Thesis statement
One or two sentences stating the argument a paper will make — a claim someone could disagree with, not a description of the topic.
A thesis statement is arguable. “This paper examines citation practices in undergraduate writing” announces a subject; “Undergraduate citation errors stem from note-taking habits rather than ignorance of citation rules, and are therefore better addressed by teaching note-taking” makes a claim and predicts the shape of the argument.
It usually sits at the end of the introduction, and it usually gets rewritten once the paper exists — the argument you actually made is rarely the one you set out to make.
Do it on CitationEasy
See also
Research questionThe specific, answerable question a study sets out to address, narrow enough that you can tell whether you answered it.Topic sentenceThe sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that states what the paragraph will establish.HypothesisA testable, falsifiable prediction about the relationship between variables, stated before the data is analysed.