A guide to coming up with a thesis statement you might actually want to write about:
Stalk your professor (or TA):
This should always be your first course of action. Find out what subjects they specialize in, what their dissertation was about, where they went on sabbatical. Once you know their area of expertise, DO A FULL 180. Write about something as vastly different from that as possible. If the person grading your work has dedicated the last 5 years of their life to studying something you’re trying to sum up in one hastily written essay, there is no way you’re going to bring up anything they haven’t heard before. You’re also more likely to hold their attention if you’re presenting them with new information because let’s face it, they wouldn’t work in higher education if they don’t have a soft spot for… being educated
Ask a question google can’t Answer:
As you’re reviewing your course material trying to select a topic, write down questions that come to mind. Anything that can’t be answered by skimming a wikipedia page is a great starting point. Focus on things like comparing perspectives, impacts on everyday life, the motivations behind a historical event/novel/whatever you’re writing about.
This is where you need to make sure that whatever you decide on is something you’re genuinely curious about, having a personal interest in your topic makes step 3 way less tedious.
It's common practice for people to try to do research after coming up with their thesis, but I’ve found that as you read articles about your general topic you figure out what you can realistically argue about your area of interest. Here it is important to read with your question in mind, look for potential answers and contradictions, make sure you’re collecting sources that you agree and disagree with as this leads to a more dynamic argument allowing you to refute other scholars and demonstrate your understanding of the subject.
once you have a point to prove, it is important to make it relevant to the reader, otherwise you’ve just been ranting on about a topic for no reason other than to complete the assignment. Even though getting the grade is probably the only thing on your agenda, make it seem like your research is pertinent to the here and now. Bringing your paper to life by relating it to current events or proposing an idea for further improvement in the area not only ads interest to your work, but lends itself to a killer conclusion.
At the end of the day, your thesis is your argument. You have to be willing to fight to get your point across at all costs. And, while it may not be socially acceptable to get aggressive with your reader, supporting your thesis with passion is always well rewarded. I tend to envision myself as a seasoned politician when I write; keeping my cool in order to convince the people that I’m highly qualified and my argument is 110% what this country needs. Dramatic? Maybe. But it gets the job done!
When it comes to essay writing, a thesis is the driving force behind all 15 double-spaced pages of Times New Roman font. If you’ve got a strong thesis, you can count on your paper writing experience being at least semi-tolerable, and not to mention your target audience (eg- that professor who HATES giving As) will practically write you a thank you letter for giving them an interesting point to ponder. Unfortunately coming up with this glorified topic sentence can oftentimes be a real struggle, especially if your professors aren’t especially forth coming when it comes to providing a prompt. As a history major, I’ve become somewhat of an expert at conjuring up a riveting argument from the depths of the vague and unknown, hopefully these thesis statement hacks help you conquer thesis statements too!
