In my past experiences working with writing students, one of the most frequent requests I get is for help with writing thesis statements. While I am always happy to give good advice for writing thesis statements, there are also a number of excellent online resources for help with thesis statement writing. Although I generally prefer to know what the student is writing a thesis statement about so I can provide specific help, the following three websites are excellent online sources for help with writing thesis statements.
The OWL or Online Writing Lab at Purdue University is an excellent online resource for help with writing thesis statements. In addition to its extensive guides on common citation forms and detailed information about just nearly every technical aspect of writing, this is the best place to find quality help with writing thesis statements. One of the best things about the Online Writing Lab at Purdue is that it doesn’t assume the student already has a basic knowledge (because let’s face it, there are plenty of college seniors who couldn’t tell you what a thesis statement really is, let alone write one that was worth anything) and walks students through.
For example, with this resource for help with writing thesis statements, OWL gives a very succinct definition of what a thesis statement is and what it should accomplish. In fact, after searching through a number of definitions for “thesis statement” this one takes the cake. Another reason why this is an excellent online resource for help with writing thesis statements is because it gives a bulleted list of things to consider when writing a thesis statement, including the fact that it’s okay to let one develop through the process of writing and making it specific. In short, for any students wondering what a thesis statement is or simply looking for help with writing a thesis statement, this should be the first stop.
The second great source for online help with writing thesis statements can be found on a small sub-page on the University of Pennsylvania’s English Department website. What I love about this online resource for help with writing thesis statements is that it shows (and explains why they are) several examples of bad thesis statements. Once you have taken time to read through OWL’s description of what a thesis should be and have found basic help with writing thesis statements, check this page out and look through, trying to find out why each example is a bad thesis statement without cheating and looking at the answer provided. I am convinced that one of the best sources for help writing a thesis statement is showing what not to do and have found in the past that this has been an effective teaching and learning tool for many students. In short, if you’re looking for a crash course to find help with writing thesis statements these two websites will give you a great idea.
A third good resource for help with writing thesis statements can be found at a site called Paper Starter. This source for help with writing thesis statements applies to literature students who often seem to have the most trouble coming up with something to argue about a work of literature. While I think that this might help some student borderline-cheat in terms of offering them ready-made thesis statements, it can also be an excellent resource for help with writing thesis statements for literature because it does a great job exposing themes in several works of literature and showing how these themes can be made into arguable statements to help get started with a paper. This site has several major works of literature listed and is generally a reliable source of good explication of important elements in books. It also incorporates a number of important quotes for students to help get them started with ideas of their own.
There are so many online resources for help with writing thesis statements and these are but a few top choices. Still, if you’re looking for help with writing thesis statements, your best bet would be to seek out your instructor for thesis statement help on a particular book or idea that he or she can help you get specific with.