development strategy thesis

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Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

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Financial development, growth strategies and structural transformation

Kromtit, Matthew (2022) Financial development, growth strategies and structural transformation. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Strategizing economic growth and development in developing countries remains a daunting task for several years. Developing countries for long suffer from the many characteristics of underdevelopment. These range from slow economic growth to high levels of unemployment and poverty, increased population explosion with little or no corresponding increase in productive capabilities. For decades too, the economic literature has shown that several private and public sector-led strategies have failed to guarantee long term economic progress especially in developing countries. Whether mainstream or heterodox, what constitute appropriate growth strategies for developing countries is complex and highly debatable. This thesis therefore generally seeks to ignite better understanding of the strategies for growth and their determinants as well as to renew the debate on the essentials for strategizing growth in developing countries. The thesis attempts to provide some evidence on this general objective by investigating three specific topics in three empirical chapters. This is in addition to introductory and concluding chapters.

Chapter one motivates the thesis and specifies the objectives particular to each empirical chapter. Chapter two focuses on providing evidence on the role of financial development in determining whether developing countries follow or defy their comparative advantage. This area has been largely ignored in the literature on finance and development. Using dynamic panel data spanning across 132 developing countries and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM), the results of this chapter mainly show that financial development in terms of the depth of banking sector tends to lead to comparative advantage – following (CAF) growth strategy but it tends to lead to comparative advantage – defying (CAD) in terms of financial efficiency. Based on these findings, chapter three introduces the analysis of financial and trade liberalization, interventionists policies and economic diversification in resource-rich developing countries. The empirical evidence reported in this chapter suggest that though liberal and interventionists policies matter in promoting economic diversification – in terms of enhancing manufacturing, the interaction of these policies with regulation could lead to an expanding services sector at the expense of manufacturing in resource-rich countries. Chapter four explores whether global value chains (GVCs) – related trade and conventional trade play a role in the structural transformation of resource-rich and non-resource-rich developing countries. The results show that the share of domestic value added in gross GVC-related exports and conventional trade have the tendency to aggravate employment and value addition respectively in the agricultural sector of Non-Resource-Rich Countries (NRRCs). In Resource Rich Countries (RRCs), the findings show that conventional trade have negative and significant impact on value-added in manufacturing while the share of foreign value added in gross GVC-related trade reports positive and significant impact on share of labour employment in services but not on the value added in the sub-sector.

Thus, the findings of the thesis tend to have implications for what constitute an appropriate development strategy in developing countries. Overall, the findings imply that all hope is not lost in developing countries. Given their factor endowments, developing countries could harness them with the appropriate combination of interventionists and liberal policies as well as the right mix of domestic and foreign value addition in promoting economic diversification and structural transformation. It remains however, a challenge for these countries to draw a line between what constitutes effective strategies or policies thereby leaving room for further research as suggested in chapter five of the thesis.

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Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

• Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
• Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
• Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
• Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
• Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

• Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
• Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.

• The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
• The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

• This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
• I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

• nature = peaceful
• war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
• need for time and space to mourn the dead
• war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

• although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
• _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
• phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

• Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
• Question each part of your draft thesis
• Clarify vague phrases and assertions
• Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

• Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.

Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.

Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

• Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
• As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
• Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
• Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

Writing Process and Structure

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Getting Started with Your Paper

Interpreting Writing Assignments from Your Courses

Generating Ideas for

Creating an Argument

Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

Working with Sources

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

Using Literary Quotations

Citing Sources in Your Paper

Drafting Your Paper

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introductions

Paragraphing

Developing Strategic Transitions

Conclusions

Revising Your Paper

Peer Reviews

Reverse Outlines

Revising an Argumentative Paper

Revision Strategies for Longer Projects

Finishing Your Paper

Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

How to Proofread your Paper

Writing Collaboratively

Collaborative and Group Writing

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Business intelligence development strategy planning : a framework

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The Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Top ten dissertation completion strategies, strategy 1:  project manager, strategy 2:  productivity, strategy 3:  persistence, strategy 4:  routines and structure, strategy 5:  workplace distractions, strategy 6:  software tools, strategy 7:  mobile workplaces, strategy 8:  accountability, strategy 9:  creativity and flexibility, strategy 10:  wellness.

