do you restate your thesis in the body paragraph

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How to Restate a Thesis

Last Updated: February 27, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 386,879 times.

A thesis statement serves as your paper’s (or speech’s) guiding idea, alerting readers to the main points of your paper and the direction it will take. A thesis restatement, which comes in the paper’s conclusion, is the thesis’s kindred spirit, though not its identical twin. It differs from the thesis in both word choice and sentence structure. Restating your thesis at the end of the paper allows you to remind your readers of what you have proven in your body paragraphs and helps to bring your paper to a successful close.

Working out the Restatement Basics

• Sketching out a rough conclusion (the main points you want to get across) will give you an idea of the best place for the restated thesis before you actually try your hand at writing the restatement.
• Depending on the nature of your paper or of your conclusion, you may want to open your conclusion with a question or some other kind of rhetorical device, rather than a restatement of the thesis. While writing often follows prescribed formulas (such as the 5-paragraph essay), there is no one-size-fits-all approach for writing a concluding paragraph, and you may need to try out several positions for your thesis restatement to find out what works best.

• You can use the restated thesis to provide a greater level of sophistication or emotional impact to the original argument. For example, if your initial argument was that buying pets as holiday gifts is dangerous, you might restate your thesis this way: "Remember: buying that puppy as a Christmas present might seem like a good idea at the time, but it could end in the tragedy of another homeless dog by Easter."
• You can also restate your thesis to incorporate the relationship you've built with your reader. For example, if your essay was about developing business partnerships, you could begin your restatement by saying something like, "As a businessperson...." Not only will this make your restatement different from the original, but it will also help draw connections with important elements from the essay/speech.

• For example, if you have written an essay about alcohol use on college campuses, you could revisit the "So what?" question in your conclusion by providing a statement about what that means for students and for college officials. It could look something like this: "Because alcohol abuse depends on more than just the legal drinking age, it is crucial that students be educated about how alcohol abuse occurs, and also that college officials broaden their perspective to include a greater variety of aspects."

• You may be able to use something like “In conclusion” at the end of a speech, however. Signaling or signposting words—like “in conclusion” or “next”—are very important in speeches because listeners only have one chance to follow along with what you’re saying, and these words help them to keep their place.

• Avoid saying things like, “It seems like” or “It is possible that” in the restatement. One exception would be if this conditional language is part of your original thesis statement and your paper is devoted to discussing a topic that is only a possibility, not something you are stating is definitely the case. Otherwise, maintain a level of confidence.
• While maintaining confidence is crucial to the success of your paper, it’s important to acknowledge when opposition exists and not to use absolute statements which may alienate readers. Confidence in your position and in the fact that you’ve proven your point is one thing; blind certainty in your opinion is another!

Making the Restatement Distinct from the Thesis

• You can use your word processor’s thesaurus function for this, an online thesaurus, or a good old-fashioned paper thesaurus. If you use a thesaurus, however, check your chosen word in the dictionary to ensure that you know its precise meaning. Thesauruses group words very loosely by general meaning, and there is often a significant difference in connotation between them.
• It’s not necessary to change every single word, such as prepositions (“in,” “on,” “above,” “over”) and articles (“a,” “an,” and “the”). Spend your time focusing on words/phrases that receive the most emphasis, like those that are central to the points you’re making.

• Try varying your sentences by starting with different parts of speech. For example, if you began the original thesis with a prepositional phrase, start the restatement with the subject of the sentence. For instance, if the thesis starts out “Around the turn of the nineteenth century in England, women frequently…”, you might start your restatement out with something like “Women in early nineteenth-century….”
• Another way to vary the structure is to present your points in a different order. Many thesis statements include three ideas, presented in the order in which they will be discussed in the body paragraphs. When restating, you can list the points in an alternate order.

Community Q&A

• When restating your thesis, if you find that the statement doesn’t fit your paper anymore, you’ll want to go back to the body of your paper and try to find where things went off track. You may find that you need to revise the original thesis to reflect what you actually wrote in the paper, or that parts of the body of the paper need to be revised to better suit the thesis. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• While restating your thesis is essential to the conclusion of your paper or speech, it’s not enough. You will need to emphasize main points and, depending on the assignment/goal of the paper, you may also need to call your audience to action, discuss the implications of what you have talked about in the paper, or make predictions for the future. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Think of the restatement as a new, more powerful version of your thesis—you’ve written the paper and learned a lot over that process, and now you have all of this knowledge to draw on. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/writing-conclusions.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/cliches/
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/conclusion
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-an-intro--conclusion----body-paragraph.html

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How to Restate a Thesis Statement: Examples & Tips

What is the most important part of any essay or research paper? Of course, it’s the thesis statement —a sentence that expresses the paper’s main idea and guides the readers through your arguments.

But where do you place the thesis? You’ve probably answered, “in the introduction.” However, that’s not all of it—you also need to restate the thesis statement in the conclusion. Moreover, it should be paraphrased using a more diverse vocabulary.

If you’re unsure about how to restate a thesis, this article by Custom-Writing.org will be helpful for you. Here, you will find:

• various rephrasing strategies,
• a step-by-step guide,
• the most actionable thesis restatement tips.
• ✍️ Thesis Restatement Definition
• ✅ Step-By-Step Guide
• 💡 Rephrasing Strategies
• 📋 Example Sentences
• 🖼️ How to Reframe
• ✨ Bonus Tips

🔍 References

✍️ what is a restated thesis.

A restated thesis is a reworded and restructured version of the original statement. It is presented in a conclusion or any other part of the essay requiring a recap of the paper’s main idea. It shouldn’t repeat the thesis statement word for word: instead, it’s better to focus on its content.

Why Restating Your Thesis Is Necessary

For a solid, effective academic work, a restated thesis in a conclusion is a must. Here’s why:

• A restated thesis helps reintroduce your central argument, thus enhancing its perceived significance.
• A correctly restated main claim makes the transition to the implications smoother.
• A paraphrased thesis restatement signals the readers about the wrap-up of your paper.

✅ How to Restate a Thesis Step by Step

Now, let’s dwell on the restatement process in more detail. We recommend you follow the steps we described below. It will help you make your paraphrased thesis effective without undermining your persuasive arguments.

💡 How to Rephrase a Thesis: Different Strategies

You can approach the restatement of thesis in several ways. Here are the best strategies that will make your argument effective and easily understood.

How to Restate a Claim by Substituting Synonyms

English is a language rich in synonyms, so you’ll hardly experience any trouble finding suitable substitutes for the words you’ve used in the original thesis. You can also try out an online reword generator or thesis statement maker to get different versions of your central claim.

For instance, imagine that this is your thesis:

People of color have achieved pronounced success in the fight for their civil rights and equality in the USA over the last century,

You may experiment with synonyms as freely as you want. Here are some variants:

• The 20-century civil rights movement gave many rights and freedoms to the minorities in the United States.
• The situation with racial equality improved significantly over the past 100 years, giving racial minorities a strong voice in American society.

Restating Your Thesis by Altering the Sentence Structure

The syntax is also a rich source of inspiration for thesis changes. If the original statement is compound, divide it into several shorter sentences. If you’ve used several simple sentences in the first version, consider combining them into one longer statement.

Here is an example of altering the thesis’ structure without changing the main points:

In the original version, we started by focusing on diabetes. In the reworded thesis, we presented the numbers as the first piece of data. This way, we’re directing the reader’s attention to the gravity of the problem.

How to Restate Your Thesis by Changing the Tense

In most cases, the original thesis statement uses future or present tense. It helps to inform the readers about what they are about to read. For instance, it can start with an introductory phrase:

I will argue that homework should be canceled to give students more free time and ease the burden of high school studies.

In this example, the thesis statement is written in the present tense. It links to the general statistics of time students spend on their homework. You can transform this statement into a past-tense sentence in the conclusion, showing that your argument has been proven.

The presented evidence showed that students benefited from homework cancellation and had more quality time for their hobbies and relaxation.

Restating a Thesis by Shortening or Lengthening It

The length of your thesis statement also matters. You may present it in a shorter way at the beginning of your paper, focusing only on the gist of your research question. Later on, once the arguments are laid out and explained in detail, you can present a more extended version of the initially formulated problem.

In this restates thesis example, we have extended the original idea, explaining what “assigned seating” and “school bullying” mean. This way, the reworded version could embrace the evidence discussed in the argumentative essay’s body.

Restating a Thesis by Linking It to the Research Problem

The strategy we’re about to describe is suitable for use in research paper writing. You will need to tie the thesis statement to the problem you’ve outlined in the introduction, linking it to the issue you’re examining.

For instance, in an essay on child obesity in the USA, you can restate the thesis as follows:

Although preventive healthcare has witnessed much advancement in the past decade, evidence proves that child obesity is still on the rise, with alarming annual increase rates.

📋 How to Restate a Thesis: Example Sentences

Now, let’s examine how to rephrase a sentence in practice. Have a look at these examples:

Example # 1

Here, we expanded the thesis statement by making it longer and adding some details.

Here, we have changed the sentence structure by switching the first and second parts. The first example focuses on the legalization of marijuana, while the second version starts by mentioning the rising rates of teenage weed consumption.

In this example, we’ve changed the thesis statement’s tense from future to past, showing how an intention transformed into a completed task.

🖼️ How to Reframe a Reworded Thesis?

Once you’ve approached the conclusion paragraph of your work, it’s time to think about reframing your main claim. It’s important not to duplicate the introductory thesis because its role in the final section is different. Here are some workable reframing suggestions:

• Reword the original thesis and put it at the beginning of your conclusion. It will bring the focus back to your initial research purpose.
• Enumerate the central claims you’ve focused on. They can be compiled from topic sentences used in the body paragraphs.
• After restating the thesis, you can dwell on the broader significance of the problem you’ve examined. Make a logically related call to action based on the cited evidence. You can also mention your study’s limitations and clarify what additional research is needed.

✨ Bonus Thesis Statement Tips

Now, it’s time to give you a bonus for careful reading: our tried-and-tested tips for good thesis rewriting. Check them out:

As you can see, rephrasing a thesis statement requires effort. Using extensive vocabulary and syntax will help you restructure the content and retain its meaning. And, of course, make sure to follow our tips!

Further reading:

• Best Thesis Statement Examples with Expert Comments
• How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper: Examples & Tips
• How to Write a 5-Paragraph Essay: Outline, Examples, & Writing Steps
• What Are the 5 Different Types of Essays? A Complete Guide

❓ How to Restate Thesis in Conclusion FAQs

Restatement of your thesis involves restructuring and changing the vocabulary originally used in the introduction. However, the altered thesis should preserve your work’s meaning and central message.

You will typically need a reworded thesis in a conclusion paragraph. This part of your essay or research paper should wrap up everything you’ve said and summarize your claims in different words.

When composing your essay conclusion paragraph, it is vital to reword your thesis statement initially presented in the introduction. This strategy will help you make the conclusion sound non-redundant while preserving the original main idea.

When restating the claim, you do the same work as when you reword the thesis. You need to change the wording and syntax while preserving the overall meaning of the original claim.

A good example is as follows: “children should wear uniforms at school.” The reworded thesis would contain the same meaning rephrased in your own words: “Uniforms are recommended for all students.”

• Writing the Conclusion: Indiana University Bloomington
• Writing Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs: University of Minnesota
• How to Restate a Thesis Statement: Classroom: Synonym
• Writing a Paper: Conclusions: Walden University
• Conclusions: Purdue University
• Ending the Essay: Conclusions: Harvard University
• Thesis Statements: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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How to write an excellent thesis conclusion [with examples]

Restate the thesis

Review or reiterate key points of your work, explain why your work is relevant, a take-away for the reader, more resources on writing thesis conclusions, frequently asked questions about writing an excellent thesis conclusion, related articles.

At this point in your writing, you have most likely finished your introduction and the body of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper . While this is a reason to celebrate, you should not underestimate the importance of your conclusion. The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable.

A good conclusion will review the key points of the thesis and explain to the reader why the information is relevant, applicable, or related to the world as a whole. Make sure to dedicate enough of your writing time to the conclusion and do not put it off until the very last minute.

This article provides an effective technique for writing a conclusion adapted from Erika Eby’s The College Student's Guide to Writing a Good Research Paper: 101 Easy Tips & Tricks to Make Your Work Stand Out .

While the thesis introduction starts out with broad statements about the topic, and then narrows it down to the thesis statement , a thesis conclusion does the same in the opposite order.

• Restate the thesis.
• Review or reiterate key points of your work.
• Explain why your work is relevant.
• Include a core take-away message for the reader.

Tip: Don’t just copy and paste your thesis into your conclusion. Restate it in different words.

The best way to start a conclusion is simply by restating the thesis statement. That does not mean just copying and pasting it from the introduction, but putting it into different words.

You will need to change the structure and wording of it to avoid sounding repetitive. Also, be firm in your conclusion just as you were in the introduction. Try to avoid sounding apologetic by using phrases like "This paper has tried to show..."

The conclusion should address all the same parts as the thesis while making it clear that the reader has reached the end. You are telling the reader that your research is finished and what your findings are.

I have argued throughout this work that the point of critical mass for biopolitical immunity occurred during the Romantic period because of that era's unique combination of post-revolutionary politics and innovations in smallpox prevention. In particular, I demonstrated that the French Revolution and the discovery of vaccination in the 1790s triggered a reconsideration of the relationship between bodies and the state.

Tip: Try to reiterate points from your introduction in your thesis conclusion.

The next step is to review the main points of the thesis as a whole. Look back at the body of of your project and make a note of the key ideas. You can reword these ideas the same way you reworded your thesis statement and then incorporate that into the conclusion.

