harm learning and education?” 
• Outline your answer (your positioning on the subject): Based on your review of past research, you would form an opinion about the subject—in this example, the effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning—and then you write down your tentative answer to this question. If your initial response is that ChatGPT use has a detrimental impact on education and learning, this would serve as the foundation for your research. Your study would include research and findings to support this assertion and persuade the reader to accept your hypothesis. 
• Provide evidence to support your claim : The goal of your study should be to back your hypothesis with enough evidence, relevant facts and literature, to support your claim and explain why you selected that particular response (in this case, why you believe that ChatGPT has a negative impact on learning and education). The focus should be on discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of using ChatGPT and demonstrating why the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. An argumentative thesis statement example on the same topic would be that, despite ChatGPT’s enormous potential as a virtual learning tool for students, it has a detrimental effect on their creativity and critical thinking skills and encourages problematic behaviors like cheating and plagiarism.  
• Polish your thesis statement: After outlining your initial statement, improve it by keeping these three elements in mind.  
• Does it make it clear what position you hold on the subject? 
• Does it effectively connect the various facets of the study topic together?  
• Does it summarize the key points of your narrative?  

The thesis statement will also gain from your comments on the approach you will employ to validate your claim. For example, the aforementioned thesis statement may be clarified as “Although ChatGPT has enormous potential to serve as a virtual tutor for students and assistant to instructors, its disadvantages, such as plagiarism and the creation of false information, currently outweigh the advantages.” This particular illustration offers a thoughtful discussion of the subject, enabling the author to make their case more persuasively. 

How to generate a thesis statement?

No matter how complicated, any thesis or paper may be explained in one or two sentences. Just identify the question your research aims to answer, then write a statement based on your anticipated response. An effective thesis statement will have the following characteristics: 

• It should have a take on the subject (which is contentious/adds to existing knowledge) 
• It should express a main topic (other themes should only be included if they connect to the main theme) 
• It should declare your conclusion about the issue 
• It should be based on an objective, broad outlook on the subject. 

To understand how to write a thesis statement from scratch, let’s use an example where you may want to learn about how mental and physical health are related.  

Since the subject is still broad, you should first conduct a brainstorming session to acquire further thoughts. After reading literature, you determine that you are curious to learn how yoga enhances mental health. To develop a compelling thesis statement, you must further narrow this topic by posing precise questions that you can answer through your research. You can ask, “How does yoga affect mental health. What is the possible mean”? This topic makes it plain to the reader what the study is about but it is necessary for you to adopt a position on the issue. Upon further deliberation, the premise can be rephrased as “Yoga, a low impact form of exercise, positively impacts people’s mental health by lowering stress hormones and elevating healthy brain chemicals.” This clearly states your position on the topic. Finally, you may further develop this into a clear, precise thesis statement that asks, “Does practicing yoga induce feel-good hormones and lower the stress hormone, cortisol, that positively affects people’s mental health?” to turn it into a study.  

Types of thesis statements?

The three primary categories of thesis statements are analytical, expository, and argumentative. You choose one over the other depending on the subject matter of your research or essay. In argumentative thesis statements, the author takes a clear stand and strives to persuade the reader of their claims, for example, “Animal agriculture is the biggest driver of climate change.” It is specific, concise, and also contentious. On the other hand, the purpose of an expository thesis statement is to interpret, assess, and discuss various facets of a subject. Here you shortlist the key points of your interpretation, and state the conclusion based on the interpretation you drew from the study. An analytical thesis statement aims to discuss, glean information on the subject, and explain the facts of the topic. Here, the goal is to critically analyze and summarize the points you will cover in the study.  

Key takeaways

• A good thesis statement summarizes the central idea of your thesis or research paper.  
• It serves as a compass to show the reader what the research will contend and why.  
• Before creating a thesis statement, keep in mind that the statement should be specific, coherent, and controversial. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

A thesis statement can be defined as a sentence that describes the main idea of the research or thesis to inform the reader of the argument the research will pursue and the reason the author adopts a specific stance on the subject. Essentially, it expresses the author’s judgment or opinion based on a review of the literature or personal research experience. 

Any academic essay or research piece must have a thesis statement since it directs the research and attracts the reader’s attention to the main idea of the subject under discussion. In addition to confining the author to a specific subject, so they don’t veer off topic, it also enables the reader to understand the topic at hand and what to expect.

To create an impactful thesis statement, simply follow these four easy steps. Start by creating a working statement by posing the question that your research or thesis will attempt to answer. Then, outline your initial response and choose your position on the matter. Next, try to substantiate your claim with facts or other relevant information. Finally, hone your final thesis statement by crafting a cogent narrative using knowledge gained in the previous step. 

Ideally the thesis statement should be placed at the end of an introduction of the paper or essay. Keep in mind that it is different from the topic sentence, which is more general.  

We hope this in-depth guide has allayed your concerns and empowered you to start working craft a strong statement for your essay or paper. Good luck with drafting your next thesis statement! 

Paperpal is an AI writing assistant that help academics write better, faster with real-time suggestions for in-depth language and grammar correction. Trained on millions of research manuscripts enhanced by professional academic editors, Paperpal delivers human precision at machine speed.   

Try it for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime , which unlocks unlimited access to premium features like academic translation, paraphrasing, contextual synonyms, consistency checks, submission readiness and more. It’s like always having a professional academic editor by your side! Go beyond limitations and experience the future of academic writing. Get Paperpal Prime now at just US$19 a month !    

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• How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples)
• 5 Reasons for Rejection After Peer Review
• Ethical Research Practices For Research with Human Subjects

Academic Paraphrasing: Why Paperpal’s Rewrite Should be Your First Choice! 