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Designing for Gender Equality in the Developing Context: Developing a Gender-Integrated Design Process to Support Designers' Seeing, Process, and Space Making

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Economic Diversification in Developing Countries: Lessons from Country Experiences with Broad-Based and Industrial Policies

Author/Editor:

Corinne C Delechat ; Giovanni Melina ; Monique Newiak ; Chris Papageorgiou ; Nikola Spatafora

Publication Date:

July 30, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download . Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

This paper examines the significance and impact of broad-based and industrial policies on economic diversification in developing economies, supported by a literature review, case studies, and IMF analyses. Economic diversification entails shifting from traditional sectors, like agriculture and mining, to a variety of high-quality services and sectors. This transition is crucial for adapting to global market fluctuations and promoting sustainable growth and improved living standards. A literature review, including many IMF contributions, reveals a strong correlation between economic diversification and improved macroeconomic performance in developing countries, such as faster economic growth and higher incomes per capita. Factors influencing economic diversification include macroeconomic stability, infrastructure quality, workforce skills, credit access, regulatory environment, and income equality. Six case studies highlight the experiences of Costa Rica, Gabon, Georgia, India, Senegal, and Vietnam, demonstrating that successful diversification strategies require a long-term commitment and effective broad-based policies. Industrial policies can support diversification by addressing market failures, but they must be well-designed and effectively implemented. Common lessons include the necessity of maintaining macroeconomic stability, investing in human capital, and fostering competition. Sector-specific mechanisms like Special Economic Zones should be used cautiously, emphasizing underlying bottlenecks and minimizing fiscal costs. Country-specific insights include Costa Rica's strategic policy shift towards export orientation, Gabon's reduced dependence on oil, Georgia's market-friendly policies, India's skilled labor and software clusters, Senegal's infrastructure and business environment improvements, and Vietnam's transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy. The IMF's engagement in diversification emphasizes improving human capital, infrastructure, reducing trade barriers, and promoting international trade integration. Policymakers, researchers, and international organizations increasingly recognize the importance of economic diversification for resilient, sustainable, and inclusive growth, requiring nuanced policy interventions tailored to each country's context and capabilities.

Departmental Paper No 2024/006

Balance of payments Exports Foreign direct investment International organization International trade Political economy Service exports

9798400240201/2616-5333

Please address any questions about this title to [email protected]

Tuesday, July 23rd 2024

How to choose the best rendering strategy for your app self.__wrap_n=self.__wrap_n||(self.CSS&&CSS.supports("text-wrap","balance")?1:2);self.__wrap_b=(t,n,e)=>{e=e||document.querySelector(`[data-br="${t}"]`);let s=e.parentElement,r=O=>e.style.maxWidth=O+"px";e.style.maxWidth="";let o=s.clientWidth,u=s.clientHeight,a=o/2-.25,l=o+.5,d;if(o){for(r(a),a=Math.max(e.scrollWidth,a);a+1 {self.__wrap_b(0,+e.dataset.brr,e)})).observe(s):process.env.NODE_ENV==="development"&&console.warn("The browser you are using does not support the ResizeObserver API. Please consider add polyfill for this API to avoid potential layout shifts or upgrade your browser. Read more: https://github.com/shuding/react-wrap-balancer#browser-support-information"))};self.__wrap_n!=1&&self.__wrap_b(":R1kbn4pam:",1)

Alice Alexandra Moore

Sr. Content Engineer, Vercel

Web rendering has evolved from simple server-rendered HTML pages to highly interactive and dynamic applications, and there are more ways than ever to present your app to users.

Static Site Generation (SSG), Server-Side Rendering (SSR), Client-Side Rendering (CSR), Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), and experimental Partial Prerendering (PPR) have all been developed to optimize performance, SEO, and user experience in various situations.

Here, we'll explore the use cases and tradeoffs of each rendering strategy and peek into the future of content delivery.

Article contents:

What is a rendering strategy?

Defining each rendering strategy, when to use each rendering strategy, rendering with next.js, real-world product rendering strategies.

The term rendering may seem like jargon, but at its core, it’s just a way to solve the web's fundamental challenge: How do we turn code into content users can see and interact with in their browsers?

If it helps, think of rendering strategies like different ways to serve a meal. You could:

• Pre-cook everything (static rendering)
• Refire cold plates (incremental static revalidation)
• Cook dishes as orders come in (server-side rendering)
• Give customers ingredients to prepare themselves (client-side rendering)

Each approach has its place, depending on the type of meal and the dining experience you want to create. And the best restaurants use a combination of approaches to ensure timeliness, freshness, and allowing for customer preference.