You can also repeat striking quotations or statistics, but do not use more than two. As the conclusion represents your own closing thoughts on the topic , it should mainly consist of your own words.

In addition, conclusions can contain recommendations to the reader or relevant questions that further the thesis. You should ask yourself:

• What you would ideally like to see your readers do in reaction to your paper?
• Do you want them to take a certain action or investigate further?
• Is there a bigger issue that your paper wants to draw attention to?

Also, try to reference your introduction in your conclusion. You have already taken a first step by restating your thesis. Now, check whether there are other key words, phrases or ideas that are mentioned in your introduction that fit into your conclusion. Connecting the introduction to the conclusion in this way will help readers feel satisfied.

I explored how Mary Wollstonecraft, in both her fiction and political writings, envisions an ideal medico-political state, and how other writers like William Wordsworth and Mary Shelley increasingly imagined the body politic literally, as an incorporated political collective made up of bodies whose immunity to political and medical ills was essential to a healthy state.

Tip: Make sure to explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research.

Although you can encourage readers to question their opinions and reflect on your topic, do not leave loose ends. You should provide a sense of resolution and make sure your conclusion wraps up your argument. Make sure you explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research and how your research intervenes within, or substantially revises, existing scholarly debates.

This project challenged conventional ideas about the relationship among Romanticism, medicine, and politics by reading the unfolding of Romantic literature and biopolitical immunity as mutual, co-productive processes. In doing so, this thesis revises the ways in which biopolitics has been theorized by insisting on the inherent connections between Romantic literature and the forms of biopower that characterize early modernity.

Tip: If you began your thesis with an anecdote or historical example, you may want to return to that in your conclusion.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as:

• a call to action
• a recommendation
• a gesture towards future research
• a brief explanation of how the problem or idea you covered remains relevant

Ultimately, you want readers to feel more informed, or ready to act, as they read your conclusion.

Yet, the Romantic period is only the beginning of modern thought on immunity and biopolitics. Victorian writers, doctors, and politicians upheld the Romantic idea that a "healthy state" was a literal condition that could be achieved by combining politics and medicine, but augmented that idea through legislation and widespread public health measures. While many nineteenth-century efforts to improve citizens' health were successful, the fight against disease ultimately changed course in the twentieth century as global immunological threats such as SARS occupied public consciousness. Indeed, as subsequent public health events make apparent, biopolitical immunity persists as a viable concept for thinking about the relationship between medicine and politics in modernity.

Need more advice? Read our 5 additional tips on how to write a good thesis conclusion.

The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable. To write a great thesis conclusion you should:

The basic content of a conclusion is to review the main points from the paper. This part represents your own closing thoughts on the topic. It should mainly consist of the outcome of the research in your own words.

The length of the conclusion will depend on the length of the whole thesis. Usually, a conclusion should be around 5-7% of the overall word count.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as a question, warning, or call to action. Depending on the topic, you can also end with a recommendation.

In Open Access: Theses and Dissertations you can find thousands of completed works. Take a look at any of the theses or dissertations for real-life examples of conclusions that were already approved.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

9.2 Writing Body Paragraphs

Learning objectives.

• Select primary support related to your thesis.
• Support your topic sentences.

If your thesis gives the reader a roadmap to your essay, then body paragraphs should closely follow that map. The reader should be able to predict what follows your introductory paragraph by simply reading the thesis statement.

The body paragraphs present the evidence you have gathered to confirm your thesis. Before you begin to support your thesis in the body, you must find information from a variety of sources that support and give credit to what you are trying to prove.

Select Primary Support for Your Thesis

Without primary support, your argument is not likely to be convincing. Primary support can be described as the major points you choose to expand on your thesis. It is the most important information you select to argue for your point of view. Each point you choose will be incorporated into the topic sentence for each body paragraph you write. Your primary supporting points are further supported by supporting details within the paragraphs.

Remember that a worthy argument is backed by examples. In order to construct a valid argument, good writers conduct lots of background research and take careful notes. They also talk to people knowledgeable about a topic in order to understand its implications before writing about it.

Identify the Characteristics of Good Primary Support

In order to fulfill the requirements of good primary support, the information you choose must meet the following standards:

• Be specific. The main points you make about your thesis and the examples you use to expand on those points need to be specific. Use specific examples to provide the evidence and to build upon your general ideas. These types of examples give your reader something narrow to focus on, and if used properly, they leave little doubt about your claim. General examples, while they convey the necessary information, are not nearly as compelling or useful in writing because they are too obvious and typical.
• Be relevant to the thesis. Primary support is considered strong when it relates directly to the thesis. Primary support should show, explain, or prove your main argument without delving into irrelevant details. When faced with lots of information that could be used to prove your thesis, you may think you need to include it all in your body paragraphs. But effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. Choose your examples wisely by making sure they directly connect to your thesis.
• Be detailed. Remember that your thesis, while specific, should not be very detailed. The body paragraphs are where you develop the discussion that a thorough essay requires. Using detailed support shows readers that you have considered all the facts and chosen only the most precise details to enhance your point of view.

Prewrite to Identify Primary Supporting Points for a Thesis Statement

Recall that when you prewrite you essentially make a list of examples or reasons why you support your stance. Stemming from each point, you further provide details to support those reasons. After prewriting, you are then able to look back at the information and choose the most compelling pieces you will use in your body paragraphs.

Choose one of the following working thesis statements. On a separate sheet of paper, write for at least five minutes using one of the prewriting techniques you learned in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

• Unleashed dogs on city streets are a dangerous nuisance.
• Students cheat for many different reasons.
• Drug use among teens and young adults is a problem.
• The most important change that should occur at my college or university is ____________________________________________.

Select the Most Effective Primary Supporting Points for a Thesis Statement

After you have prewritten about your working thesis statement, you may have generated a lot of information, which may be edited out later. Remember that your primary support must be relevant to your thesis. Remind yourself of your main argument, and delete any ideas that do not directly relate to it. Omitting unrelated ideas ensures that you will use only the most convincing information in your body paragraphs. Choose at least three of only the most compelling points. These will serve as the topic sentences for your body paragraphs.

Refer to the previous exercise and select three of your most compelling reasons to support the thesis statement. Remember that the points you choose must be specific and relevant to the thesis. The statements you choose will be your primary support points, and you will later incorporate them into the topic sentences for the body paragraphs.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

When you support your thesis, you are revealing evidence. Evidence includes anything that can help support your stance. The following are the kinds of evidence you will encounter as you conduct your research:

• Facts. Facts are the best kind of evidence to use because they often cannot be disputed. They can support your stance by providing background information on or a solid foundation for your point of view. However, some facts may still need explanation. For example, the sentence “The most populated state in the United States is California” is a pure fact, but it may require some explanation to make it relevant to your specific argument.
• Judgments. Judgments are conclusions drawn from the given facts. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and examination of a topic.
• Testimony. Testimony consists of direct quotations from either an eyewitness or an expert witness. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; he adds authenticity to an argument based on facts. An expert witness is a person who has extensive experience with a topic. This person studies the facts and provides commentary based on either facts or judgments, or both. An expert witness adds authority and credibility to an argument.
• Personal observation. Personal observation is similar to testimony, but personal observation consists of your testimony. It reflects what you know to be true because you have experiences and have formed either opinions or judgments about them. For instance, if you are one of five children and your thesis states that being part of a large family is beneficial to a child’s social development, you could use your own experience to support your thesis.

Writing at Work

In any job where you devise a plan, you will need to support the steps that you lay out. This is an area in which you would incorporate primary support into your writing. Choosing only the most specific and relevant information to expand upon the steps will ensure that your plan appears well-thought-out and precise.

You can consult a vast pool of resources to gather support for your stance. Citing relevant information from reliable sources ensures that your reader will take you seriously and consider your assertions. Use any of the following sources for your essay: newspapers or news organization websites, magazines, encyclopedias, and scholarly journals, which are periodicals that address topics in a specialized field.

Choose Supporting Topic Sentences

Each body paragraph contains a topic sentence that states one aspect of your thesis and then expands upon it. Like the thesis statement, each topic sentence should be specific and supported by concrete details, facts, or explanations.

Each body paragraph should comprise the following elements.

topic sentence + supporting details (examples, reasons, or arguments)

As you read in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , topic sentences indicate the location and main points of the basic arguments of your essay. These sentences are vital to writing your body paragraphs because they always refer back to and support your thesis statement. Topic sentences are linked to the ideas you have introduced in your thesis, thus reminding readers what your essay is about. A paragraph without a clearly identified topic sentence may be unclear and scattered, just like an essay without a thesis statement.

Unless your teacher instructs otherwise, you should include at least three body paragraphs in your essay. A five-paragraph essay, including the introduction and conclusion, is commonly the standard for exams and essay assignments.

Consider the following the thesis statement:

Author J.D. Salinger relied primarily on his personal life and belief system as the foundation for the themes in the majority of his works.

The following topic sentence is a primary support point for the thesis. The topic sentence states exactly what the controlling idea of the paragraph is. Later, you will see the writer immediately provide support for the sentence.

Salinger, a World War II veteran, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, a disorder that influenced themes in many of his works.

In Note 9.19 “Exercise 2” , you chose three of your most convincing points to support the thesis statement you selected from the list. Take each point and incorporate it into a topic sentence for each body paragraph.

Supporting point 1: ____________________________________________

Topic sentence: ____________________________________________

Supporting point 2: ____________________________________________

Supporting point 3: ____________________________________________

Draft Supporting Detail Sentences for Each Primary Support Sentence

After deciding which primary support points you will use as your topic sentences, you must add details to clarify and demonstrate each of those points. These supporting details provide examples, facts, or evidence that support the topic sentence.

The writer drafts possible supporting detail sentences for each primary support sentence based on the thesis statement:

Thesis statement: Unleashed dogs on city streets are a dangerous nuisance.

Supporting point 1: Dogs can scare cyclists and pedestrians.

Supporting details:

• Cyclists are forced to zigzag on the road.
• School children panic and turn wildly on their bikes.
• People who are walking at night freeze in fear.

Supporting point 2:

Loose dogs are traffic hazards.

• Dogs in the street make people swerve their cars.
• To avoid dogs, drivers run into other cars or pedestrians.
• Children coaxing dogs across busy streets create danger.

Supporting point 3: Unleashed dogs damage gardens.

• They step on flowers and vegetables.
• They destroy hedges by urinating on them.
• They mess up lawns by digging holes.

The following paragraph contains supporting detail sentences for the primary support sentence (the topic sentence), which is underlined.

Salinger, a World War II veteran, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, a disorder that influenced the themes in many of his works. He did not hide his mental anguish over the horrors of war and once told his daughter, “You never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose, no matter how long you live.” His short story “A Perfect Day for a Bananafish” details a day in the life of a WWII veteran who was recently released from an army hospital for psychiatric problems. The man acts questionably with a little girl he meets on the beach before he returns to his hotel room and commits suicide. Another short story, “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor,” is narrated by a traumatized soldier who sparks an unusual relationship with a young girl he meets before he departs to partake in D-Day. Finally, in Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye , he continues with the theme of posttraumatic stress, though not directly related to war. From a rest home for the mentally ill, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield narrates the story of his nervous breakdown following the death of his younger brother.

Using the three topic sentences you composed for the thesis statement in Note 9.18 “Exercise 1” , draft at least three supporting details for each point.

Thesis statement: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 1: ____________________________________________

Supporting details: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 2: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 3: ____________________________________________

You have the option of writing your topic sentences in one of three ways. You can state it at the beginning of the body paragraph, or at the end of the paragraph, or you do not have to write it at all. This is called an implied topic sentence. An implied topic sentence lets readers form the main idea for themselves. For beginning writers, it is best to not use implied topic sentences because it makes it harder to focus your writing. Your instructor may also want to clearly identify the sentences that support your thesis. For more information on the placement of thesis statements and implied topic statements, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

Print out the first draft of your essay and use a highlighter to mark your topic sentences in the body paragraphs. Make sure they are clearly stated and accurately present your paragraphs, as well as accurately reflect your thesis. If your topic sentence contains information that does not exist in the rest of the paragraph, rewrite it to more accurately match the rest of the paragraph.

Key Takeaways

• Your body paragraphs should closely follow the path set forth by your thesis statement.
• Strong body paragraphs contain evidence that supports your thesis.
• Primary support comprises the most important points you use to support your thesis.
• Strong primary support is specific, detailed, and relevant to the thesis.
• Prewriting helps you determine your most compelling primary support.
• Evidence includes facts, judgments, testimony, and personal observation.
• Reliable sources may include newspapers, magazines, academic journals, books, encyclopedias, and firsthand testimony.
• A topic sentence presents one point of your thesis statement while the information in the rest of the paragraph supports that point.
• A body paragraph comprises a topic sentence plus supporting details.

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Conclusions

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Conclusions wrap up what you have been discussing in your paper. After moving from general to specific information in the introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion should begin pulling back into more general information that restates the main points of your argument. Conclusions may also call for action or overview future possible research. The following outline may help you conclude your paper:

In a general way,

• Restate your topic and why it is important,
• Restate your thesis/claim,
• Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position,
• Call for action or overview future research possibilities.

Remember that once you accomplish these tasks, unless otherwise directed by your instructor, you are finished. Done. Complete. Don't try to bring in new points or end with a whiz bang(!) conclusion or try to solve world hunger in the final sentence of your conclusion. Simplicity is best for a clear, convincing message.

The preacher's maxim is one of the most effective formulas to follow for argument papers:

Tell what you're going to tell them (introduction).

Tell them (body).

Tell them what you told them (conclusion).

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Writing a Research Paper Conclusion | Step-by-Step Guide

Published on October 30, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on April 13, 2023.

