Tips for dummies: how to write a thesis for English essays
A thesis statement more or less is the extract of an English essay. A thesis statement is just a statement that says what the essay in question does, it is purpose, or what it is trying to accomplish. This is easier said than done, because a thesis must be very carefully crafted. It is no good if your thesis statement goes on and on, it is best to be very compact, and it still has to cover all of what you are going to talk about. There are some shortcuts to doing this correctly, and you will see the best way of bringing that about momentarily.
The thing about English essays and thesis statements is that they are much related. The thesis covers what is going to be talked about, so it is length is very important. So assume that you are going to write an English paper for the novel. Summarizing the novel is lengthy and off topic, and does not really belong in the introduction. Your paper is going to be saying something about the novel in question, so your thesis statement is what your paper is trying to say. The rest of your paper is backing up that statement and showing why it is true because of textual evidence.
The first thing you are going to do is to make sure you know exactly your topic. After you are done with research and so forth, think for a moment. What is important about what you are talking about? What is your primary thought? Why do such and such happen? This will not be easy, but this will get you to what you are writing about. This should let you construct a sentence; it does not have to be too complicated or fancy. Just make sure you have something that fits with everything that you are talking about.
Of course, when writing essays, the essays are bound to grow and change. This is part of the writing process. Sometimes, however, the scope changes as you write, and when you are done with the essay you find that you have written about something quite different than you sat out to write. Do not worry about this; it is normal and actually the sign of good writing. However, it does mean that you have to go back and revise your thesis. Therefore, whenever you are done writing your essay, go back to your introduction and find your thesis, and make sure that it fits with your essay. If not, it is time to revise it.