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• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Write a Thesis

I. What is a Thesis?

The thesis (pronounced thee -seez), also known as a thesis statement, is the sentence that introduces the main argument or point of view of a composition (formal essay, nonfiction piece, or narrative). It is the main claim that the author is making about that topic and serves to summarize and introduce that writing that will be discussed throughout the entire piece. For this reason, the thesis is typically found within the first introduction paragraph.

II. Examples of Theses

Here are a few examples of theses which may be found in the introductions of a variety of essays :

In “The Mending Wall,” Robert Frost uses imagery, metaphor, and dialogue to argue against the use of fences between neighbors.

In this example, the thesis introduces the main subject (Frost’s poem “The Mending Wall”), aspects of the subject which will be examined (imagery, metaphor, and dialogue) and the writer’s argument (fences should not be used).

While Facebook connects some, overall, the social networking site is negative in that it isolates users, causes jealousy, and becomes an addiction.

This thesis introduces an argumentative essay which argues against the use of Facebook due to three of its negative effects.

During the college application process, I discovered my willingness to work hard to achieve my dreams and just what those dreams were.

In this more personal example, the thesis statement introduces a narrative essay which will focus on personal development in realizing one’s goals and how to achieve them.

III. The Importance of Using a Thesis

Theses are absolutely necessary components in essays because they introduce what an essay will be about. Without a thesis, the essay lacks clear organization and direction. Theses allow writers to organize their ideas by clearly stating them, and they allow readers to be aware from the beginning of a composition’s subject, argument, and course. Thesis statements must precisely express an argument within the introductory paragraph of the piece in order to guide the reader from the very beginning.

IV. Examples of Theses in Literature

For examples of theses in literature, consider these thesis statements from essays about topics in literature:

In William Shakespeare’s “ Sonnet 46,” both physicality and emotion together form powerful romantic love.

This thesis statement clearly states the work and its author as well as the main argument: physicality and emotion create romantic love.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolically shows Hester Prynne’s developing identity through the use of the letter A: she moves from adulteress to able community member to angel.

In this example, the work and author are introduced as well as the main argument and supporting points: Prynne’s identity is shown through the letter A in three ways: adulteress, able community member, and angel.

John Keats’ poem “To Autumn” utilizes rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to examine autumn’s simultaneous birth and decay.

This thesis statement introduces the poem and its author along with an argument about the nature of autumn. This argument will be supported by an examination of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery.

V. Examples of Theses in Pop Culture

Sometimes, pop culture attempts to make arguments similar to those of research papers and essays. Here are a few examples of theses in pop culture:

America’s food industry is making a killing and it’s making us sick, but you have the power to turn the tables.

The documentary Food Inc. examines this thesis with evidence throughout the film including video evidence, interviews with experts, and scientific research.

Orca whales should not be kept in captivity, as it is psychologically traumatizing and has caused them to kill their own trainers.

Blackfish uses footage, interviews, and history to argue for the thesis that orca whales should not be held in captivity.

VI. Related Terms

Just as a thesis is introduced in the beginning of a composition, the hypothesis is considered a starting point as well. Whereas a thesis introduces the main point of an essay, the hypothesis introduces a proposed explanation which is being investigated through scientific or mathematical research. Thesis statements present arguments based on evidence which is presented throughout the paper, whereas hypotheses are being tested by scientists and mathematicians who may disprove or prove them through experimentation. Here is an example of a hypothesis versus a thesis:

Hypothesis:

Students skip school more often as summer vacation approaches.

This hypothesis could be tested by examining attendance records and interviewing students. It may or may not be true.

Students skip school due to sickness, boredom with classes, and the urge to rebel.

This thesis presents an argument which will be examined and supported in the paper with detailed evidence and research.

Introduction

A paper’s introduction is its first paragraph which is used to introduce the paper’s main aim and points used to support that aim throughout the paper. The thesis statement is the most important part of the introduction which states all of this information in one concise statement. Typically, introduction paragraphs require a thesis statement which ties together the entire introduction and introduces the rest of the paper.

VII. Conclusion

Theses are necessary components of well-organized and convincing essays, nonfiction pieces, narratives , and documentaries. They allow writers to organize and support arguments to be developed throughout a composition, and they allow readers to understand from the beginning what the aim of the composition is.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
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• Bildungsroman
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• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
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• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
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• Intertextuality
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• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
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• Rhetorical Device
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How to Write a Theme Essay

Last Updated: January 4, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 209,515 times.

Starting the Essay

• For example, an essay prompt may ask you to reflect on the theme of good versus evil in John Steinbeck's East of Eden .

• Make a list of everything you know about the topic. This can be information you learned in class, as well as information you found on your own.
• Write down keywords or key scenes in the text that respond to the essay prompt. Think about what words or scenes from the text come to mind when you think of a specific theme.
• For example, when you brainstorm ideas on East of Eden , you may write down any moments in the text that seem to speak to the theme of good and evil.

• Your thesis statement will need to address the theme, your primary example or examples, and the stance you will take on the topic.
• For example, your thesis might be: "In East of Eden , John Steinbeck rejects the Biblical idea of good and evil and instead focuses on the contradictions and complications found in good and evil."

• Introduction: Discuss landscape as metaphor, include thesis statement.
• Body: Describe mountains in opening scene, elaborate on how they symbolize good vs. evil, state how characters live between the mountains, showing how people are caught between good and evil.
• Conclusion: Restate thesis statement, return to landscape as metaphor.

Writing Your Essay

• Questions can make fun hooks for the reader. Ask a rhetorical question that relates to the theme of the essay, such as "How does one decide what is good and what is evil?"
• You can also use a quote from the text as the hook. Find a quote in the text that explores the themes and ideas you'll be discussing in your essay.