• Restate the problem statement addressed in the paper
• Summarize your overall arguments or findings
• Suggest the key takeaways from your paper

The content of the conclusion varies depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or constructs an argument through engagement with sources .

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Table of contents

Step 1: restate the problem, step 2: sum up the paper, step 3: discuss the implications, research paper conclusion examples, frequently asked questions about research paper conclusions.

The first task of your conclusion is to remind the reader of your research problem . You will have discussed this problem in depth throughout the body, but now the point is to zoom back out from the details to the bigger picture.

While you are restating a problem you’ve already introduced, you should avoid phrasing it identically to how it appeared in the introduction . Ideally, you’ll find a novel way to circle back to the problem from the more detailed ideas discussed in the body.

For example, an argumentative paper advocating new measures to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture might restate its problem as follows:

Meanwhile, an empirical paper studying the relationship of Instagram use with body image issues might present its problem like this:

“In conclusion …”

Avoid starting your conclusion with phrases like “In conclusion” or “To conclude,” as this can come across as too obvious and make your writing seem unsophisticated. The content and placement of your conclusion should make its function clear without the need for additional signposting.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Having zoomed back in on the problem, it’s time to summarize how the body of the paper went about addressing it, and what conclusions this approach led to.

Depending on the nature of your research paper, this might mean restating your thesis and arguments, or summarizing your overall findings.

Argumentative paper: Restate your thesis and arguments

In an argumentative paper, you will have presented a thesis statement in your introduction, expressing the overall claim your paper argues for. In the conclusion, you should restate the thesis and show how it has been developed through the body of the paper.

Briefly summarize the key arguments made in the body, showing how each of them contributes to proving your thesis. You may also mention any counterarguments you addressed, emphasizing why your thesis holds up against them, particularly if your argument is a controversial one.

Don’t go into the details of your evidence or present new ideas; focus on outlining in broad strokes the argument you have made.

Empirical paper: Summarize your findings

In an empirical paper, this is the time to summarize your key findings. Don’t go into great detail here (you will have presented your in-depth results and discussion already), but do clearly express the answers to the research questions you investigated.

Describe your main findings, even if they weren’t necessarily the ones you expected or hoped for, and explain the overall conclusion they led you to.

Having summed up your key arguments or findings, the conclusion ends by considering the broader implications of your research. This means expressing the key takeaways, practical or theoretical, from your paper—often in the form of a call for action or suggestions for future research.

Argumentative paper: Strong closing statement

An argumentative paper generally ends with a strong closing statement. In the case of a practical argument, make a call for action: What actions do you think should be taken by the people or organizations concerned in response to your argument?

If your topic is more theoretical and unsuitable for a call for action, your closing statement should express the significance of your argument—for example, in proposing a new understanding of a topic or laying the groundwork for future research.

Empirical paper: Future research directions

In a more empirical paper, you can close by either making recommendations for practice (for example, in clinical or policy papers), or suggesting directions for future research.

Whatever the scope of your own research, there will always be room for further investigation of related topics, and you’ll often discover new questions and problems during the research process .

Finish your paper on a forward-looking note by suggesting how you or other researchers might build on this topic in the future and address any limitations of the current paper.

Full examples of research paper conclusions are shown in the tabs below: one for an argumentative paper, the other for an empirical paper.

• Argumentative paper
• Empirical paper

While the role of cattle in climate change is by now common knowledge, countries like the Netherlands continually fail to confront this issue with the urgency it deserves. The evidence is clear: To create a truly futureproof agricultural sector, Dutch farmers must be incentivized to transition from livestock farming to sustainable vegetable farming. As well as dramatically lowering emissions, plant-based agriculture, if approached in the right way, can produce more food with less land, providing opportunities for nature regeneration areas that will themselves contribute to climate targets. Although this approach would have economic ramifications, from a long-term perspective, it would represent a significant step towards a more sustainable and resilient national economy. Transitioning to sustainable vegetable farming will make the Netherlands greener and healthier, setting an example for other European governments. Farmers, policymakers, and consumers must focus on the future, not just on their own short-term interests, and work to implement this transition now.

As social media becomes increasingly central to young people’s everyday lives, it is important to understand how different platforms affect their developing self-conception. By testing the effect of daily Instagram use among teenage girls, this study established that highly visual social media does indeed have a significant effect on body image concerns, with a strong correlation between the amount of time spent on the platform and participants’ self-reported dissatisfaction with their appearance. However, the strength of this effect was moderated by pre-test self-esteem ratings: Participants with higher self-esteem were less likely to experience an increase in body image concerns after using Instagram. This suggests that, while Instagram does impact body image, it is also important to consider the wider social and psychological context in which this usage occurs: Teenagers who are already predisposed to self-esteem issues may be at greater risk of experiencing negative effects. Future research into Instagram and other highly visual social media should focus on establishing a clearer picture of how self-esteem and related constructs influence young people’s experiences of these platforms. Furthermore, while this experiment measured Instagram usage in terms of time spent on the platform, observational studies are required to gain more insight into different patterns of usage—to investigate, for instance, whether active posting is associated with different effects than passive consumption of social media content.

If you’re unsure about the conclusion, it can be helpful to ask a friend or fellow student to read your conclusion and summarize the main takeaways.

• Do they understand from your conclusion what your research was about?
• Are they able to summarize the implications of your findings?
• Can they answer your research question based on your conclusion?

You can also get an expert to proofread and feedback your paper with a paper editing service .

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The conclusion of a research paper has several key elements you should make sure to include:

• A restatement of the research problem
• A summary of your key arguments and/or findings
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

No, it’s not appropriate to present new arguments or evidence in the conclusion . While you might be tempted to save a striking argument for last, research papers follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the results and discussion sections if you are following a scientific structure). The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

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Writing conclusions.

Though expectations vary from one discipline to the next, the conclusion of your paper is generally a place to explore the implications of your topic or argument. In other words, the end of your paper is a place to look outward or ahead in order to explain why you made the points you did.

Writing the Conclusion

In the past, you may have been told that your conclusion should summarize what you have already said by restating your thesis and main points. It is often helpful to restate your argument in the conclusion, particularly in a longer paper, but most professors and instructors want students to go beyond simply repeating what they have already said. Restating your thesis is just a short first part of your conclusion. Make sure that you are not simply repeating yourself; your restated thesis should use new and interesting language.

After you have restated your thesis, you should not just summarize the key points of your argument. Your conclusion should offer the reader something new to think about—or, at the very least, it should offer the reader a new way of thinking about what you have said in your paper.

You can employ one of several strategies for taking your conclusion that important step further:

• Answer the question, "So what?"
• Connect to a larger theme from the course
• Complicate your claim with an outside source
• Pose a new research question as a result of your paper's findings
• Address the limitations of your argument

The strategy you employ in writing a conclusion for your paper may depend upon a number of factors:

• The conventions of the discipline in which you are writing
• The tone of your paper (whether your paper is analytical, argumentative, explanatory, etc.)
• Whether your paper is meant to be formal or informal

Choose a strategy that best maintains the flow and tone of your paper while allowing you to adequately tie together all aspects of your paper.

The Final "So what?" Strategy

Part of generating a thesis statement sometimes requires answering the "so what?" question—that is, explaining the significance of your basic assertion. When you use the "so what?" strategy to write your conclusion, you are considering what some of the implications of your argument might be beyond the points already made in your paper. This strategy allows you to leave readers with an understanding of why your argument is important in a broader context or how it can apply to a larger concept.

For example, consider a paper about alcohol abuse in universities. If the paper argues that alcohol abuse among students depends more on psychological factors than simply the availability of alcohol on campus, a "so what?" conclusion might tie together threads from the body of the paper to suggest that universities are not approaching alcohol education from the most effective perspective when they focus exclusively on limiting students' access to alcohol.

To use this strategy, ask yourself, "How does my argument affect how I approach the text or issue?"

The "Connecting to a Course Theme" Strategy

When you use the "connecting to a course theme" strategy to write your conclusion, you are establishing a connection between your paper's thesis and a larger theme or idea from the course for which you are writing your paper.

For example, consider a paper about mothers and daughters in Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding for a class called "The Inescapable South." This paper argues that a strong dependence on the mother is analogous to a strong dependence on the South. A "connecting to a course theme" conclusion for this paper might propose that Welty's daughter characters demonstrate what type of people can and cannot escape the South.

To use this strategy, ask yourself, "What is an overall theme of this course? How does my paper's thesis connect?"

The "Complicating Your Claim" Strategy

When you use the "complicating your claim" strategy to write your conclusion, you are using one or more additional resources to develop a more nuanced final thesis. Such additional resources could include a new outside source or textual evidence that seemingly contradicts your argument.

For example, consider a paper about Ireland's neutrality during World War II. This paper argues that Ireland refused to enter the war because it wanted to assert its sovereignty, not because it had no opinion about the conflict. A "complicating your claim" conclusion for this paper might provide historical evidence that Ireland did aid the Allies, suggesting that the Irish were more influenced by international diplomacy than their formal neutrality might suggest.

To use this strategy, ask yourself, "Is there any evidence against my thesis?" or "What does an outside source have to say about my thesis?"

The "Posing a New Question" Strategy

When you use the "posing a new question" strategy to write your conclusion, you are inviting the reader to consider a new idea or question that has appeared as a result of your argument.

For example, consider a paper about three versions of the folktale "Rapunzel." This paper argues that German, Italian, and Filipino versions of "Rapunzel" all vary in terms of characterization, plot development, and moral, and as a result have different themes. A "posing a new question" conclusion for this paper might ask the historical and cultural reasons for how three separate cultures developed such similar stories with such different themes.

To use this strategy, ask yourself, "What new question has developed out of my argument?"

The "Addressing Limitations" Strategy

When you use the "addressing limitations" strategy to write your conclusion, you are discussing the possible weaknesses of your argument and, thus, the fallibility of your overall conclusion. This strategy is often useful in concluding papers on scientific studies and experiments.

For example, consider a paper about an apparent correlation between religious belief and support for terrorism. An "addressing limitations" conclusion for this paper might suggest that the apparent correlation relies on the paper's definition of "terrorism" and, since the definition is not objective, the apparent correlation might have been wrongly identified.

To use this strategy, ask yourself, "In what aspects is my argument lacking? Are there circumstances in which my conclusions might be wrong?"

Polishing Your Conclusion—and Your Paper

After you've completed your conclusion, look over what you have written and consider making some small changes to promote clarity and originality:

• Unless your discipline requires them, remove obvious transitions like "in conclusion," "in summary," and "in result" from your conclusion; they get in the way of the actual substance of your conclusion.
• Consider taking a strong phrase from your conclusion and using it as the title or subtitle of your paper.

Also, be sure to proofread your conclusion carefully for errors and typos. You should double-check your entire paper for accuracy and correct spelling as well.

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Prism's Guide: How to Restate a Thesis with Confidence

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Prism's Guide: How to Restate a Thesis with Confidence

Restating a thesis is an essential skill for any writer. It is the process of repeating the main argument of an essay or research paper using different words while maintaining the same meaning. This technique is used in the conclusion of an essay to remind the reader of the main points and leave a lasting impression. If you are wondering how to restate a thesis, this article will provide you with some effective tips and strategies.

The thesis statement is the backbone of any essay or research paper. It is a sentence or two that summarizes the main argument or point of view of the essay. Restating a thesis involves rephrasing the thesis statement in different words, but keeping the same meaning. This technique is important because it helps to reinforce the main argument and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

The purpose of restating a thesis is to remind the reader of the main points and leave a lasting impression. It is important to note that restating a thesis is not the same as summarizing the main points. Instead, it involves using different words to rephrase the thesis statement while maintaining the same meaning. By doing this, you can reinforce the main argument and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Understanding Thesis Restatement

Definition and purpose.

Restating your thesis is the process of rewording the central argument of your essay or paper to remind the reader of your main point. The restated thesis should be clear and concise, and it should reflect the meaning of the original thesis. The purpose of restating your thesis is to reinforce the argument you made in your essay or paper and to help your reader remember what you said.

Differences Between Thesis and Restated Thesis

The restated thesis is not the same as the original thesis. While the original thesis is the central argument of your essay or paper, the restated thesis is a reworded version of the original thesis that reminds the reader of your main point. The restated thesis should be written in a way that is clear and concise, and it should reflect the meaning of the original thesis.

To restate your thesis, you should start by reviewing your original thesis statement and making sure you understand the main argument or assertion you presented. Then, you should determine in which person it is written (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) and preserve that point of view in the rewrite. Finally, you should outline all keywords and main points that should be present in the reworded thesis.

In conclusion, understanding how to restate a thesis is an important skill for any writer. By restating your thesis, you can reinforce the argument you made in your essay or paper and help your reader remember what you said. The restated thesis should be clear and concise, and it should reflect the meaning of the original thesis.

Strategies for Effective Restatement

Restating a thesis is an essential part of writing an effective conclusion to your paper. It provides a summary of your main argument and helps to reinforce the significance of your work. Here are some strategies to help you create an impactful restatement of your thesis.

Paraphrasing Techniques

One of the most effective ways to restate your thesis is to use paraphrasing techniques. Paraphrasing involves restating the thesis in your own words while retaining the original meaning. This technique helps to avoid plagiarism and demonstrates your understanding of the topic. To paraphrase your thesis, you can:

• Change the sentence structure
• Use synonyms
• Replace complex words with simpler ones
• Use different phrasing

Use of Synonyms and Sentence Structure

Using synonyms is another effective strategy for restating your thesis. Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings as the original word. By using synonyms, you can avoid repetition and add variety to your writing. Additionally, changing the sentence structure can help to emphasize different aspects of your argument. For example, you can use a rhetorical question or a conditional statement to restate your thesis.

