What’s a Thesis?

the·sis

noun   1. a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections: He vigorously defended his thesis on the causes of war.

• Controlling idea
• Main idea
• The general point or argument
• Other definitions?

A solid thesis will meet these criteria:
– It is a statement of your main idea in general terms, terms that other ideas will support by examples or logical assertions.
– It establish expectations in the reader’s mind for the information to follow. Or, in the case of a narrative, it may arrive at the end of the writing as a concluding point, a summing up.
– It presents an idea worth contesting, arguing, and/or investigating.

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