Different rendering strategies work for different apps. Combining them together helps you balance factors like speed, data freshness, and interactivity. Understanding these strategies isn't about memorizing technical terms—it's about choosing the right tools at the right time to create the best possible user (and developer) experience.

Let’s explore each rendering method in detail, focusing on its ideal use cases, benefits, and implementation considerations.

What is Static Site Generation (SSG)?

SSG prerenders pages at build time, resulting in static HTML files that can be cached at the edge and served quickly and efficiently.

Ideal use cases:

• Any page with content that changes very infrequently
• Site layouts
• Performance-critical marketing pages
• Documentation or other sites that quickly rebuild
• Fastest possible page loads
• Excellent SEO performance
• Reduced server load
• Lowest infrastructure costs

Implementation considerations:

• Increased build times for sites with a large number of pages
• Content updates require a new build and deployment
• Can be combined with client-side data fetching for dynamic elements, but this is slower than server-side fetching since each data request initiates a new roundtrip to the server

Best practices:

• Consider ISR for frequently changing content or long build times

What is Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)?

ISR allows you to update specific pages after you’ve built your site, meaning you don't have to rebuild to get new cached data. This combines the benefits of static generation with the ability to scale to millions of pages.

• When builds with SSG are too long
• Ecommerce product pages
• New websites
• Large-scale content sites
• Maintains the fast page loads of SSG
• Allows for on-demand content updates without full rebuilds
• Scales to large numbers of pages efficiently
• Can be more cost-effective than SSR in some cases
• Carefully manage cache invalidation strategies
• Understand how ISR differs from cache-control headers
• Favor on-demand over time-based revalidation—there’s almost always a reason to change content that’s not a timer
• Use static loading skeletons (React Suspense) for instances where the user misses the cache

See ISR in action.

Learn how to instantly update cached content on demand—without redeploying.

What is Server-Side Rendering (SSR)?

SSR generates the full HTML for a page on each request, allowing for real-time data and personalized content.

• When you are already revalidating ISR on the majority of user requests (i.e., you almost always need fresh data)
• Highly personalized dashboard pages
• Social media feeds
• Real-time data visualizations
• Always serves fresh, up-to-date content
• Better for SEO and data load time than client-side fetches
• Slower load than SSG or ISR
• Time to First Byte (TTFB) can be lacking
• Consumes more server resources
• Implement efficient caching strategies (e.g. Vercel KV) for frequently accessed data
• Use streaming SSR to improve perceived performance (this is the default behavior with the Next.js App Router)
• Use React Suspense to render static pieces of your application while the client waits for server data
• Optimize database queries and API calls to reduce render times

See React Server Components in action.

The Next.js App Router allows you to opt into better rendering patterns with streaming by default. This template can show you how.

What is Client-Side Rendering (CSR)?

CSR relies on JavaScript to render content in the browser (on the user’s device), offering high interactivity and responsiveness but with trade-offs in initial load time.

Importantly, CSR is not mutually exclusive with any other rendering strategy. Rather, it can be used on top of them to augment existing functionality.

• User interactions with elements on the page that require immediate feedback, where JavaScript can provide a faster response than waiting for a server roundtrip in SSR.
• Admin dashboards with real-time data, such as the graphs in Vercel Analytics
• Ongoing background tasks after initial load, such as an app like Notion which syncs content back to the server as the user writes
• Highly interactive user experiences
• Seamless transitions between application states
• Real-time interactions with external data
• Initial load can be slower due to the JavaScript bundle needing to download before fetch can start
• Optimizing Core Web Vitals can be challenging
• Requires careful state management on the client
• Lean on Next.js code splitting to reduce initial bundle size
• User server-side rendering for the initial load, then hydrate for interactivity (this can help with Largest Contentful Paint )

What is Partial Prerendering (PPR)?

While still experimental, PPR aims to automatically optimize rendering strategies, potentially simplifying development decisions.

It does this by prerendering any static part of your page and then streaming in the dynamic content based on React Suspense boundaries.

You get all the benefits of static and dynamic in a single page.

PPR is an enhancement on top of the other rendering strategies. Although it's still in development, we're hopeful that it will be something you'll want to toggle on by default for any Next.js application.