Maintaining Originality while Restating

While restating your thesis, it is important to maintain originality. Avoid using clichés or overused phrases as they can weaken the impact of your conclusion. Instead, try to use unique and creative phrasing to reinforce your argument. You can also reflect on the journey of your essay and emphasize the significance of your work. Remember to keep your restatement concise and to the point.

By implementing these strategies, you can create a restatement that resonates with your audience and reinforces the strength of your argument. Remember to avoid common pitfalls such as using apologetic statements or vague language. With finesse and attention to detail, you can craft an effective restatement of your thesis.

Incorporating Restatement in the Conclusion

Restating the thesis statement in the conclusion is a crucial part of wrapping up your essay. It helps to summarize the central message of your essay and reinforce the main argument. Here are some tips on how to incorporate restatement in the conclusion effectively.

Transition to the Conclusion

Before restating the thesis statement, you need to transition smoothly from the body of your essay to the conclusion. You can use transitional words and phrases such as "In conclusion," "To sum up," or "Finally" to signal the reader that you are about to conclude your essay.

Summarizing Key Points

After transitioning to the conclusion, you should summarize the key points of your essay. This helps to remind the reader of the main ideas of your essay and reinforces your argument. You can use bullet points or a table to summarize the key points of your essay.

For example:

Reinforcing the Main Argument

After summarizing the key points, you should restate the thesis statement in a way that reinforces the main argument of your essay. This means that you should use different words to convey the same idea as the original thesis statement.

For example, if your original thesis statement was "The use of social media has a negative impact on interpersonal communication," you could restate it as "In conclusion, social media has been shown to hinder face-to-face communication, leading to negative consequences."

By restating the thesis statement in this way, you are reinforcing the main argument of your essay and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

In conclusion, incorporating restatement in the conclusion is an essential part of wrapping up your essay. By transitioning smoothly, summarizing key points, and reinforcing the main argument, you can create a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

The Broader Implications of Your Thesis

After presenting your thesis statement and supporting it with evidence in the body of your essay, it is crucial to discuss the broader implications of your thesis in the conclusion. This section will guide you through different ways to discuss the implications of your thesis.

Discussing Research Findings and Limitations

One way to discuss the broader implications of your thesis is to summarize your research findings and limitations. This allows you to demonstrate the significance of your research and acknowledge any potential issues with your study. You can use tables or lists to summarize your findings and limitations in a clear and concise manner.

Explaining the Broader Context and Impact

Another way to discuss the broader implications of your thesis is to explain the broader context and impact of your research. This includes discussing how your research fits into the larger field of study and how it contributes to our understanding of the topic. You can also discuss how your research could be applied in real-world situations.

Offering a Call to Action or Final Thought

Finally, you can offer a call to action or final thought in your conclusion to encourage your readers to take action or think more deeply about the topic. This could include suggesting further research, proposing solutions to a problem, or encouraging readers to consider the implications of your research for their own lives.

Overall, discussing the broader implications of your thesis is an important part of any research paper or essay. By summarizing your research findings and limitations, explaining the broader context and impact of your research, and offering a call to action or final thought, you can demonstrate the significance of your research and encourage your readers to engage with your topic in a meaningful way.

Revising and Finalizing Your Restatement

Restating your thesis is not just about repeating the same words in a different order. It requires careful consideration of the main argument and an effective restatement that summarizes the key points while leaving a lasting impression on the reader. Here are some tips on how to revise and finalize your restatement:

Reviewing and Proofreading

Before finalizing your restatement, it is important to review your original thesis statement and ensure that you have covered all the main points. You can also use this opportunity to summarize the key arguments and evidence presented in your essay.

Once you have completed the review, it is essential to proofread your restatement for any errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation. A poorly written restatement can undermine the credibility of your argument, so take the time to ensure that it is error-free.

Achieving Clarity and Closure

An effective restatement should achieve clarity and closure. It should clearly and concisely summarize the main argument and provide closure to the reader. To achieve clarity, use simple and direct language that is easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may confuse the reader.

To achieve closure, provide a sense of finality to your restatement. This can be done by using phrases such as "In conclusion," "To summarize," or "Therefore." These phrases signal to the reader that you are wrapping up your argument and leaving them with a clear understanding of your main points.

Leaving a Lasting Impression

Your restatement should leave a lasting impression on the reader. It should be memorable and reinforce the main argument of your essay. To achieve this, consider using a powerful quote, statistic, or anecdote that relates to your thesis statement.

You can also use this opportunity to provide a call to action or suggest future research on the topic. This will leave the reader with a sense of purpose and encourage them to take action or continue exploring the topic further.

In summary, revising and finalizing your restatement requires careful consideration of the main argument, achieving clarity and closure, and leaving a lasting impression on the reader. By following these tips, you can create an effective restatement that summarizes the key points of your essay and reinforces your main argument.

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How to Restate a Thesis: Various Approaches to Restating Your Thesis

Table of contents

• 1 Understanding the Purpose of Restating a Thesis
• 2.1 Paraphrasing.
• 2.2 Summarizing.
• 2.3 Reflecting.
• 2.4 Significance.
• 2.5 Rhetorical Devices.
• 2.6 Emotional Appeal.
• 2.7 Call to Action.
• 2.8 Broader Context.
• 2.9 Engaging Language.
• 2.10 Memorable Statement.
• 3.1 Understand the purpose of restatement
• 3.2 Avoid clichés and overused phrases
• 3.3 Be specific and avoid vague language
• 3.4 Keep it concise
• 3.5 Reflect on the essay’s journey
• 3.6 Emphasize the significance
• 3.7 Check for coherence
• 3.8 Avoid introducing new ideas

A thesis statement guarantees that your essay will be read, and a paraphrased thesis states that the main points of your essay will be remembered. Students have already heard about the importance of formulating a thesis statement to interest the reader in your written work. However, inexperienced authors often forget to restate the thesis.

The purpose of the successful thesis restatement is to reinforce the essay’s main idea. This way, you intensify the original argument and influence the reader’s mind. For your research paper to be convincing, it must be coherent. For this reason, the thesis and the restated thesis should not contradict but complement each other.

In this article, detailed instructions will help you restate your thesis and make your essay memorable. Our experienced specialists are ready to share with you the most working strategies for high-quality rewording of the thesis. Moreover, we want to make it easier for you and have created a checklist of the necessary details to consider to restate your thesis effectively.

Understanding the Purpose of Restating a Thesis

We remind you that the thesis statement is a claim that summarizes the main idea of your essay. It is often used as the first sentence in the introductory paragraph to dedicate the reader to the context of the written work. However, a good thesis statement is not limited to the first paragraph. In academic and persuasive writing, for example, there is a need to restate the original thesis to maintain coherence.

What does restate thesis mean? Let’s start with the fact that a restated thesis is a statement based on the original thesis used in the concluding paragraph or throughout the body paragraphs. Quoting the original thesis statement word by word will not be effective, so you have to analyze the original meaning and reword it. You may use a paraphrasing tool in case you struggle with an issue of how to restate a thesis.

You must be wondering why restating a thesis statement in the conclusion paragraph is so important. It is sometimes difficult for the reader to follow your thought course while reading. Remember when you read a book, then by the last page, you begin to forget about what happened at the beginning. To regularly refresh the reader’s memory of your argument, you need to recall it by restating the original thesis statement in the essay’s conclusion paragraph and body paragraphs.

Thus, the thesis claim should permeate your essay. Each part should contain a reminder of the central idea to reinforce the perceived significance of the thesis word. The restated thesis acts as a link between the main components of your essay. It’s necessary to restate the thesis in conclusion, connect it with topic sentences and provide a logical analysis flow.

Strategies for Restating a Thesis Effectively

Unfortunately, a simple understanding of the importance of restructuring the thesis is insufficient. It is also necessary to understand the primary strategies for good restating. Our PapersOwl experts have prepared a list with good examples for you on how to restate a thesis statement effectively. The most effective strategies are:

Paraphrasing.

Reword your original thesis statement using different words and changing the sentence structure. With this technique, the form changes, but not the main point.

Initial thesis: The desegregation of public schools is considered to be the key purpose of the Civil Rights Movement.

Restatement: The anti-segregation movement in America was aimed at equalizing public schools.

Summarizing.

In this technique, you should analyze and summarize the overall meaning of the original point in the introduction. Thus, the statement will be concise and informative.

Initial thesis: Increased anxiety and stress exposure by the mother during pregnancy can negatively affect the intrauterine development of the child, making his nervous system more vulnerable to stress.

Restatement: A pregnant mother’s stress can make a child more anxious.

Reflecting.

Link your restated thesis to the ideas you uncovered in the body paragraph of the paper.

Initial thesis: The opportunities for women to develop professionally were historically equal to the career prospects of men, or were they?

Restatement of thesis: In the nineteenth century, the inequality in the career opportunities of the two sexes was drastic.

Significance.

Emphasize that the thought you expressed in the original thesis statement is so crucial that it is worth developing in restating the thesis.

Initial thesis: The lack of sex education in schools and families leads to increased unwanted pregnancies among adolescents.

Restatement: Again, 50% of pregnancies among teenagers are unwanted. As a result of the lack of sex education, the total number of teenage pregnancies continues to grow.

Rhetorical Devices.

Use rhetorical techniques in your thesis statement, such as parallelism and repetition, to enhance the persuasiveness of the paper and rephrase the original contribution.

Initial thesis: The film provides a detailed picture for our eyes.

Restatement: The film provides a detailed picture for our eyes, and a book provides an even more detailed image for our mind.

Emotional Appeal.

Use a moving phrase or concept to appeal to the reader’s emotions to enhance interaction. If you don’t know how to apply this technique, try asking for help with college papers , and get expert help.

e.g. How long must pass before people realize that their grandchildren will suffer from the consequences of environmental disasters.

Call to Action.

Formulate your paper’s central argument, and motivate the reader to take action by introducing a thesis restatement in the conclusion.

Example: Do not delay, nature needs your intervention right now, sort garbage responsibly!

Broader Context.

Explain to the reader the background of your thought.

Example: Initial thesis: The world was a millimeter far from a nuclear war.

Restatement: In the 20th century, the development of the nuclear industry reached such a level that the advanced countries were on the verge of starting a nuclear war.

Engaging Language.

Use vocabulary that is close and understandable to the reader.

Example: Lack of sleep is the major reason for heart diseases, so don’t worry, go take a nap!

Memorable Statement.

A powerful version of your original claim has a good potential to be remembered by readers.

Example: Realizing that you owe nothing to anyone is difficult, but only by recognizing this do you begin to live for real.

Checklist to help you ensure an effective restatement of your thesis

Now that you’re familiar with working strategies for paraphrasing a thesis statement, as well as with illustrative examples, it’s time to stock up on all the tips from our experienced writers. We have created a checklist of eight points you need to follow to know how to write a thesis statement for the conclusion section so that most professors truly value your writing.

Understand the purpose of restatement

Understanding the reasons and motivation for your actions gives you the key to rephrase a thesis right. Having realized the primary goal of restating your thesis statement will help you articulate it more clearly. Remember that this writing technique exists to strengthen your arguments and improve their perception by readers. So let’s see how to restate a thesis for your conclusion and write a perfect paper.

Avoid clichés and overused phrases

The reader will not be interested in hackneyed formulations, absolute statements, and overused concepts in your thesis restatement. Our brain always demands novelty, so unique information will attract more attention and arouse interest in your research paper. Try to make your thesis restatement look fresh and intriguing.

Be specific and avoid vague language

Vague concepts, conditional language, overly long sentences, and oversimplification of information will make your thesis statements more boring. Do not think that your reader is a fool. On the contrary, provide him with food for thought. Also, reconsider the sentence structure, for it not to be too weary, use different words to be diverse.

Keep it concise

An excellent conclusion thesis restatement should be concise, giving only the most necessary context to make it easier to understand. You can expand on your idea in more detail in the following main paragraphs. To get a perfect reworded thesis, use the thesis statement generator to make the process easier. Still, to make rephrasing effective, it should be concise, write shorter sentences and use different words.

Reflect on the essay’s journey

Summarize your main ideas. After all, the thesis restatement is precisely the information you want the reader to remember the most. Why don’t you recall once again the main points and central claims of your writing? Use grammar tenses to convey your point. Perhaps your original statement was written in the present or future tense, then use past tense to show you’ve accomplished your ideas. Or, at the beginning of your writing, you used a sentence with a subject. So, restate the thesis in the conclusion with a prepositional phrase instead.

Emphasize the significance

Your opinion and your words must be heard. Emphasize the importance of your ideas with a strong conclusion paragraph thesis restatement. Choose the right strategy for your body paragraphs and paper’s conclusion to sound more convincing. Restate the thesis so that the reader has no doubts regarding the expertise of your writing and the words you say.

Check for coherence

Do not forget about the connection between the thesis sentence in the introduction paragraph and the restatement in the essay conclusion section and the main body. Follow the logic of the presentation of your thoughts when you restate claim. Your paper should not contain contradictory words and statements.

Avoid introducing new ideas

New and creative ideas are good, but they should be pre-planned as part of your paper. An unexpected and unforeseen conclusion that isn’t related to the research problem can confuse the reader at the end of the essay. Stick to your original concepts and the same meaning for the coherence of your writing. Rewrite existing concepts to reinforce your introduction thesis statement.

A thesis statement is an effective technique for attracting the attention of the reader, as well as ensuring his interest. However, using a thesis statement only in the introductory paragraph will not provide you with the desired result. For a more comprehensive result, you will have to rephrase a thesis statement a few more times in the writing process.