• For example, you may introduce the role of nature plays in the text to discuss the theme of good and evil. The first sentence of your body paragraph should discuss the role of nature. This will set up the paragraph and let the reader know what the focus of the paragraph will be.

• For example, you may discuss the use of nature in the text in one paragraph. The body of the paragraph should then use quotes and scenes in the text to support this idea.
• You might write,"The descriptions of the Gabilan Mountains in the text symbolize good and evil. The characters in the story live in the Salinas Valley, trapped in a gray area between these two extremes."

• Ask yourself, "What do I want my readers to have learned through this essay?"
• Remind readers about the essay's theme. Reference some of the arguments you made in the body of your essay, reinforcing how they support your original point.

Revising Your Essay

• Check that there are transitions between paragraphs. Look at the beginning of each paragraph to make sure they all flow well together.

• Print out your paper and proofread it. Oftentimes, errors are easier to catch on paper. If you can't print out your paper, try changing the size or type of the font. Anything that alters how the work looked when you wrote it can help alert you to errors. [13] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Be open to constructive feedback from friends and peers. This will only improve the essay and ensure it is at its best when you turn it in.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://penandthepad.com/write-essay-theme-book-2200.html
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-hook/
• ↑ https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/how-to-write-an-essay/conclusion
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

When writing a theme essay, you’ll need to explore a given theme in the text you’re studying. Before you start your essay, brainstorm some notes about your theme, which you can then build your essay from. For example, if you have the theme of good and evil, think about which characters are mostly good or evil, any good or evil actions they take, description that uses light and darkness, and any religious context. In your intro, state your thesis, which should summarize your essay’s main argument. Then, choose 4 or 5 examples of your theme and write a paragraph exploring each one. Make sure you support your points with quotes from the text. In your conclusion, link your ideas back to your thesis statement. For more tips from our English co-author, including how to revise your essay to polish it up, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

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Theme vs. Thesis: Key Differences and How to Write each

• by Judy Jeni
• January 18, 2024

Many students confuse between these two terms, a theme and a thesis. In practice, they are two distinct aspects.

By reading the content in this write-up, you will appreciate the difference between the two items. A theme is a central message in a text, whereas a thesis is an argument about a text.

Theme vs. Thesis

While it is possible to write items based on a theme or a project based on a thesis, the two are different. While their focus may seem similar, they are different.

A theme is a focus topic that a writer bases his argument on. It is the direction that guides the points that a writer argues. On the other hand, a thesis is a stand that a writer seeks to prove in his or her writing.

In a theme, a writer bases points on a concept, but in a thesis, the writer writes to prove a specific assertion.

A theme and a thesis are two different items that we can elaborate through the following points:  

• A theme is the crucial idea of the piece of literature or any art you are writing about.
• It is the recurrent idea in your work before you identify other elements such as characters, conflict, setting, and plot.
• A thesis is a statement that you will try to prove by backing it with necessary facts. It is a position that the author takes to maintain a particular argument.

Differences between a Theme and a Thesis

• A theme is the general topic of your essay, whereas a thesis is the precise statements that the author tries to prove.
• A theme could be more general as the writer cannot necessarily state it expressly. On the other hand, a thesis is a direct message at the beginning of the paragraph that indicates what the entire paper will be talking about.
• A theme is the motif of the piece or an underlying idea, whereas the thesis is the argument in favor of something that you believe you are presenting to your audience.

How to Write a Theme Based Essay

A theme-based essay writes about something based on a theme that you can derive from a novel, song, or short story. Before you begin to write such an essay, you should identify the underlying theme in your literature work.

Steps When Writing a Theme Based Essay

1. identify the character.

One should locate the characters that you will discuss in the essay. Such should relate to the identified theme in your essay.

For instance, if you locate ‘violence’ in the novel ‘The Shadow of Death,’ it is reasonable to talk about the characters that promote violence in the novel.

2. Maintain the Chosen Theme

As indicated above, suppose violence is the main theme in the novel, then you should maintain the same thing by writing about violence.  Such could include incidences of violence, including blood baths and more.

The point is you should endeavor to remain as close to the theme of violence by highlighting incidences and situations from the novel, drama, or story.

3. Avoid Mixing the Theme with the Key Subject

A theme is not a plot but an idea that binds up the story. It is the message that the author wants to convey to the audience or the readers. It is, therefore, wrong to try to write on the plot or story. Stick to the idea only.

Let your thoughts remain organized and well-knitted in the essay body. In the same vein, the body should relate to the central theme as you refer to the characters and incidents in the source matter.

How to Write a Thesis

One can use the following steps to come up with a strong thesis statement:

Start with a Question

One should come up with a question in case the assignment did not offer the question.

After that, you should state your topic, which is the essential idea of the paper.

This thesis statement is usually a phrase or a few words that summarize the main subject of your paper.

The thesis statement makes the topic to be as precise as possible.

Write an Initial Answer

After performing initial research, it is now time to formulate a tentative answer. At this point, it could be just simple, or you can craft it to guide the process of writing and researching.

In case you are writing an argumentative essay, your answer should take a position on the matter. This is different from a thesis statement. Check more about thesis statements to know the idea of the two.

Develop the Answer

This section should prove why you believe it is your answer and convince the reader to agree with your position.

The more you write about the topic, the more you develop more details for your response. The final essay should summarize your overall arguments.

One should know what they are trying to prove in a topic. While you are expressing your opinion, it is vital to state one major idea. Also, you should name the topic and state something specific about it.

Furthermore, you should take a position and back it up with facts and reasons as an author. It is vital to support your reasons with evidence and logical facts.

Include Opposing Viewpoint

The correct thesis statement should acknowledge that there is another side of the argument. It is excellent to include your opposing viewpoints in your opinion. It is also essential to capture another person’s view who may have a different opinion about your topic.