• Instant page load (like SSG)
• Seamlessly stream dynamic content in the order that makes sense (augmenting SSR)
• Improved performance with reduced development overhead

Current considerations:

• Still in research and development
• May require code refactoring to opt in

Preparation strategies:

• Begin drawing better Suspense boundaries in your application, fully distinguishing between static and dynamic content

See Partial Prerendering in action.

Partial Prerendering combines ultra-quick static edge delivery with fully dynamic capabilities, and we believe it will become the default rendering model for web applications.

When deciding on a rendering strategy, consider the following factors.

• How often does this content change? SSG is good for static content, ISR is great for periodically changing content, and SSR or CSR is best for real-time data. Lean on SSG and ISR as much as possible, and only introduce SSR when you need fresh to that moment data. (Note that these days, CSR is almost exclusively for responsive interactions— not fetching external data.)
• Is the page critical for search engine visibility? Even though Google can render client-side JavaScript, your Core Web Vitals are still a major factor in determining your ranking . Healthy CWVs are much easier to achieve on static- and server-rendered pages than on pages with client-side fetches to external data.
• How much user interaction is expected? If your page is mostly static with minimal interaction, lean on SSG or ISR plus a little client-side JS. Otherwise, you may need SSR (with client-side hydration).
• What are the load time requirements? For the fastest possible initial load, use SSG or infrequently-invalidated ISR. To balance fresh data and speed, use ISR or SSR (for up-to-date data). CSR can get you real-time data, but it often costs initial load.
• Does the content vary by user? If you need personalized content, you'll likely use SSR or CSR. ISR can work in cases where you can cache personalized content, such as web app settings. SSG will not allow for personalization.

You can break down the key characteristics of each strategy a bit like this:

* The first request after revalidation is equal to SSR speeds. All other requests equal SSG speeds.

** Enhancement on top of other rendering strategies.

*** Can be enhanced with client-side JavaScript.

As your web application grows and you want to mix and match rendering strategies, you'll need a flexible, powerful framework to handle all of them.

Next.js allows developers to leverage different rendering methods within a single application, as appropriate, on a per-page basis.

Key benefits of Next.js include:

• Performance optimization : Built-in optimizations for images, fonts, scripts, code-splitting, data fetching, and more.
• Scalability : Easily scales from small projects to large, complex applications.
• Consistent component architecture: Use self-contained modules with all required reusable data anywhere. Unlike other frameworks, data isn't limited to page-level fetching.
• Future-ready : Continuous updates to support emerging web standards and technologies. This includes the recent innovations behind PPR (experimental).

Most importantly, Next.js allows you to choose your rendering strategy on a per-page basis , giving you the most performant frontends on the web.

Understanding rendering strategies in theory is one thing, but the true value lies in applying them effectively in real-world scenarios.

Let's explore how different industries can leverage component-level rendering methods with Next.js to create optimized, high-performance web applications.

Ecommerce platforms require a delicate balance between performance, SEO, and dynamic content. Here's how different rendering strategies can be applied:

Static Site Generation (SSG):

• Homepage layout and static content
• Category page templates
• Static parts of product pages (descriptions, specifications)

Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR):

• Product listings with periodic updates
• Product pages with semi-frequent changes (price, stock status)
• User reviews and ratings (regenerated periodically)

Server-Side Rendering (SSR):

• Search results pages
• Personalized product recommendations
• Real-time inventory checks during checkout

Client-Side Rendering (CSR):

• Shopping cart functionality
• Product image galleries and zooming
• Add-to-cart and wishlist interactions

Implementation Example: A product page could use SSR and cache the server response, ISR for price and inventory information (revalidated as those pieces of information change on the backend), dynamic SSR for personalized recommendations, and CSR for the add-to-cart functionality and image gallery. Soon, a product page’s layout and page could be statically rendered with PPR.

Ecommerce for the rest of us.

If you need to see it in action, or just want to reference best practices, check out our up-to-date Next.js commerce template.

Web application

Data-heavy applications, such as analytics providers, require static performance and real-time interactivity. Here's an approach:

• Marketing pages and documentation
• Dashboard templates and layouts
• Static help content and FAQs
• Periodic reports and summaries (daily/weekly updates)
• User account settings pages
• Billing and subscription information pages
• Custom report generation
• User authentication flows
• Interactive data exploration tools
• Real-time data filtering and sorting
• Dashboard customization interfaces

Implementation Example: A dashboard could use SSR and cache the server response for the overall layout, ISR for summary widgets updated daily (or when the user clicks refresh), dynamic SSR for real-time data feeds, and CSR for interactive data exploration tools. This is similar to how Vercel's dashboard works, for instance.