No strong conclusion is complete without a good reworded thesis. Remember to connect the rephrasing to the main research question. Use our strategies to write an effective thesis and get a well-deserved assessment from the teacher. Stick to our recommendations to make your paraphrased thesis effective.

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How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay - Tips and Examples

The conclusion of your essay is like the grand finale of a fireworks display. It's the last impression you leave on your reader, the moment that ties everything together and leaves them with a lasting impact. 

But for many writers, crafting a conclusion can feel like an afterthought, a hurdle to jump after the excitement of developing the main body of their work. Fear not! This article will equip you with the tools and techniques regarding how to write a conclusion for an essay that effectively summarizes your main points, strengthens your argument, and leaves your reader feeling satisfied and engaged.

What Is a Conclusion

In an essay, the conclusion acts as your final curtain call. It's where you revisit your initial claim (thesis), condense your main supporting arguments, and leave the reader with a lasting takeaway. 

Imagine it as the bridge that connects your ideas to a broader significance. A well-crafted conclusion does more than simply summarize; it elevates your points and offers a sense of closure, ensuring the reader leaves with a clear understanding of your argument's impact. In the next section, you will find conclusion ideas that you could use for your essay.

Please note that our online paper writing service can provide you not only with a stand-alone conclusion but with a fully new composition as well!

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Types of Conclusion

Here's a breakdown of various conclusion types, each serving a distinct purpose:

How Long Should a Conclusion Be

The ideal length of a conclusion depends on the overall length of your essay, but there are some general guidelines:

• Shorter Essays (500-750 words): Aim for 3-5 sentences. This ensures you effectively wrap up your points without adding unnecessary content.
• Medium Essays (750-1200 words): Here, you can expand to 5-8 sentences. This provides more space to elaborate on your concluding thought or call to action.
• Longer Essays (1200+ words): For these, you can have a conclusion of 8-10 sentences. This allows for a more comprehensive summary or a more nuanced exploration of the future implications or broader significance of your topic.

Here are some additional factors to consider:

• The complexity of your argument: If your essay explores a multifaceted topic, your conclusion might need to be slightly longer to address all the points adequately.
• Type of conclusion: A call to action or a hypothetical scenario might require a few extra sentences for elaboration compared to a simple summary.

Remember: The most important aspect is ensuring your conclusion effectively summarizes your main points, leaves a lasting impression, and doesn't feel rushed or tacked on.

Here's a helpful rule of thumb:

• Keep it proportional: Your conclusion should be roughly 5-10% of your total essay length.

How many sentences should a conclusion be?

Conclusion Transition Words

Transition words for conclusion act like signposts for your reader. They smoothly guide them from the main body of your essay to your closing thoughts, ensuring a clear and logical flow of ideas. Here are some transition words specifically suited for concluding your essay:

Remember, the best transition word will depend on the specific type of conclusion you're aiming for.

How to Write a Conclusion

Every essay or dissertation writer knows that the toughest part of working on a conclusion can be striking the right balance. You want to effectively summarize your main points without redundancy, leaving a lasting impression that feels fresh and impactful, all within a concise and focused section. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you write a stunning essay conclusion:

Restate Your Thesis

Briefly remind your reader of your essay's central claim. This doesn't have to be a word-for-word repetition but a concise restatement that refreshes their memory.

Summarize Key Points

In a few sentences, revisit the main arguments you used to support your thesis. When writing a conclusion, don't get bogged down in details, but offer a high-level overview that reinforces your essay's focus.

Leave a Lasting Impression

This is where your knowledge of how to write a good conclusion can shine! Consider a thought-provoking question, a call to action, or a connection to a broader truth—something that lingers in the reader's mind and resonates beyond the final sentence.

Avoid Introducing New Information

The conclusion paragraph shouldn't introduce entirely new ideas. Stick to wrapping up your existing arguments and leaving a final thought.

Ensure Flow and Readability

Transition smoothly from the main body of your essay to the conclusion. Use transition words like "in conclusion," "finally," or "as a result," and ensure your closing sentences feel natural and well-connected to the rest of your work.

Note that you can simply buy essay at any time and focus on other more important assignments or just enjoy your free time.

Conclusion Paragraph Outline

Here's an outline to help you better understand how to write a conclusion paragraph:

• Tailor the length of your conclusion to your essay's overall length (shorter essays: 3-5 sentences, longer essays: 8-10 sentences).
• Ensure a smooth transition from the main body using transition words.
• Avoid introducing new information; focus on wrapping up your existing points.
• Proofread for clarity and ensure your conclusion ties everything together and delivers a final impactful statement.

Read more: Persuasive essay outline . 

Do’s and Don’ts of Essay Conclusion Writing

According to professional term paper writers , a strong conclusion is essential for leaving a lasting impression on your reader. Here's a list of action items you should and shouldn’t do when writing an essay conclusion:

Conclusion Examples

A strong conclusion isn't just an afterthought – it's the capstone of your essay. Here are five examples of conclusion paragraphs for essays showcasing different techniques to craft a powerful closing to make your essay stand out.

1. Call to Action: (Essay About the Importance of Recycling)

In conclusion, the environmental impact of our waste is undeniable. We all have a responsibility to adopt sustainable practices. We can collectively make a significant difference by incorporating simple changes like recycling into our daily routines. Join the movement – choose to reuse, reduce, and recycle.

2. Provocative Question: (Essay Exploring the Potential Consequences of Artificial Intelligence)

As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, it's crucial to consider its impact on humanity. While AI holds immense potential for progress, will it remain a tool for good, or will it eventually surpass human control? This question demands our collective attention, as the decisions we make today will shape the future of AI and its impact on our world.

3. Universal Insight: (Essay Analyzing a Historical Event)

The study of history offers valuable lessons that transcend time. The events of the [insert historical event] remind us that even small acts of defiance can have a ripple effect, inspiring change and ultimately leading to a brighter future. Every voice has the power to make a difference, and courage can be contagious.

4. Future Implications: (Essay Discussing the Rise of Social Media)

Social media's explosive growth has transformed how we connect and consume information. While these platforms offer undeniable benefits, their long-term effects on social interaction, mental health, and political discourse require careful consideration. As social media continues to evolve, we must remain vigilant and ensure it remains a tool for positive connection and not a source of division.

5. Hypothetical Scenario: (Essay Arguing for the Importance of Space Exploration)

Imagine a world where our understanding of the universe is limited to Earth. We miss out on the potential for groundbreaking discoveries in physics, medicine, and our place in the cosmos. By continuing to venture beyond our planet, we push the boundaries of human knowledge and inspire future generations to reach for the stars.

Recommended for reading: Nursing essay examples .

Difference Between Good and Weak Conclusions

Not all conclusions are created equal. A weak ending can leave your reader feeling stranded, unsure of where your essay has taken them. Conversely, writing a conclusion that is strong acts as a landing pad, summarizing your key points and leaving a lasting impression.

Nailed that essay? Don't blow it with a lame ending! A good conclusion is like the mic drop at the end of a rap song. It reminds the reader of your main points but in a cool new way. Throw in a thought-provoking question, a call to action, or a connection to something bigger, and you'll leave them thinking long after they turn the page.

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How To Write A Conclusion For An Essay?

How to write a good conclusion, how to write a conclusion for a college essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

• Updated writing tips.
• Added informative tables.
• Added conclusion example.
• Added an article conclusion.
• Essay Conclusions | UMGC. (n.d.). University of Maryland Global Campus. https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/writing/essay-conclusions
• How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay | BestColleges. (n.d.). BestColleges.com. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/how-to-write-a-conclusion/
• Ending the Essay: Conclusions | Harvard College Writing Center. (n.d.). https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions

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Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts

Part i: the introduction.

An introduction is usually the first paragraph of your academic essay. If you’re writing a long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to introduce your topic to your reader. A good introduction does 2 things:

• Gets the reader’s attention. You can get a reader’s attention by telling a story, providing a statistic, pointing out something strange or interesting, providing and discussing an interesting quote, etc. Be interesting and find some original angle via which to engage others in your topic.
• Provides a specific and debatable thesis statement. The thesis statement is usually just one sentence long, but it might be longer—even a whole paragraph—if the essay you’re writing is long. A good thesis statement makes a debatable point, meaning a point someone might disagree with and argue against. It also serves as a roadmap for what you argue in your paper.

Part II: The Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs help you prove your thesis and move you along a compelling trajectory from your introduction to your conclusion. If your thesis is a simple one, you might not need a lot of body paragraphs to prove it. If it’s more complicated, you’ll need more body paragraphs. An easy way to remember the parts of a body paragraph is to think of them as the MEAT of your essay:

Main Idea. The part of a topic sentence that states the main idea of the body paragraph. All of the sentences in the paragraph connect to it. Keep in mind that main ideas are…

• like labels. They appear in the first sentence of the paragraph and tell your reader what’s inside the paragraph.
• arguable. They’re not statements of fact; they’re debatable points that you prove with evidence.
• focused. Make a specific point in each paragraph and then prove that point.

Evidence. The parts of a paragraph that prove the main idea. You might include different types of evidence in different sentences. Keep in mind that different disciplines have different ideas about what counts as evidence and they adhere to different citation styles. Examples of evidence include…

• quotations and/or paraphrases from sources.
• facts , e.g. statistics or findings from studies you’ve conducted.
• narratives and/or descriptions , e.g. of your own experiences.

Analysis. The parts of a paragraph that explain the evidence. Make sure you tie the evidence you provide back to the paragraph’s main idea. In other words, discuss the evidence.

Transition. The part of a paragraph that helps you move fluidly from the last paragraph. Transitions appear in topic sentences along with main ideas, and they look both backward and forward in order to help you connect your ideas for your reader. Don’t end paragraphs with transitions; start with them.

Keep in mind that MEAT does not occur in that order. The “ T ransition” and the “ M ain Idea” often combine to form the first sentence—the topic sentence—and then paragraphs contain multiple sentences of evidence and analysis. For example, a paragraph might look like this: TM. E. E. A. E. E. A. A.

Part III: The Conclusion

A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay, or, if you’re writing a really long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to conclude. A conclusion typically does one of two things—or, of course, it can do both:

• Summarizes the argument. Some instructors expect you not to say anything new in your conclusion. They just want you to restate your main points. Especially if you’ve made a long and complicated argument, it’s useful to restate your main points for your reader by the time you’ve gotten to your conclusion. If you opt to do so, keep in mind that you should use different language than you used in your introduction and your body paragraphs. The introduction and conclusion shouldn’t be the same.
• For example, your argument might be significant to studies of a certain time period .
• Alternately, it might be significant to a certain geographical region .
• Alternately still, it might influence how your readers think about the future . You might even opt to speculate about the future and/or call your readers to action in your conclusion.

Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Learn about the elements of a successful essay conclusion.

The conclusion is a very important part of your essay. Although it is sometimes treated as a roundup of all of the bits that didn’t fit into the paper earlier, it deserves better treatment than that! It's the last thing the reader will see, so it tends to stick in the reader's memory. It's also a great place to remind the reader exactly why your topic is important. A conclusion is more than just "the last paragraph"—it's a working part of the paper. This is the place to push your reader to think about the consequences of your topic for the wider world or for the reader's own life!

A good conclusion should do a few things:

Restate your thesis

Synthesize or summarize your major points

Make the context of your argument clear

Restating Your Thesis

You've already spent time and energy crafting a solid thesis statement for your introduction, and if you've done your job right, your whole paper focuses on that thesis statement. That's why it's so important to address the thesis in your conclusion! Many writers choose to begin the conclusion by restating the thesis, but you can put your thesis into the conclusion anywhere—the first sentence of the paragraph, the last sentence, or in between. Here are a few tips for rephrasing your thesis:

Remind the reader that you've proven this thesis over the course of your paper. For example, if you're arguing that your readers should get their pets from animal shelters rather than pet stores, you might say, "If you were considering that puppy in the pet-shop window, remember that your purchase will support 'puppy mills' instead of rescuing a needy dog, and consider selecting your new friend at your local animal shelter." This example gives the reader not only the thesis of the paper, but a reminder of the most powerful point in the argument!

Revise the thesis statement so that it reflects the relationship you've developed with the reader during the paper. For example, if you've written a paper that targets parents of young children, you can find a way to phrase your thesis to capitalize on that—maybe by beginning your thesis statement with, "As a parent of a young child…"

Don’t repeat your thesis word for word—make sure that your new statement is an independent, fresh sentence!

Summary or Synthesis

This section of the conclusion might come before the thesis statement or after it. Your conclusion should remind the reader of what your paper actually says! The best conclusion will include a synthesis, not just a summary—instead of a mere list of your major points, the best conclusion will draw those points together and relate them to one another so that your reader can apply the information given in the essay. Here are a couple of ways to do that:

Give a list of the major arguments for your thesis (usually, these are the topic sentences of the parts of your essay).

Explain how these parts are connected. For example, in the animal-shelter essay, you might point out that adopting a shelter dog helps more animals because your adoption fee supports the shelter, which makes your choice more socially responsible.

One of the most important functions of the conclusion is to provide context for your argument. Your reader may finish your essay without a problem and understand your argument without understanding why that argument is important. Your introduction might point out the reason your topic matters, but your conclusion should also tackle this questions. Here are some strategies for making your reader see why the topic is important:

Tell the reader what you want him or her to do. Is your essay a call to action? If so, remind the reader of what he/she should do. If not, remember that asking the reader to think a certain way is an action in itself. (In the above examples, the essay asks the reader to adopt a shelter dog—a specific action.)

Explain why this topic is timely or important. For example, the animal-shelter essay might end with a statistic about the number of pets in shelters waiting for adoption.