What Is a Theme Statement?

What Is a Theme?

What is an example of a theme, what is the purpose of having a theme, understanding themes through titles, analyzing stories for theme, how to write a theme statement.

Many of today's great works of art – whether they are works of literature, movies or symphonies – use a variety of compositional tools to create a multifaceted meaning. These tools can be symbolism, metaphor, allusions, well-known quotations and a variety of other recognizable strategies and devices. They work together with the artwork’s main idea to illuminate a deeper universal meaning for the audience. That deeper meaning is called the theme, which is the backbone to all great works of art and literature.

​ The theme statement is a sentence or two that defines the theme of the piece of art, entertainment or literature. The theme is the subject of a piece, but it should not be confused with the main idea or plot. ​

​ The ​ ​ theme ​ ​ is ​ ​ the big idea an author is trying to convey. ​ This may sound complicated, but it is a concept that you run into on a daily basis. Themes are easier to see and recognize than the concept is to define.

The easiest way to think about the concept of the theme is to ask yourself this question: ​ What ​ ​ concept ​ ​ was ​ ​ the ​ ​ writer ​ (​ if ​ ​ you're ​ ​ studying ​ ​ a ​ ​ work ​ ​ of ​ ​ literature ​) ​ trying ​ ​ to ​ ​ express ​ ​ with ​ ​ her ​ ​ story ​? The concept we are talking about here is not the plot. Instead, it is more of a ​ ​ universal ​ ​ message ​, ​ one that would be recognizable to the average reader given the interplay of the plot and other story elements.

Sometimes the theme of a work of literature can be summed up with just a word like love, loneliness or death. A work in which a theme can be summed up so succinctly generally offers an exploration of that idea, expanding on it by using many aspects of that single concept.

Other works can have more complex themes, such as the alienation created by technology or the impact of gender roles on society. These works might offer various tableaux that explain the author’s point of view on that subject while still maintaining the plot.

The options authors have for themes are endless. While many authors attempt to incorporate a grain of universal truth with their theme, ​ most ​ ​ do ​ ​ not ​ ​ begin ​ ​ writing ​ ​ with ​ ​ a ​ ​ set ​ ​ theme ​ ​ in ​ ​ mind ​. Instead, they endeavor to ​ tell ​ ​ a ​ ​ story ​ ​ and ​ ​ allow ​ ​ the ​ ​ theme ​ ​ to ​ ​ develop ​ over the course of the story’s writing.

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book with multiple themes. If you have read the book, you probably remember that the titular character, Gatsby, has been pining for Daisy Buchanan for years. It would not be off base to say that one of the novel’s themes is love. A student could also interpret the same aspects of the novel as contributing to a theme of unrequited love or heartbreak.

The most famous theme of "The Great Gatsby," however, is the ​ American ​ ​ dream ​. In Fitzgerald’s day and well into the 21st century, the concept of the American dream was often defined by achieving financial independence. It was the attainment of the proverbial house with the white picket fence.

However, if you have read the book, you know that Fitzgerald's famous novel does not praise the American dream – ​ it criticizes it. ​ Striving for wealth and other things he did not have ultimately lead to Gatsby's tragic downfall. The way the plot works together with the novel’s major images and symbols shows that ​ “the downfall of the American dream” ​ is the novel’s most important theme.

The most famous theme of "The Great Gatsby," however, is the American dream.

​ The ​ theme statement ​ is a sentence or two that defines the theme of the piece of art, entertainment or literature. ​ Theme statements tend to be used in discussions regarding that work of art or literature, but the most common times you are likely to find them as a student is either when you’re reading a descriptive analysis of that work of art or literature or when you are writing a descriptive analysis (like a report or paper) yourself.

A theme statement usually ​ states the work’s theme succinctly, allowing for elaboration as the discussion or paper goes on. ​ In this way, a theme statement can act as a thesis statement, preparing the reader or listener for the rest of the journey through the analysis of that work.

Themes often develop even when the author or artist isn’t actively thinking about making them. Since defining a theme is often used to sum up the focus of a work of literature, ​ works of literature that are well formed and developed will almost always have one or more themes. ​

For readers, understanding the theme of a work can help the reader to ​ appreciate that work’s deeper meaning. ​ Themes also ​ allow authors to comment on humanity or society without being too obvious or on the nose. ​ There is an old adage for writers: Readers like to work for their supper. If the larger theme of the work is too conspicuous, the work as a whole may come off as trivial or too simple.

Working to understand a work’s theme also gives readers a chance to ​ flex their comprehension muscles ​. Interpreting a work’s theme requires reading between the lines and using critical thinking skills to decipher the author’s message from the text’s connotative meaning.

After you understand the background of a story, do a prereading exercise. Look over the story, starting with the title. Is the title symbolic? Of what does the title remind you? Make a note of that. ​ Titles are especially important in analyzing themes because many authors use them as clues to help the audience interpret the story. ​

Look for common symbols:

• ("Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry),
• allusions ("East of Eden" by John Steinbeck)
• and quotations ("For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway).

If you discover hidden meaning in the story’s title, keep that meaning in mind as you continue reading. Write down every quote from the story that supports the title’s symbolism as the theme of the story. Don’t force it, though. If you can’t find anything to support the theme you discovered in the title, you may have to use a different interpretation for your theme.

After you have pondered over the title, read the story once for understanding. Jot down your first thoughts on reading it. What do you think the story is about? What do you think the author is trying to say?

After you have written down your first impressions, go back and read the story again. ​ Write notes in the margins (if you can) to help keep track of your thoughts. Look for symbols and motifs. ​ These striking images and repeating patterns will point toward the author’s meaning. For example, if the author repeatedly uses images, like crosses and doves, that remind you of Christian symbolism, then the author’s theme may be religious in nature.

