From Controlling Idea to Thesis

Somewhere in the process of brainstorming about a topic, doing some preliminary research, latching on to a controlling idea, and beginning to write, a true thesis argument begins to emerge. Because writing involves a process of discovery, your argument—your thesis claim—is by necessity to some degree provisional. Before you set out on a writing and research task, or before you engage with your thoughts on an issue or idea, you do not know where you will end up. Maybe you will find convincing evidence in your research to modify the argument you started out with. Or you may find that your own thinking on the matter is altered as you read, write, and reflect.

At that point, it is time to revisit the controlling idea that has evolved throughout your thinking and writing and to ensure that you have clearly expressed your central argument or claim. While your controlling idea may have evolved into a focussed argument, it began as a statement of what you intended to accomplish in the essay: “In this essay I am going to examine . . .” It clearly defined an area of interest and in effect announced a process of discovery that, as far as you could see at the time, you intended to follow.

Simply put, the thesis statement takes the controlling idea and turns it into an argument that the essay develops and supports. Your thesis statement is necessarily fully formulated, or fully validated, only after you have researched, analyzed, and interpreted the source materials you have examined. This is a key point to keep in mind. Many undergraduate essays fall short of expectations because the writer has failed to fully deliver on the promises set out in the thesis statement. It is essential to the substance of a good essay that the thesis statement accord with the argument and conclusion that follow.