Remind the readers of why the topic matters to them personally. For example, it doesn’t matter much if you believe in the mission of animal shelters, if you're not planning to get a dog; however, once you're looking for a dog, it is much more important. The conclusion of this essay might say, "Since you’re in the market for a dog, you have a major decision to make: where to get one." This will remind the reader that the argument is personally important!

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Your conclusion paragraph should logically conclude your essay, just like your concluding sentences logically conclude your body paragraphs. The conclusion paragraph should begin by restating your thesis, and then you should broaden back out to a general topic. End with a closing statement. This paragraph looks like the reverse of your introduction paragraph, going from specific to general.

Restate your thesis

The first sentence of your conclusion paragraph should restate your thesis. A restated thesis expresses the same idea, but the words are different. Remember that the meaning of your thesis should not change. Compare the thesis with the restatement below.

Thesis: Exercise is essential because it improves overall physical and mental health. Restated: Due to the mental and physical health benefits of exercise, it is absolutely crucial for our bodies.

You can restate your thesis by

• changing the order of the phrases
• using synonyms (e.g., essential > crucial)
• stating main points direcly instead of implying them (or vice versa)
• using different word forms (e.g., adjective > noun)

Apply your thesis to general contexts

Connect your thesis back to the general topics you mentioned in your introduction.

Give a closing statement

Your closing statement is very similar to the concluding sentence of a body paragraph except that you will not restate your main idea at the very end of your paper. Your last sentences can be a prediction, suggestion, opinion, or question. 

Exercise 1: Identify effective restated thesis statements

Read the thesis statement. Choose the best restated thesis from the options below.  

Thesis: Apartment complexes should provide quiet study rooms for residents so they can study without distractions.  

• Study rooms are important for students to study in.  
• Apartment managers should build quiet places to study for residents.  
• Now we can see that study rooms are valuable for students who live in apartments.  
• It is important for apartments to provide their residents with quiet study areas.

Exercise 2: Restate a thesis

On a piece of paper, rewrite each thesis statement as you would at the beginning of a conclusion paragraph.

• In order for students to manage stress better, they need to prioritize their tasks, eat well, and get enough sleep.
• Even though Salt Lake City and Madrid may seem similar based on climate, their major religions, language, and food are distinct.
• Business owners need to make decisions that satisfy employees, customers, and investors.
• Increasing your vocabulary is easy if you try to notice new words in context, review them often, and use them as much as you can.

Exercise 3: Write a conclusion paragraph

Read the introduction paragraph and then finish writing the conclusion paragraph on a piece of paper.

Prompt: Describe how to write an essay.

Introduction:

         Many writers feel overwhelmed when they write an essay. They are unsure of where to start or how to be successful. However, the process is very basic. There are simple steps that can simplify the process and make writing a good essay possible for anyone. In order to write an impactful essay, it is essential that writers plan, draft, and share their writing.

Exercise 4: Identify types of paragraphs.

Identify whether each paragraph is an introduction, body, or conclusion paragraph.  

1. T ype of paragraph: __________________________  

Touchscreen technology, wireless charging, and a better camera are the best features on the new iPhone. These qualities all encourage customers to consider buying this phone because it is easier to use, more convenient, and more useful than other models. When you start looking for your upgrade, you should ask yourself if your new phone should have these features. The new iPhone does. What are you waiting for? You won’t regret upgrading to the new iPhone.

2. Type of paragraph: __________________________  

A successful restaurant requires many workers, each with specific jobs that help things run smoothly. Cooks in the kitchen skillfully prepare the food. Servers take orders, deliver meals, and ensure the customers are satisfied. The hostess greets the customers as they enter the restaurant and sets the tone for the customer’s experience. All of these people are necessary to make a restaurant successful.  

3. Type of paragraph: __________________________

All year long, the scenery in Utah Valley is amazing. In the winter, the valley is covered with a blanket of snow. In the spring, the trees blossom with flowers. The summer weather beckons hikers to discover the stunning vistas in the canyons. The Rocky Mountains then take on beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow in the fall. As each season changes, the beauty of the area is evident. While all of the seasons are stunning, the most beautiful season in Utah is the autumn. 

Exercise 5: Analyze an essay

Read one of the following example essays on the following pages to complete this exercise.

• Label the introduction paragraph, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion paragraph.
• Circle the hook.
• What is the general topic of the essay?
• Underline the thesis.
• Underline each of the topic sentences.
• Do each of the topic sentences support the thesis?
• Does the conclusion paragraph start by restating the thesis?

This content is provided to you freely by BYU Open Learning Network.

Access it online or download it at https://open.byu.edu/academic_a_writing/conclusion_paragraph .

4c. Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs present the reasoning and evidence to demonstrate your thesis. In academic essays, body paragraphs are typically a bit more substantial than in news reporting so a writer can share their own ideas, develop their reasoning, cite evidence, and engage in conversation with other writers and scholars. A typical body paragraph in a college essay contains the following elements, which can be remembered through the useful acronym TREAT.

The TREAT Method

• T opic Sentence – an assertion that supports the thesis and presents the main idea of the paragraph
• R easoning – critical thinking and rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos
• E vidence – facts, examples, and other evidence integrated into the paragraph using summaries, paraphrases, and quotations
• A nalysis – examination and contextualization of the evidence and reasoning
• T ransition – the flow of ideas from one paragraph to the next

Effective body paragraphs are:

• Specific and narrow .  Topic sentences provide your audience a point of transition and flow from paragraph to paragraph. Topic sentences help you expand and develop your thesis and set up the organization of each paragraph. Developing specific reasoning and specific, concrete examples and evidence in each paragraph will build your credibility with readers. If used properly, well-developed reasoning and evidence are more compelling than general facts and observations.
• Relevant to the thesis.  Primary support is considered strong when it relates directly to the thesis. Body paragraphs should show, explain, and prove your thesis without delving into irrelevant details. With practice and the understanding that there is always another essay, effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. Keeping your audience and purpose in mind when choosing examples will help you make sure to stay focused on your thesis.
• Detailed . Academic paragraphs are typically longer than newspaper and magazine paragraphs because scholars need space to develop their reasoning and provide sufficiently detailed evidence to support their claims. Using multiple examples and precise details shows readers that you have considered the facts carefully and enhances the impact of your ideas.
• Organized . If your paragraph starts to include information or ideas that stray from your topic sentence, either the paragraph or the topic sentence might need to change.

Reasoning and Evidence

In written and oral communication, we demonstrate our critical thinking skills through the various types of rhetorical appeals we make to our audience.  The purpose and audience for a writing task shape the way writers develop reasoning and select evidence to support their ideas.  Writers develop reasoning in body paragraphs through three primary methods: ethos, logos, and pathos.  Writers can deploy many forms of evidence to support their reasoning, including: facts, examples, judgments, testimony, and personal experience.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle developed a simple method for categorizing forms of reasoning by identifying three primary modes of argumentative reasoning: ethos, logos, and pathos.

• Ethos  is reasoning that establishes a writer’s credibility. By showing yourself to be a critical and sympathetic reader, who considers multiple perspectives and demonstrates ethical thinking, you can establish ethos in your body paragraphs.
• Logos  is reasoning that develops logical arguments and demonstrates a writer’s command of the facts. Demonstrating your knowledge of the facts and showing that you can distinguish between competing claims at truth will ground your writing in common sense and objectivity.
• Pathos  is reasoning that appeals to human emotions and psychological motivations. Humans are subjective animals, and our ability to develop an emotional connection with an audience can have a powerful or subtle impact on whether they will agree with a writer’s reasoning.

A fourth form of reasoning,  kairos , can occasionally be used to make an appeal to an audience that the perfect moment or right opportunity has arisen for action. Arguments for changing policies, ending wars, starting revolutions, or engaging in radical social change typically deploy kairos in addition to ethos, logos, and pathos in order to motivate people to take action a critical times in history.

Evidence includes anything that can help you support your reasoning and develop your thesis. As you develop body paragraphs, you reveal evidence to your readers and then provide analysis to help the reader understand how the evidence supports the reasoning and assertions you are making in each body paragraph.  Be sure to check with each instructor to confirm what types of evidence are appropriate for each writing task you are assigned. The following kinds of evidence are commonly used in academic essays:

• Facts . Facts are the best kind of evidence to use for academic essays because they often cannot be disputed or distorted. Facts can support your stance by providing background information or a solid evidence-based foundation for your point of view. Remember that facts need explanations. Be sure to use signal phrases like “according to” and “as demonstrated by” to introduce facts and use analysis to explain the relevance of facts to your readers.
• Examples  show readers that your ideas are grounded in real situations and contexts. Examples help you highlight general trends and ground your facts in the real world. Be careful not to take examples out of context or overgeneralize based on individual cases.
• Judgments . Judgments are the conclusions of experts drawn from a set of examples or evidence. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and a thorough examination of a topic. Citing a credible expert to support your opinion can be a powerful way to build ethos in your writing.
• Testimony . Testimony consists of direct quotations from eyewitnesses or expert witnesses. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; they add authenticity and credibility to an argument or perspective based on facts. An expert witness is a person who has extensive expertise or experience with a topic. This person provides commentary based on their interpretation of the facts or extensive knowledge on a topic or event.
• Personal Experience . Personal observation is similar to eyewitness or expert testimony but consists of your own experiences and/or expertise. Personal experience can be effective in academic essays if directly relevant to the topic and suited to the purpose of a writing task.

Key Takeaways

• Always be aware of your purpose for writing and the needs of your audience. Cater to those needs in every sensible way.
• Write paragraphs of an appropriate length for your writing assignment. Paragraphs in college-level writing can be up to a page long, as long as they cover the main topics in your outline.
• Use your prewriting and outline to guide the development of your paragraphs and the elaboration of your ideas.

Addressing Counterarguments and Different Perspectives

“Few things are more difficult than to see outside the bounds of your own perspective—to be able to identify assumptions that you take as universal truths but which, instead, have been crafted by your own unique identity and experiences in the world.”

~David Takacs

Why acknowledge and respond to other points of view?

• Address potential weaknesses in your argument before others can point them out to you.
• Acknowledge the complexity of an issue by considering different perspectives and aspects of an issue. No issue has a simple solution or is just Side A versus Side B.
• Establish your writing ethos (can your reader trust you?): your reader is more likely to trust you if you thoughtfully analyze an issue from multiple angles.
• Add to your essay’s word count!

Four steps to acknowledging and responding to other points of view

Step one: know your standpoint, what is my standpoint and why should i know it.

• Standpoint is the unique perspective from which you view the world. It includes: your background and experiences, your political and religious beliefs, your identity (gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and ability), your relationship to others, and your social privilege. These are things that will affect how you view and understand an issue.
• It’s important to acknowledge your standpoint because it affects what and how you argue.

Good writers are good readers! And good readers. . .

• Who are you?
• Make a list of what you’ll bring to a conversation about the issue on which you’re writing. What are your assumptions, your background and experience, your knowledge and expertise? Be honest!

Consider writing your standpoint into your essay

• Writing your standpoint into your essay builds trust with your readers. Even if they have a different standpoint, they will respect your honesty and hopefully listen respectfully to what you have to say.
• Writing from your standpoint can make your writing feel more authentic , to you and your reader. “This is me!”

Even if you don’t explicitly reveal your standpoint to your reader, you’ll want to know your standpoint so that you are aware of your own implicit bias as you write.

How do I write in my standpoint? Can I use “I”?

Try one of these templates:

• “What concerns me as a business major . . .”
• “I write this essay during a time when . . .”
• “I am concerned about. . .”

See how other writers we’ve read have done it:

• “Now, as a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education , I. . .” [From Anthony Abraham Jack, “I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part.” The New York Times Magazine ]
• “From my first day as a sociology professor at a university with a Division I football and men’s basketball team , education and athletics struck me as being inherently at odds. . .” [From Jasmine Harris, “It’s Naive to Think College Athletes Have Time for School,” The Conversation ]
• “In this society, that norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure. It is within this mythical norm that the trappings of power reside. Those of us who stand outside that power , for any reason, often identify one way in which we are different, and we assume that quality to be the primary reason for all oppression. . .” [From Audre Lorde, “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”]
• “I might not carry with me the feeling of my audience in stating my own belief. . .” [From Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar”]

Step Two: C onsider potential weaknesses in your argument and different points of view on the issue

What potential weaknesses in your argument might you address.

• Logic : would a reader question any of your assumptions?
• between your reasoning and your claim: your main unstated assumption
• or between your evidence and your reasoning: is there evidence or types of evidence a reader might be skeptical of?
• Does the reader hold false assumptions about the issue?
• Could a reader give a different explanation of the issue ?
• Could a reader draw a different conclusion from the evidence ?
• Is there a specific reader who would disagree?

What alternative points of view on the issue might you consider?

• How might someone think differently about the issue?
• How might someone approach the issue from a different standpoint?
• What might keep someone from trusting or believing a claim or point you make?
• What might make someone tentative about taking action?
• What might keep a person from having an open mind?

Which one should I choose to address?

It depends on the essay’s length. You might consider 1-2 counterarguments that are most important for you to address in a paper (depending on the length).

• this could be a view your audience/community is likely to hold themselves
• or a common-knowledge one you think everyone will think of while reading
• and of course the one that is most specific to your argument
• if you can get one that fits more than one of these criteria, that’s even better!

What NOT to do when considering a counterargument

Build a straw man counterargument

• A straw man argument is a logical fallacy where the writer misrepresents or oversimplifies someone else’s argument in order to make it easier to refute.
• Writers also create straw man arguments when they make up a potential counterargument that is easy to refute, but isn’t something most people would reasonably believe.

Step Three: It’s time to write your counterargument into your essay

An exemplary counterargument:.