If you’re lucky, your story may have what’s called a ​ “mouthpiece character.” ​ A mouthpiece character is ​ a character who voices a strong opinion and may speak at length about it. ​ If the character is a true mouthpiece character, his speech will ​ ​ reflect the author’s opinion, ​ ​ and it may well clue you in to the story’s main theme.

Whenever you think you may have discovered the theme, it is important that you ​ find other evidence from the text to support your hypothesis. ​ Well-written stories will have many parts that echo the theme.

If you find that the story’s symbolism, characters, plot, motifs, language and message all ​ connect along the lines of a single idea ​, you’ve found your theme.

How to Find the Theme of a Short Story

To find the theme of a short story, first do some background research. Find out who wrote the story, when it was first published and what type of story it is. Knowing this background information will help you immensely in discovering the story’s theme. This is because many genres of story have the same themes.

For example, many horror stories have death as a theme. Certain authors also use the same theme throughout many of their stories. Many O. Henry stories use situational irony to comment on an aspect of society.

Themes also go in and out of fashion, so certain stories from certain time periods may share the same theme. This is especially true of works published during historical periods when the influence of religion permeated all aspects of society. Stories published in these times will often rely heavily on morality lessons, and their themes will reflect such sentiments.

How to Find the Theme of a Poem

Finding the theme of a poem can be trickier than finding the theme of a story, but you can use the same strategies to get the job done. Consider the poem’s:

• background,
• figurative language
• and message.

Just like with a story, the elements of a poem will all work together to contribute to one or more themes.

One strategy you can use to find the theme of a poem is to make lists.

• After you have read the poem through once, brainstorm a few ideas of potential themes.
• Make each theme idea the heading of a list.
• Now go through the poem to find elements, such as allusions or images, that would belong in each list.

The longest list will represent your major theme.

How to Find the Theme of a Movie

Did you know that movies have themes too? This is the kind of theme you probably have the most practice talking about. If you’ve ever tried to convince your friend to see a movie, you most likely mentioned the theme without even knowing it.

The theme of a movie is the deeper answer to the question “What is the movie about?” If you said, “It’s a romantic comedy, but it’s really about friendship,” then friendship is that movie’s theme.

Most movies don’t require deep analysis to understand their themes. Many boil down to universal ideas like:

• friendship,
• and others.

Look at the actions of the main characters, especially toward the end, in order to identify the movie’s theme. Some movies, however, are more complicated. For more artistic movies, you can identify their themes using the same strategies you use with literature.

To write a theme statement, you should first discover the theme of the work you are discussing. ​ Perform a complete analysis of the work before you begin to discuss it or write about it. ​

A theme statement can come in many forms. Above all, your theme statement should be ​ easy to understand. ​ It should state the ​ title of the work, its author and one clearly defined theme. ​ The best theme statements work like thesis statements, succinctly defining the attributes of the work that back up your interpretation of the theme.

Here is an example theme statement:

It is clear that the death of the American dream is the most important theme of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald because Gatsby represents the American dream, and striving for wealth and success ultimately caused his tragic downfall.

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Rebecca Renner is a teacher and college professor from Florida. She loves teaching about literature, and she writes about books for Book Riot, Real Simple, Electric Literature and more.

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Home » Article Writing Services » Thesis Writing Services » Thesis Statement Writing: Dos and Don’ts

Thesis Statement Writing: Dos and Don’ts

Are you ready to write a thesis statement but worried if anything goes wrong? Of course, you want a persuasive thesis statement that catches readers’ attention and adds to your chances of approval.

In this blog, we’re going to guide you through writing an effective thesis statement, dos and don’ts, and who can write it.

Continue reading to find answers:

What is Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement is a crucial part of any academic essay or research paper. It gives clear writing direction, and to readers, a thesis statement provides a concise summary of your work allowing them a preview of what’s to come.

Formally, a thesis statement refers to a statement that summarizes the main objective or idea of your research paper or academic essay. The statement is written for a specific audience. The best placement for a thesis statement is the end of the introduction.

Given its importance, it’s important to craft a well-written thesis statement that is informative, compelling, and legible. So, let’s learn how to achieve it:

How do I write my thesis statement?

If you’re confident, you can write the thesis statement by yourself. Alternatively, students can consider hiring a reputable thesis statement writing service to make sure their statement is written in proper academic language. These professional services often have years of experience writing thesis and academic essays. So, they are knowledgeable and well-versed at all key aspects of a successful thesis statement.

Thesis Statement Writing: Dos

Do focus on the main objective of the paper

Keep your thesis statement focused and narrow, clearly highlighting the main objective or argument of your paper. This will help reviewers understand what the paper is about while helping writers keep the paper to a manageable topic.

So, don’t make your thesis too broad or vague. If you keep it too broad, it can become challenging to cover the entire topic in your paper. Remember: Also, don’t keep it too narrow; otherwise, you may not be able to write an informative and comprehensive paper long enough to be qualified as a research paper.

Do write in an academic style

Academic language is precise, factual, and impersonal. It distances you from the research, thus making your thesis statement as objective as possible. Academic writing styles involve using full sentences and specialized terminology without irrelevant or unnecessary synonyms. It is straightforward and conveys the meaning of the text clearly without requiring open directors or providing further information.

Particularly, academic language is:

However, thesis writers are not provided with proper academic writing instructions. So, they should take time to understand how to write a good academic text.

Do formulate an arguable thesis statement

An arguable or debatable thesis statement makes a claim about which reasonable people can disagree. Statements of facts cannot be argumentative because only a few people disagree about them. Also, make it assertive so that it asserts the writer’s stance. Finally, keep your claims logical and supported by evidence.