Full-stack AI Application

AI applications often require a balance between static content and dynamic, computationally intensive features:

• Landing pages and marketing content
• Documentation and tutorials
• Pre-computed model outputs for common queries
• Frequently asked questions with AI-generated answers
• Galleries of AI-generated content (refreshed periodically)
• User-submitted content showcases
• Personalized AI model responses streamed to the user
• User-specific dashboards and settings
• Interactive AI model parameter adjustments
• Real-time input processing (e.g., text, image uploads)
• Progressive display of AI-generated content

Implementation Example: An AI image generation app could use SSG and experimental PPR for the main interface, ISR for galleries of popular generations, SSR for personalized results and settings, and CSR for the real-time image generation interface.

Our flagship AI app.

We built v0 from the ground up with the Next.js App Router to take advantage of the best possible rendering patterns.

Optimizing for the future with Partial Prerendering (PPR)

While PPR is still in development, it's worth considering how it might simplify these architectures in the future:

• Ecommerce: PPR could automatically optimize product pages, prerendering critical content while leaving dynamic elements like add-to-cart buttons for client-side rendering.
• Dashboards: Components could be partially prerendered, with placeholders for real-time data filled in on the client.
• AI: PPR might prerender the application shell and common AI outputs while leaving room for personalized, dynamically generated content.

To prepare for PPR:

• Adopt React Server Components where possible.
• Structure your application with clear separation between static and dynamic content.
• Use Suspense boundaries to define loading states for dynamic content.

Choosing the right rendering strategies for your application

The evolution of web rendering reflects the changing demands of modern web applications. From traditional server-side rendering to cutting-edge techniques, each strategy offers unique benefits for performance, user experience, and developer productivity.

Key Takeaways

• Combine strategies : The most effective applications often combine rendering methods to optimize different components.
• Performance matters : The right rendering strategy significantly impacts user engagement and business outcomes.
• Flexibility is key : Frameworks like Next.js allow for tailored solutions within a single application.
• Stay future-ready : Build flexible architectures that can adapt to emerging technologies like Partial Prerendering.
• Let data guide you : Use real-world performance metrics to inform your decisions.

Moving forward

As you develop your rendering strategy:

• Assess your specific needs and start with the simplest effective solution.
• Continuously measure performance and iterate based on data.
• Invest in your team's knowledge of modern rendering techniques.
• Stay informed about emerging trends in web development.

Remember, the goal is to create the best possible user experience while maintaining developer productivity and business agility. By thoughtfully applying these strategies, you'll be well-equipped to deliver exceptional, future-ready web applications.

Get started with Next.js in just a few clicks, or talk to our experts about migrating your large codebase Next.js on Vercel, to give your users the best possible web experience.

Explore more

Read the follow-up

How Core Web Vitals affect SEO

Jan. 19th, 2024

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When Asking Too Many Questions Undermines Your Leadership

• Luis Velasquez

Tips for balancing a learning mindset with confidence and decisiveness.

Although it’s widely accepted that good leaders are good learners, a learning mentality can also have a darker side. If not carefully managed, it might lead to a perception of decreased effectiveness, less expertise, and lower efficiency. Your learning mentality should be the catalyst for your personal growth and development — not a reason for others to question your leadership. For your inquisitiveness to be viewed as an asset, it should be perceived not just as mere learning, but as a way to gather knowledge, add value, communicate effectively, and make decisions quickly. The author offers five strategies to ensure your stakeholders’ perception of you aligns with your intentions.

Paul, a high-level executive in a technology company, former university professor, and expert in his field, attended a prestigious trade conference. Paul prides himself on having a learning mindset and felt at home surrounded by leading industry experts. He was eagerly engaged, asking questions about the latest trends and technologies to broaden his understanding and take in the expertise around him.

• Luis Velasquez , MBA, PhD, is an executive coach who works with senior leaders and their teams to become more cohesive, effective, and resilient. He is the author of Ordinary Resilience: Rethinking How Effective Leaders Adapt and Thrive and the founder and managing partner of Velas Coaching LLC . He is also a leadership facilitator at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a former university professor and research scientist. Connect with him on LinkedIn .