• exists as its own paragraph
• you fully acknowledge and respond to it
• Note: You don’t have to refute a counterargument for your argument to work. Our world is big enough to hold multiple points of view. The paragraph should ultimately support your thesis, but you may amend, qualify, complicate, or open up your claim, which is often why, organizationally, discussion of counterarguments or different points of view work best in the introduction of your essay to set up your claim or as the last body paragraph to lead into your conclusion.
• relates to your audience/community’s likely concerns and interests
• seems like a realistic thing someone might think (is not a straw man or caricature)
• ideally, is specific to your argument, not your topic in general
• considers both sides respectfully
• may be more than one counterargument or different perspective, but you’d need a separate paragraph for each in order to give them full consideration

Addressing a counterargument versus a different perspective

A true counterargument is the opposing claim on an issue:

• Claim: Academic probation does not help students progress.
• Counterargument: Academic probation does help students progress.

Different perspectives might offer different reasoning, consider different factors or conditions, or ask about different groups of people or situations.

A counterargument needs to be rebutted. Different perspectives can help you amend, qualify, complicate, or open up your claim.

You might use a counterargument to qualify your thesis

An example:

Reasoned thesis : Hook-up culture is now at the center of the institution of higher education because it is thick, palpable, the air students breathe, and we find it on almost every residential campus in America. [From Lisa Wade, “Sociology and the New Culture of Hooking Up on College Campuses“]

A counterargument : Research findings suggest that the sexual practices of college students haven’t changed much since the 1980s. [From David Ludden, “Is Hook-Up Culture Dominating College Campuses?”]

Qualified claim : Although sexual practices of college students haven’t changed much in the last few decades , hook-up culture is now at the center of the institution of higher education because it is thick, palpable. . .

Counterargument paragraph : “The topic of my book, then, isn’t just hooking up; it’s hook-up  culture . . .” (Wade).

A template for a counterargument paragraph

I recognize that others may have a different perspective than [state your claim*]. They might believe that [state their claim]. They believe this because [provide several sentences of support]. However, [restate your claim and explain in several sentences why you believe the way you do].

*You can also consider counterpoints to your reasoning, evidence, or standpoint.

Step Four: Decide where to organize your counterargument paragraph

Being aware of different perspectives can also help you develop your conclusion paragraph. In your conclusion, you can reaffirm your claim and then:

• amend part of your claim
• qualify your claim
• complicate your claim
• open up your claim

Writing as collaboration

Think of adding in counterarguments or different perspectives as collaborating with others on addressing an issue. . .

Brazuca illustrations by Cezar Berje, CC0

Opening up our minds and our hearts to different perspectives makes us stronger.

Writing as Inquiry Copyright © 2021 by Kara Clevinger and Stephen Rust is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Purdue OWL - Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for an Expository/Persuasive Essay

Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for an Expository/Persuasive Essay

Introduction

The introduction is the broad beginning of the paper that answers three important questions:

• What is this?
• Why am I reading it?
• What do you want me to do?

You should answer these questions by doing the following:

• Set the context – provide general information about the main idea, explaining the situation so the reader can make sense of the topic and the claims you make and support
• State why the main idea is important – tell the reader why s/he should care and keep reading. Your goal is to create a compelling, clear, and convincing essay people will want to read and act upon
• State your thesis/claim – compose a sentence or two stating the position you will support with logos (sound reasoning: induction, deduction), pathos (balanced emotional appeal), and ethos (author credibility).

Thesis Checklist

Your thesis is more than a general statement about your main idea. It needs to establish a clear position you will support with balanced proofs (logos, pathos, ethos). Use the checklist below to help you create a thesis.

This section is adapted from Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric Reader by David Skwire and Sarah Skwire:

Make sure you avoid the following when creating your thesis:

• A thesis is not a title: Homes and schools (title) vs. Parents ought to participate more in the education of their children (good thesis).
• A thesis is not an announcement of the subject: My subject is the incompetence of the Supreme Court vs. The Supreme Court made a mistake when it ruled in favor of George W. Bush in the 2000 election.
• A thesis is not a statement of absolute fact: Jane Austen is the author of Pride and Prejudice.
• A thesis is not the whole essay: A thesis is your main idea/claim/refutation/problem-solution expressed in a single sentence or a combination of sentences.
• Please note that according to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , Sixth Edition, "A thesis statement is a single sentence that formulates both your topic and your point of view" (Gibaldi 56). However, if your paper is more complex and requires a thesis statement, your thesis may require a combination of sentences .

Make sure you follow these guidelines when creating your thesis:

• A good thesis is unified: Detective stories are not a high form of literature, but people have always been fascinated by them, and many fine writers have experimented with them (floppy). vs. Detective stories appeal to the basic human desire for thrills (concise).
• A good thesis is specific: James Joyce’s Ulysses is very good. vs. James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the unconscious.
• Try to be as specific as possible (without providing too much detail) when creating your thesis: James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the unconscious. vs. James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the unconscious by utilizing the findings of Freudian psychology and introducing the techniques of literary stream-of-consciousness.

Quick Checklist:

_____ The thesis/claim follows the guidelines outlined above

_____ The thesis/claim matches the requirements and goals of the assignment

_____ The thesis/claim is clear and easily recognizable

_____ The thesis/claim seems supportable by good reasoning/data, emotional appeal

Body Paragraphs

Summary: This resource outlines the generally accepted structure for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions in an academic argument paper. Keep in mind that this resource contains guidelines and not strict rules about organization. Your structure needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of your purpose and audience.

Body Paragraphs: Moving from General to Specific Information

Your paper should be organized in a manner that moves from general to specific information. Every time you begin a new subject, think of an inverted pyramid - the broadest range of information sits at the top, and as the paragraph or paper progresses, the author becomes more and more focused on the argument ending with specific, detailed evidence supporting a claim. Lastly, the author explains how and why the information she has just provided connects to and supports her thesis (a brief wrap up or warrant).

  The four elements of a good paragraph (TTEB)

A good paragraph should contain at least the following four elements: T ransition, T opic sentence, specific E vidence and analysis, and a B rief wrap-up sentence (also known as a warrant) – TTEB!

• A T ransition sentence leading in from a previous paragraph to assure smooth reading. This acts as a hand off from one idea to the next.
• A T opic sentence that tells the reader what you will be discussing in the paragraph.
• Specific E vidence and analysis that supports one of your claims and that provides a deeper level of detail than your topic sentence.
• A B rief wrap-up sentence that tells the reader how and why this information supports the paper’s thesis. The brief wrap-up is also known as the warrant. The warrant is important to your argument because it connects your reasoning and support to your thesis, and it shows that the information in the paragraph is related to your thesis and helps defend it.

Rebuttal Sections

In order to present a fair and convincing message, you may need to anticipate, research, and outline some of the common positions (arguments) that dispute your thesis. If the situation (purpose) calls for you to do this, you will present and then refute these other positions in the rebuttal section of your essay.

It is important to consider other positions because in most cases, your primary audience will be fence-sitters. Fence-sitters are people who have not decided which side of the argument to support.

People who are on your side of the argument will not need a lot of information to align with your position. People who are completely against your argument - perhaps for ethical or religious reasons - will probably never align with your position no matter how much information you provide. Therefore, the audience you should consider most important are those people who haven't decided which side of the argument they will support - the fence-sitters.

In many cases, these fence-sitters have not decided which side to align with because they see value in both positions. Therefore, to not consider opposing positions to your own in a fair manner may alienate fence-sitters when they see that you are not addressing their concerns or discussion opposing positions at all.

Organizing your rebuttal section

Following the TTEB method outlined in the Body Paragraph section, forecast all the information that will follow in the rebuttal section and then move point by point through the other positions addressing each one as you go. The outline below, adapted from Seyler's Understanding Argument , is an example of a rebuttal section from a thesis essay.

When you rebut or refute an opposing position, use the following three-part organization:

The opponent’s argument – Usually, you should not assume that your reader has read or remembered the argument you are refuting. Thus at the beginning of your paragraph, you need to state, accurately and fairly, the main points of the argument you will refute.

Your position – Next, make clear the nature of your disagreement with the argument or position you are refuting. Your position might assert, for example, that a writer has not proved his assertion because he has provided evidence that is outdated, or that the argument is filled with fallacies.

Your refutation – The specifics of your counterargument will depend upon the nature of your disagreement. If you challenge the writer’s evidence, then you must present the more recent evidence. If you challenge assumptions, then you must explain why they do not hold up. If your position is that the piece is filled with fallacies, then you must present and explain each fallacy.

Conclusions

Conclusions wrap up what you have been discussing in your paper. After moving from general to specific information in the introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion should begin pulling back into more general information that restates the main points of your argument. Conclusions may also call for action or overview future possible research. The following outline may help you conclude your paper:

In a general way,

• restate your topic and why it is important,
• restate your thesis/claim,
• address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position,
• call for action or overview future research possibilities.

Remember that once you accomplish these tasks, unless otherwise directed by your instructor, you are finished. Done. Complete. Don't try to bring in new points or end with a whiz bang(!) conclusion or try to solve world hunger in the final sentence of your conclusion. Simplicity is best for a clear, convincing message.

The preacher's maxim is one of the most effective formulas to follow for argument papers:

• Tell what you're going to tell them (introduction).
• Tell them (body).
• Tell them what you told them (conclusion).

 Copyright ©1995-2011 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University .

How can I restate a thesis statement effectively?

This is the second of three chapters about Thesis Restatements . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Introduce four tips for writing effective thesis restatements

– Explore the four elements of a thesis restatement 

– Provide guidance on restating a thesis restatement using paraphrasing techniques

Chapter 1: Why are concluding thesis restatements important?

Chapter 2: How can I restate a thesis statement effectively?

Chapter 3: Can I see example academic thesis restatements?

Before you begin reading...

• video and audio texts
• knowledge checks and quizzes
• skills practices, tasks and assignments

In Chapter 1 of this short reader we introduced the basic elements of a concluding paragraph and compared the introductory thesis statement   with the concluding thesis restatement . In Chapter 2, we next attempt to deconstruct and reconstruct some example thesis restatements to exemplify how these elements can be written most effectively. This exemplification can be broken down into four tips. Continue reading to learn about how to apply these simple tips to your own writing.

Tip 1: Include the Elements

As was mentioned at the end of Chapter 1, there are four key elements that build a thesis statement – and these same elements can be used to build thesis restatements too. The first is the inclusion of task language. The task language provided in the table below works to inform the reader of both the format of the assignment  ( essay , dissertation , etc) and its type ( discuss , evaluate , etc.). From this information, an experienced reader should then be able to predict the likely structure of the essay based on their experience:

The second and third aspects are usually constructed from the topic of the essay and its key arguments. While the topic is simple as it’s often taken directly from the essay question, the writer’s key arguments are somewhat more complex as they’re drawn from the body-paragraph main ideas – as outlined in the essay’s topic sentences . As can be seen in the following table, however, these aspects are straightforward enough to write once the body section is complete (a thesis restatement should not be written before this stage):

When writing a thesis restatement, students should also remember to provide their main ideas in the same order as presented in the body section of their essay, also including stance (writer opinion) as the fourth element wherever required:

Tip 2: Paraphrase the Thesis Statement

While it’s important that the meaning of the original thesis   is restated by the writer in the concluding paragraph , this doesn’t mean that precisely the same words should be used. In fact, doing so might appear lazy or repetitive to the reader. Instead, writers should use a wide variety of techniques to help them restate their thesis in different words and linguistic structures.

The most helpful techniques are listed for students below:

• alter the grammar
• alter the sentence structure
• change the order of information
• change the word order
• modify the word forms
• use antonyms and synonyms

Students should remember, of course, that it’s not necessary to paraphrase every word. Names, collocates  and subject-specific words should be maintained, as can small grammatical words such as prepositions and determiners .

Tip 3: Be Specific and Concise

An effective thesis restatement should always be specific and concise . Specificity is critical as being vague will only confuse your reader or lead them to believe that you’re as unsure about your topic as they are. Likewise, overwritten text may be tiring for the reader and will use up your limited word count . To see this in action, take a look at the two example thesis restatements below and see why example A has the best balance of specificity and concision:

Tip 4: Edit Carefully

Finally, remember to check every aspect of your essay carefully for grammar and spelling errors before submission, including your concluding thesis restatement. Should a reader spot too many errors in your writing, their confidence in your argumentation will be reduced (and so too may your grade).

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022) Thesis Restatements . Available at: https://academicmarker.com/essay-writing/concluding-paragraphs/thesis-restatements/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

• Harvard University Writing Center
• University of North Carolina Writing Center
• University of New England

Downloadables

Once you’ve completed all three chapters in this short reader about Thesis Restatements , you might then wish to download our Chapter Worksheets to check your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks .

Chapter 1 explores the topic: Why are concluding thesis restatements important? Our Chapter 1 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

Chapter 2 explores the topic: How can I restate a thesis statement effectively? Our Chapter 2 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

Chapter 3 explores the topic: Can I see example academic thesis restatements? Our Chapter 3 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

To save yourself 2 Marks , click on the button below to gain unlimited access to all of our Thesis Restatements Chapter Worksheets. This  All-in-1 Pack includes every chapter, activity and answer key related to this topic in one handy and professional PDF.

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How to structure your PhD thesis

Organising your PhD thesis in a logical order is one of the crucial stages of your writing process. Here is a list of the individual components to include

Shama Prasada Kabekkodu

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The task of writing a PhD thesis is top of mind for many aspiring scholars. After all, completing one is no small task. And while these pieces of writing often share a standard format, this can differ slightly based on the requirements of your institution or subject. So what elements make up a PhD thesis?