Check out this arguable thesis checklist:

• Is the opposing arguments?
• Does it include words like “should,” “must,” or “need”?

Do place your thesis statement at the beginning of your paper

Your thesis statement should be one of the first things readers find. So, make sure you place it early in the paper, typically after the introduction.

Do proofread, spell-check, and revise as needed

Finally, your paper needs a professional revision, which is not only about linguistic correctness but also about logic, cohesion, coherence, formatting , and consistency.

Don’t rely on spell-check software; it may find typos but may not be able to address the challenges of academic texts. For instance, these software programs may not understand the specialized vocabulary of your discipline. So, make sure you read the statement manually and thoroughly. Be proactive at making changes to your thesis as required to reflect the focus of your paper.

Thesis Statement Writing: Don’ts

Don’t have sentence fragments

Sentence fragments are incomplete thoughts. Although they look like sentences, sentence fragments are grammatically incorrect. In academic papers, they degrade the quality of your writing and, thus, the trust in your research.

In order to fix fragmented sentences, you’ve to identify them by reading each sentence carefully. Read out each individual sentence aloud, as if you’re reading to a person – to identify fragmented sentences. Will the person clearly understand the meaning of what you’re saying/ Can you identify predicate, verbs, and subject in every sentence? Once identified, fix them right away to avoid missing any corrections.

Don’t write your thesis without research

Research helps expand the knowledge of the topic among the writer. It makes students well-versed in the topic of the thesis and open ways to think and criticize existing data about the topic. So, research equips students in effective and meaningful thesis statement writing.

In addition, research helps students to understand the actions performed regarding the topic. They can clearly understand the methodological approach used for exploring the topic and gathering existing data for the study. With all this, research is the foundation of your thesis and paper.

Don’t be general or make it overly complicated

As mentioned above, keep your thesis statement specific to the main objective of your paper. Using vague or general language may not convey your main argument properly. Also, avoid making your paper overly complicated, which forces readers to search for additional information to understand. Use proper academic language and vocabulary relevant to your discipline.

Don’t use first-person language

Using first-person language may distract readers from the main arguments present in the thesis statement writing. For example, avoid words like “I,” “we,” “our,” etc. Instead, changing the first person to the third person creates a more objective tone.

But like other rules, there are some exceptions. For example, when describing your own role in research, the author’s opinions are required, or when writing contains personal or reflective elements.

Don’t use insulting words

Avoid offensive language or words that insult someone or something. Whether implicit or explicit, using insulting words never works and sounds very unprofessional.

Don’t write your thesis as a question

It’s because a thesis statement isn’t a question. It’s all about providing clarity to readers about the main argument of your research paper or essay.

Don’t be neutral

Instead, take a stand to show that you’re passionate about what you’re doing. It will show you deep interest and hard work in the topic of your research.

Don’t add unnecessary details

Keep your thesis focused while avoiding irrelevant and unnecessary details. Otherwise, it will distract readers or reviewers from the main point or objective of your research work.

Who can help me write my thesis statement?

There are many reputable academic essay or PhD thesis writing services available. Simply look for “best thesis writing service near me” and choose a service that is well-known, has a proven track record of delivering high-quality work, and experience writing a thesis with a higher chance of approval.

Writing a thesis statement is a crucial step in the process of writing a successful research paper. So, by following the dos and don’ts of thesis statement writing, you can create a specific, concise, and arguable statement. Check your statement for these, even if you’re hiring professional essay or PhD thesis writing services.

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John and the hole ending explained: why john trapped his family.

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10 Ambiguous Movie Endings Whose True Meanings Will Never Be Settled

30 best thrillers on netflix, coen brothers' netflix western movie gets high accuracy score from cowboy expert.

• John and the Hole is a compelling coming-of-age film with dark elements and thought-provoking themes on wealth and maturity.
• The movie raises questions about adulthood as young John, played by Charlie Shotwell, takes extreme measures to explore independence.
• The film's ending left audiences divided, with some praising its unsettling nature and others feeling the conclusion lacked insight.

John and the Hole is the 2021 debut feature film from Spanish director Pascual Sisto, and its statements on wealth, maturity, and evil make for an intriguing deep dive. A coming-of-age movie with a dark angle, John and the Hole 's title tells the audience exactly what the film is about . Unsurprisingly, the movie is centered around 13-year-old John (Charlie Shotwell), the youngest child of the affluent Shay family, and it's also very much about a hole in the ground, one John stumbles across in the woods behind his home.

The film also stars Michael C. Hall in a post- Dexter role as Brad, John's father; Jennifer Ehle as Anna, his mother; and Taissa Farmiga as Laurie, his older sister. After John discovers a deep hole, the disaffected and nigh-emotionless youth goes about drugging his family and placing them at the bottom of the hole, interested in seeing what life is like as an adult, that is, without anyone in his life able to tell him "no." Along with being a coming-of-age movie, John and the Hole is a psychological thriller that questions why someone with everything still wants more.

Some movie endings are so perplexing that they can spark debates which last for years. Fans can love the movie, but fail to agree on its meaning.

John And The Hole Is Not About Mental Illness

The movie has other concerns than john's mental state.

From John's introduction in John and the Hole , it's clear that there is something odd about him. He speaks with a stilted affectation, stares icily at people whether they are looking at him or not, and is generally quiet, content to say only a few words to others, including his family. It's never explicitly mentioned in the film if John has a personality disorder, and the only real reference to something being wrong is John's family making jokes about his "weird" questions.