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World Bank Backs Ethiopia's Reforms to Promote Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, Enhance Resilience, and Take Climate Action

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2024 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today the Ethiopia First Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Development Policy Operation . This policy operation supports home-grown reforms that will ultimately help the country transition to a more inclusive economy that allows the private sector to contribute more strongly to growth. While strengthening the financial sector, expanding trade options, and improving fiscal transparency, this engagement will also boost protections for poor and vulnerable households during periods of economic change. It consists of a $1 billion grant and $500 million concessional credit from the International Development Association (IDA)*.

Reforms supported by the operation help increase the private sector orientation of Ethiopia's economy by addressing the root causes of macroeconomic imbalances and expanding trading opportunities. The operation also supports a more sustainable and inclusive growth model through reforms to improve financial stability and financial sector competition, increase fiscal transparency, improve public spending effectiveness and the performance of state-owned enterprises, as well as expand social safety nets.

"Successful implementation of these reforms can help the country reach its full potential so more Ethiopians can thrive. Importantly, there is a strong emphasis on protecting poor and vulnerable people from the costs of economic adjustment and expanding opportunities for them to participate in the economy," said Maryam Salim, World Bank Country Director for Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan.

The operation also helps promote sustainable land and forest management and expand access to renewable energy. This will support Ethiopia in achieving its climate change goals and building more resilience to climate risks. The operation is complemented by the World Bank's broader portfolio in Ethiopia which includes investments in health, education, social protection, energy, finance, digital, agriculture,  transport and trade logistics, water and sanitation, and urban development.

The World Bank Group is one of Ethiopia’s largest providers of development finance. Ethiopia currently receives over $2 billion in concessional financing each year from IDA with roughly half of this as grants. IDA commitments now stand at $15.5 billion, with almost $7 billion available to disburse. The International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) investment portfolio is $320 million. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is actively engaged with $1.15 billion in guarantees.

Looking ahead, the World Bank is committed to supporting Ethiopia’s aspiration of becoming a middle-income country. IDA expects to provide around $6 billion in new commitments over the next three fiscal years and support economic reforms through fast-disbursing budget support. IFC is planning about $2.1 billion in investments and MIGA expects to grow its engagement, including under the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform. Subject to the Board’s approval of new operations and availability of IDA resources, this implies a total financial package of over $16.6 billion in undisbursed and future commitments available over the next three years.

The World Bank Group extends its deepest sympathies to the people of Ethiopia following the devastating landslide in the Gofa Zone, which resulted in the tragic loss of life, the displacement of many people and destruction of infrastructure. We stand ready to assist Ethiopia respond to and recover from this tragedy.

* IDA was established in 1960 and helps low-income countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for its 75 client countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Since 1960, IDA has provided $552 billion to 115 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $36 billion over the last three years (FY21-FY23), with about 75% going to Africa. Learn more online: IDA.worldbank.org . #IDAworks

The World Bank in Ethiopia

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Biden-Harris Administration Publishes Implementation Roadmap for Emerging Technology National Standards Strategy

The Biden-Harris administration has laid out steps toward an industry-led development of standardization of critical and emerging technologies, or CETs, to protect and support national and economic security.

The White House said Friday that foreign adversaries see the strategic value of CETs and are working toward influencing international standards to their advantage and curtail American innovation.

The U.S. Government’s National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology implementation roadmap is based on feedback collected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology on a draft issued in June .

The document identifies short- and long-term objectives to engage with the private sector in creating an inclusive, research-backed standards system. According to the document, the Departments of Commerce and State and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will continue to work with private organizations such as the American National Standards Institute to engage with international partners on the standards.

The government will also evaluate current CET standards education grants and programs to remove barriers and encourage greater participation.

In the long term, the United States plans to offer sustained funding for CET research and development, and coordinate with the private sector and academia about standardization efforts.

“Standards are essential to commerce and to the safe, reliable, and interoperable functioning of a broad array of essential products and services,” the White House said in a press release. “Standards provide industries and innovators with a common language that facilitates trade, simplifies transactions, accelerates innovation, and enables people to work across disciplines and borders toward common goals.”

The USG NSSCET was published in 2023 establishes four guiding principles for standards development efforts.

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