A doctoral thesis usually contains:

• A title page
• Declarations from the candidate and supervisor
• A certificate from the candidate and supervisor
• A plagiarism report
• Acknowledgements 
• A table of contents
• Abbreviations 
• An abstract

Chapters typically cover:

• A general introduction 
• Literature review
• Analysis of the gap in research with aims and objectives
• Materials and methods
• Summary and conclusion
• References or bibliography. 

You should also include a list of papers you have published and any relevant achievements at the end. 

An explanation of each of the components of a PhD dissertation 

Title page: a PhD thesis starts with a title page that contains the complete title of the research work, the submitting university, names of the candidate and supervisor, affiliation and month and year of submission.

Abstract: this serves as a concise synopsis of the dissertation, covering the research context, purpose of the study or research questions, methodology, findings and conclusions. This section is usually one to two pages in length. 

Table of contents: this page lists the thesis content and respective page numbers.

General introduction and literature review: this component is usually 20 to 40 pages long. It presents the readers with the primary material and discusses relevant published data. It provides an overview of pertinent literature related to the thesis such as texts that critically assess the existing literature to identify the gap in research and explain the need behind the study. 

Aims and objectives: this section of the thesis is typically one to two pages long and describes the aims and objectives of the study. Structure them as three to four bullet points describing specific points that you will investigate. Approach this by thinking about what readers should understand by the end of the thesis. Ensure you:

• Give a clear explanation of the purpose and goals of your study 
• Outline each aim concisely
• Explain how you will measure your objectives
• Ensure there is a clear connection between each aim
• Use verbs such as investigate, evaluate, explore, analyse and demonstrate.

Materials and methods: this section briefly explains how you have conducted the study and should include all the materials you used and procedures you implemented. For example, if your research involves working with chemicals, list the chemicals and instruments used, along with their catalogue numbers and manufacturers’ names. This section should also explicitly explain the methodology you used, step-by-step. Use the past tense while writing this section and do not describe any results or findings of the study yet.

Results: this section is sometimes called the “findings report” or “the experimental findings” (referring to data collection and analysis). Write the results concisely and in the past tense. Include text, figure and table infographics created with tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and BioRender to visualise your data . 

Discussion: this is a chance to discuss the results and compare the findings of your study with the initial hypothesis and existing knowledge. Focus on discussing interpretations, implications, limitations and recommendations here.

• Resources on academic writing for higher education staff 
• Tips for writing a PhD dissertation: FAQs answered
• How to tackle the PhD dissertation

Summary and conclusion: this section should be shorter than the discussion and summarise your key findings. The summary and conclusion should be brief and engaging, allowing the reader to easily understand the major findings of the research work. Provide clear answers to the research questions, generate new knowledge and clarify the need for the study. 

Future perspective: this section of the thesis (which is often combined with a summary or conclusion) talks about the study's limitations, if any, and indicates the directions for future studies based on your findings. 

References or bibliography: the last section should include the list of articles, websites and other resources cited in the thesis.

Always remember that, depending on the department, university or field of study, you might have to follow specific guidelines on how to organise your PhD thesis. Ensure you consult your supervisor or academic department if you have any doubts.

Shama Prasada Kabekkodu is a professor and head of cell and molecular biology at Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.

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How to Restate a Thesis Statement-With Examples

A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea of your paper. In many cases, it is not enough to simply state the topic-you must also present an argument for why you believe this topic should be explored in greater depth. You may need to restate your thesis statement at various points throughout your paper so that readers can easily follow what you are writing about and how you are supporting your argument.

Restating a thesis statement is a process that can take several forms. You may have to use different words from your original thesis statement to make it fit better with your subject matter, or you may need to expand on its meaning to include new evidence and support for your argument. You must also be careful not to contradict or argue against yourself while restating your thesis statement.

How to Restate a Thesis Statement

The steps below will help you restate your thesis statement with ease.

STEP 1: Determine the focus of your thesis statement.

The first step is to determine the exact focus of your thesis statement. For example, if you are writing a paper about how certain political practices in the United States have influenced its development as a nation, you might write something like this:

“The political ideology that has shaped the United States’ development as a nation is conservatism.”

STEP 2: Reword the thesis statement.

This part of the process is largely subjective, and you will need to consider your writing style carefully to determine whether or not you feel that your thesis statement is clear enough for your readers. You may choose to use synonyms for certain words, or you may need to rearrange the order of the words in your sentence.

Say, for instance, that you are writing a paper about how certain religious attitudes have shaped society and culture in the United States. You could restate your thesis like this:

“Its political ideologies like conservatism that have largely shaped the development of the United States.”

STEP 3: Expand on keywords in your thesis statement.

Often, certain words within a thesis statement carry significant weight with regards to supporting your argument. You can strengthen your thesis statement by restating these words in a more precise way; you could also add new evidence or support for your claim as you refine your thesis’s focus.

STEP 4: Discuss how you will develop your argument in your paper.

Finally, it is helpful to include a brief statement that indicates the direction you will be taking with regards to developing and supporting your argument. This can act as a “roadmap” for your readers-a sentence or two that tells them what they should expect to find in the rest of the paper.

“In this paper, I will explore how conservatism has influenced various aspects of American history and politics.”

What to Keep in Mind while Restating the Thesis Statement?

It is always a good idea to take careful and thorough notes whenever you write a paper because it will help you save time when you are restating your thesis statement. The following guidelines will also help you avoid common errors in this process.

Stay neutral and objective.

One of the most common mistakes writers make in restating a thesis statement is to slip into judgmental language. You should always stay as neutral as possible when describing your subject matter; avoid words like “obviously” or “clearly.” This could make your paper sound obvious or unclear to your readers.

Be concise.

A good thesis statement should not be too long, and it should not include unnecessary words. Try to reword the idea in the fewest possible number of sentences. You can continuously develop and support this claim more fully as you go along with the rest of your paper. Avoid jargon.

If you use words that are not familiar to your readers or have a specialized meaning within your field, it will make your paper very difficult to understand. You should try to stick with ordinary and simple language whenever possible.

Write from your own perspective.

There is nothing wrong with a personal opinion as long as you are clear that this is your subjective perception and not an objective fact. Keep your readers in mind; they will need to understand where you are coming from to follow your argument’s development.

Stay focused on central ideas.

You should avoid straying from your central idea and focus as much as possible. Your thesis statement should include an action verb (e.g., shaped, influenced) followed by the subject with which it is associated (e.g., development of the U.S.) and a modifier (such as “largely” or “primarily”) if necessary to make your argument more specific.

Make your thesis statement stand out.

You should try to make your thesis statement easy for readers to locate. Using an odd or unusual sentence structure might make it easier for readers to spot.

For example, instead of writing “The conservative movement in the United States has influenced various aspects of American history and politics,”

you could write:

“Because of its influence on the course of U.S. history, the conservative movement is a crucial element in understanding the development of the United States.”

What to Avoid when Restating a Thesis Statement

Do not switch words or phrases.

Switching words around can lead to confusion for your readers. Most thesis statements have a clear subject and verb, which should remain unchanged, or else you will end up confusing your readers and making your argument unclear.

Do not introduce new information.

The initial argument should be maintained while restating the thesis statement. Remember that a thesis statement is not the same as an introduction ; it will need to be supported by evidence rather than introducing new material.

Do not contradict yourself.

If you wrote one sentence about the pros of conservatism and then immediately wrote another sentence negating your previous point, you readers would be left confused on your stand. If you have multiple sources that contradict themselves, it would be best to omit them from your paper.

Avoid using vague language or words with various meanings.

If you use a word with more than one meaning in your thesis statement, you should use a different word when restating this idea, so there is no room for misinterpretation.

Do not link to outside resources.

Links to outside resources should not be included in your thesis statement, and these sources should only be used when you are trying to develop or prove a point outside the scope of your subject matter.

Do not use passive voice when restating a thesis statement.

Passive voice often makes writing unclear and weak. You should avoid it when possible and always use an active voice whenever you restate a thesis statement.

Avoid using incorrect modifiers in a restatement of your thesis statement.

If you incorrectly modify the subject or action when restarting your idea, it could lead to confusion for your readers and weaken the strength of your argument. If you make this error, you should correct the statement immediately or rewrite it to make the meaning clearer.

When and Where to Restate Your Thesis Statement

There are various instances when the need for thesis restatement in the body paragraphs rises. So, when do you exactly decide this is the perfect time and place for you to restate the thesis statement?

1. When you are trying to develop your argument, use a restatement of your thesis statement to back up the evidence you have presented to reinforce your idea or prove its existence.

2. When you want to change direction- if you decide it is necessary, you can use a restatement of your thesis statement to change the direction of your argument, make an additional point, or add extra clarification.

3. When you want to summarize – for a restatement of a thesis statement to be effective when summarizing, it is best to be concise and clear. This version should give readers a small glimpse into what you are trying to argue.

4. When you want to make a transition -restating your thesis statement can help smooth the transition between paragraphs or ideas. This will also clarify a complex concept or idea that your readers are trying to understand.

5. To create cohesion- restating your thesis statement can help guide your paper and give it unity, especially if you are trying to create a paper with several different points.

Examples of Restating Your Thesis Statement

“Initially, the Gilded Age was a time of optimism and positive change where citizens felt that their future was secure due to the industriousness of America’s working class.”

Restated statement- “Many Americans during the 1800s felt that their future was secure due to the industriousness of America’s working class.”

“The idea that immigrants are directly responsible for unemployment is not supported by statistical evidence. Rather, this belief stems from a general fear of foreigners.”

Restated statement- “Although there is no direct evidence that immigrants are responsible for unemployment, this idea stems from a fear of foreigners.”

“Overpopulation is defined as the state in which there exists an excess number of people that live in an area with limited resources. This issue can lead to various economic problems such as poverty and lower life expectancy.”

Restated statement- “Overpopulation is defined as an excess number of people living in an area with limited resources. Because of this, overpopulated areas tend to have lower life expectancies and higher poverty rates.”

“The need to instill a sense of national pride within the population has led governments throughout history to set aside public funds for memorials and monuments.”

Restated statement- “Because governments throughout history have wanted to instill a sense of national pride in their citizens, they have set aside public funds for memorials and monuments.”

“The U.S. government has some inherent limitations which provide for the upholding of civil liberties and human rights by protecting citizens from federal overreach.”

Restated statement- “The U.S. government is limited to protect citizens from federal overreach.”

“People tend to think of the past as a simpler time. However, this view is too simplistic considering all of the changes and advancements that have occurred over time.”

Restated statement- “Although people may view the past as a simpler time, it would be more accurate to say that many advancements and changes have occurred over time.”

“The factor that acts as only a possibility is luck. This is only a possibility because the outcome of only one aspect can lead to good results while another aspect might end in bad results.”

Restated statement- “Luck is the only factor that acts as a possibility because there is no way to predict what will happen due to multiple different possibilities.”

“Although academic writing is often thought of as unnecessarily complex, there are several benefits to this form of writing.”

Restated statement- “Despite the belief that academic writing is overly complex, it has several benefits.”

A restated thesis statement can be used to reinforce your main point, change direction in your argument, summarize, create cohesion or simply answer the so what question in a research paper. The restatement must be concise and clear so that it does not distract from the overall idea being presented.

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How to Restate a Thesis Statement

Nadine smith, 25 jun 2018.

An essay introduces a thesis statement, an argument on a particular topic, typically near the end of the introduction, after the writer has explained the issue or subject. An effective essay also restates -- says it again using different words -- the thesis in the conclusion. Repeating the thesis statement at the end of the essay refreshes the writer’s main point for the reader, and using different words helps the essay avoid sounding monotonous.

Explore this article

• Substitute Synonyms
• Reorder the Sentence
• Shorten Thesis Statement
• Restate Closely Related Ideas

1 Substitute Synonyms

Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for some of the words in your thesis statement. For example, if your original thesis statement read “Hamlet is insane,” you could reword the thesis statement in the conclusion to read “Hamlet is mentally unstable.” Rework phrases to sound differently, such as in the following: “If there is no history of alcoholism in the family, and if it is drunk in moderation, alcohol can have some health benefits,” which can be changed to, “If no one in your family has suffered from alcohol addiction, and if it is consumed moderately, alcohol can benefit your health in some ways.”

2 Reorder the Sentence

Rearrange the clauses in the sentence. You can re-order the sentence, “If there is no history of alcoholism in the family, and if it is drunk in moderation, alcohol can have some health benefits” to, “Alcohol can have some health benefits if there is no history of alcoholism in the family and if it is drunk in moderation.” Both sentences present the same information in different order.

3 Shorten Thesis Statement

Summarize your thesis statement by focusing on the main idea it contains. For example, if your original thesis statement reads, “If there is no history of alcoholism in the family, and if it is drunk in moderation, alcohol can have some health benefits,” consider changing it to, “Under certain conditions, alcohol can have some health benefits.”

4 Restate Closely Related Ideas

A thesis statements is not like the dry scientific title you gave your research paper on fungi. The thesis statement asserts your opinion about an interesting subject that motivated you to do some research. The restatement must be strong and definitive. Start by listing the factors and main ideas involved in your thesis. Use these concepts to restate the main point of your thesis. "Hamlet's paranoia and ghostly encounters indicate periodic bouts of psychoses."

• 1 Bogazici University Online Writing Lab: The Essay
• 2 Purdue Online Writing Lab: Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for an Argument Paper
• 3 University of New England: Conclusion Paragraph
• 4 Messa Community College: Conclusion Paragraphs

About the Author

Nadine Smith has been writing since 2010. She teaches college writing and ESL courses and has several years experience tutoring all ages in English, ESL and literature. Nadine holds a Master of Arts in English language and literature from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, where she led seminars as a teaching assistant.

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