Once John drugs his family and wheelbarrows them to the hole in the woods, it's clear he's made the jump from "aloof" to something much darker and troubling. What that something is, is not expanded on, but Pascual Sisto answered a question regarding intentional allusions between John and the stereotype of school shooters being the "quiet kid", saying (via Mel Magazine ),

"I mean, of course, we all see these terrible [news stories] everywhere. And we did talk about them with Charlie [Shotwell]. We always said that, sure, John could be a potential shooter. He could end up in some crazy [news story] like that — of course, it’s still crazy what he did, but it could have led to a darker, more potential wrong. But we always wanted to say, 'What if this is a story of a character that doesn’t [do something terrible], but has the same issues and the same problems that you see in all these [other] kids?'"

Sisto is not interested in diagnosing his film's protagonist. Instead, John and the Hole is concerned with the specific whys of what John is doing. Why did he abduct his family? Why is John so intrigued by the idea of being an adult? Why is John unsatisfied with his seemingly perfect life? It's not important "what" is "wrong" with John; John and the Hole is about something more abstract.

John Trapped His Family To Experience Adulthood

The shays are in the way of john maturing.

Throughout the beginning of John and the Hole , John asks strange and complex questions that his parents don't have the answers to. He often inquires about what it is like to be an adult , a question his parents aren't able to answer because they don't know exactly why their son is asking it, and they may not know themselves. It's hard to describe an age or feeling while still in the midst of it. His parents clearly don't understand how interested their son is in the question, and one morning, they unexpectedly wake up in the hole.

John's life has been filled with the ennui of growing up wealthy. He's never had to experience struggle and, at the same time, has never experienced true freedom since he is a teenager, under the careful watch of his parents. He places his family in the hole because he wants the opportunity to experience life with all the freedoms that, theoretically, come with being an adult. John drinks wine, eats unhealthy amounts of junk food, drives the family car, has friends over, and spends his family's money on expensive gifts, but none of it's enough.

It's the simplicity of John's wish that makes it so ominous.

After he plays the role of adult, John realizes he prefers his life as it was previously. He's alone and, having tasted what it's like to be grown up, he's ready to go back to being a child. It's the simplicity of John's wish that makes it so ominous. Fantasizing about being an adult is something most adolescents have wondered about, but going to the extent John did to experience the feeling is far removed from innocent childhood daydreaming.

Netflix is home to some of the most unique, tense, and incredible thrillers in cinema history but what are the best ones on the platform?

The Shays' Unwillingness To Punish John Is A Symptom Of The Family's Issues

John never receives any comeuppance for his actions.

At the end of the film, just as John's family is beginning to hallucinate from hunger and the psychological torture of realizing they may be trapped in the hole forever, a ladder abruptly slides down into the hole. John has had enough of his experiment and rescues his parents and sister — which is strange. If John is the type of person to leave his family stuck in a hole while he goes about his life as if nothing is wrong, it would follow that he would also be the type of person to let his family perish.

Instead, the Shays are released and climb up the ladder to find John floating face down in the pool in an obvious ruse. Brad, putting everything he's been through out of his mind, immediately jumps in the water to save him. John and the Hole then cuts to everyone silently having dinner together in a funhouse mirror version of the movie's opening scene . The message is clear: John will not be punished for his horrendous actions.

It's an unfortunate reality of society, but having money often allows for someone to be above the normal rules and consequences those with less must contend with. The term "affluenza" first came to popularity in 2013 when it was used in the defense of a wealthy Texas teen who killed four people in a drunk driving accident and received only probation from the courts (via Forbes ). Since then, the word has been used to describe how the wealthy, and in particular, their children, don't face the same consequences as others.

It's not just John who is corrupt, but the whole Shay family, who have allowed their toxicity to fester, and continue to do so.

Despite drugging his family and trapping them in a hole underground, John receives no punishment at the end of John and the Hole . His parents don't even yell at him. He's behaved horribly and endangered those who are supposed to be closest to him, and he receives no consequences of any kind for it. It's not just John who is corrupt, but the whole Shay family, who have allowed their toxicity to fester, and continue to do so.

John And The Hole Is A Fairy Tale

The plot of the film is nested in a fable told from a mother to her daughter.

A fascinating aspect of John and the Hole is the wrap-around segment that features a young girl, Lily (Samantha LeBretton) in bed, as her mother, Gloria (Georgia Lyman), tells her a bedtime story. These sequences never connect to the main story of John and the Shays, but about 30 minutes into the film, the scene cuts to Georgia walking into Lily's room, offering to tell her a story about "the hole" and a late title card appears that says, John and the Hole .

John wanted to grow up so badly he was willing to endanger his family.

The implication is that the film is actually a fairy tale told by a mother to her daughter, who has been refusing to leave her room. Towards the movie's end, Gloria tells her 12-year-old daughter that she will be abandoning her and says she has left Lily enough money to survive for a year, but she's on her own after that. It's here that the themes of the stories converge. John wanted to grow up so badly he was willing to endanger his family. Lily, on the other hand, is being thrust into adulthood unwillingly.

Gloria has used this story of John as a cautionary fable for her daughter, telling her that if she were to coddle Lily too much, Lily would never learn. Of course, this swing in the other direction is not healthy either, and Gloria's parenting style is just as problematic as the Shays'. This fable storyline helps to explain some of the inconsistencies in the film, like the mechanics of the abduction, why the police are easily turned away from John's home, and why everything goes back to normal in the end.

The Real Meaning Of John And The Hole's Ending

John and lily are both confronted with the volatile nature of growing up.

Both the main story of John and the Hole and the wrap-around segment serve to depict the dangers of growing up and how sheltering a child, or the opposite, and more obviously cruel, abandoning them, can have disastrous reverberations. Growing up is a dangerous proposition for anyone, be they wealthy, poor, a daughter of a single mother, or a son in a nuclear family. John and the Hole is not just a cautionary tale for Lily but also for the audience, a reminder that if children are not safely and positively ushered into adulthood, consequences can be dire.

How The John And The Hole Ending Was Received

Most critics & audiences were bewildered by the end.

Critics were not in love with John and the Hole , and it only has a 60% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience was harsher, with a 27% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience reviews were full of people who said the ending made no sense and didn't pay off anything, with even average reviews complaining that the ending lacked " insight ." Critics were kinder, and not all reviews were bad, and A.A. Dowd of AV Club appreciated what the ending revealed about life itself.

"By the time Sisto and Giacobone introduce a metatextual element that drives home the disquieting thesis of Anna's talk with her son, John And The Hole has revealed itself to be a film about the impossibility of that transition, whether it's gradual or harshly sudden. We're all just kids playing at adulthood."

Peter Debruge of Variety agrees that the ending is what really makes the movie special. "It's calculated and precise and meticulously constructed in a way that will be of considerable interest to audiences who appreciate stories that unsettle, and those who recognize the precision of Sisto's approach ... Now that the movie has put the idea out into the world, what's to stop any kid from overthrowing his or her parents? "

As noted though, not everyone loved the John and the Hole ending. Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com wrote, " The result is an experiment in blank affect and fractured domesticity that drags itself to a disappointing ending, one that only confirms it never really had anything on its mind ." While some appreciated the message that John and the Hole was trying to tell, others never seemed to connect all the dots.

John and the Hole

Not available

John and the Hole is a psychological thriller directed by Pascual Sisto. The film follows a young boy named John, portrayed by Charlie Shotwell, who discovers an unused bunker near his family home. John traps his family inside the bunker as he attempts to understand newfound feelings of independence and control. The film also stars Michael C. Hall, Taissa Farmiga, and Jennifer Ehle.

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Josh Shapiro quotes ancient rabbi in statement about not being Kamala Harris’ VP pick

When he was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, Josh Shapiro declared victory by quoting a famous adage from Pirkei Avot , an ancient code of Jewish ethics.

Now, after losing the battle to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, Shapiro has turned to the same adage, attributed to Rabbi Tarfon, a sage who lived nearly 2,000 years ago.

“Since I first ran for State Representative 20 years ago, I’ve been called to serve because I want to leave our community, our Commonwealth, and our country better off for our children – and because my faith teaches me that no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it,” Shapiro, who is Jewish, said in a statement Tuesday morning , following reports that Harris had chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential nominee.

The quotation — “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it” — is generally taken as a reassurance to those facing monumental or seemingly unreachable goals. It has become a mainstay of Jewish activist circles across the political spectrum.

Shapiro’s statement came after a two-week period when he was thought to be one of the frontrunners in Harris’ veepstakes . By Monday, he and Walz were reportedly the final two contenders. The distinction between them had been framed as a choice between one swing-state governor — Shapiro — with a reputation for centrism and bipartisanship, and another — Walz — with a folksy demeanor and cachet with the party’s progressive wing.

Rumors that Shapiro was the leading candidate ignited a campaign by progressives to sink his bid, focused on his support for Israel, his criticism of pro-Palestinian college student protesters, and his positions that buck Democratic norms. Several of Shapiro’s Jewish allies, noting that Walz also has a pro-Israel record, suggested that the anti-Shapiro effort was antisemitic. No parallel anti-Walz campaign emerged in the public eye.

Shapiro, who went to Jewish day school and remains involved in his Philadelphia-area Jewish community , didn’t address those allegations in his statement, which said he had gone through Harris’ vetting process and “was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with the Vice President directly about her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.”

He added, “As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the Vice President and it was also a deeply personal decision for me.”

He congratulated Walz and his wife, whom he referred to as “Tim and Gwen,” and whom he called “good friends of ours.” He wrote that Harris “has my enthusiastic support,” and he pledged to campaign for her in Pennsylvania, seen by many analysts as a must-win state. He said he would appear at a rally with Harris later on Tuesday in Philadelphia, where she will publicly appear with Walz as her running mate.

Shapiro took office at the beginning of last year, and recommitted in his statement to serving as Pennsylvania’s governor, referring back to the Rabbi Tarfon passage.

“Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their Governor, and my work here is far from finished there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this Commonwealth,” he wrote. “In just 19 months, we’ve made a meaningful, positive impact in peoples’ lives, and I’m proud of how Americans all across the country have taken notice of what we’re accomplishing here in Pennsylvania.”

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Home > College of Arts and Sciences > History > HISTORY_THESES > 159

History Theses

The textualization of the imazighen: a comparison of pliny the elder and ibn khaldun.

John X. Barrow , Georgia State University Follow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1046-9561

Date of Award

Degree type, degree name.

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Allen Fromherz

Second Advisor

Rachel Ernst

This work compares the works of Pliny the Elder and Ibn Khaldun and how they perceived the Imazighen (also known as Berbers) of North Africa in their own contexts. Pliny the Elder’s Roman stoic values placed great importance on agriculture and urbanized life. While he described urbanized and Romanized Imazighen favorably, his portrayal of nomadic Imazighen in North Africa in his Natural History was often critical. Ibn Khaldun also knew of the destructive potential of nomads in many instances, but he also realized that they had the ability to renew and create new dynasties. Kitab al-‘Ibar praises the health and tribal cohesion of the nomadic groups of North Africa, which in his theory of history, drive the cycle of urbanization and the rise and falls of dynasties. Both transmit underlying themes of African agency and traditional cultures that puncture through the various changes in the region.

Recommended Citation

Barrow, John X., "The Textualization of the Imazighen: A Comparison of Pliny the Elder and Ibn Khaldun." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2024. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/159

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