Good Writing Skills - How To Shape Them!

What is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement is a sentence containing a prime idea for a writing assignment, It should help in controlling the flow of ideas within the writing essay or paper. It often reflects the perception that a writer has made about his reading or personal experience. For instance, “Tocqueville believed that the domestic role most women held in America was the role that gave them the most power, an idea that many would hotly dispute today”.

A thesis statement is no simple topic. As you might have understood, if there’s one thing your English teacher will focus on, it will be thesis statements. Being able to write a clear convincing thesis statement is the whole foundation of a good balanced paper.

Very often, a weak thesis will cause your entire paper to appear mediocre. Your lack of focus will make organization of ideas difficult and transitions nearly impossible. The paper will sound like repeating the same points over and over again. Most of these writing mistakes are usually symptoms of a bad thesis statement.

Have you heard these critiques from teachers before? Seen the corrections glowing on the page in bright red ink?
Then, chances are that your paper was suffering from one small issue which was causing all of these other complications. That small issue was a weak thesis statement.

A good thesis statement should at the outset convey the following 3 aspects:

1. setting an expectation for your reader – WHAT the essay is about?
2. setting up a primary argument that YOU will discuss upon – and which the reader might disagree with
3. it should answer a question

Of course, I’m assuming that you are already practicing how to write good English, if not click here!

Crafting A Good Thesis Solves Most Writing Issues

Here is the good news –  crafting an effective thesis, can solve most of your writing issues. Meaning that by simply learning how to fix these weak thesis statements, you can dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your writing. It is amazing how much easy writing becomes, when you actually know what point you are trying to make. Like I consistently iterate, having a clear idea of something, helps enormously in putting it into concretion. A light bulb will go off in your head and you will begin to recognize an clear logical organizational pattern to your writing. You will start to see why transitions work and how to use them effectively.

It all comes down to this one simple step of learning how to craft a good thesis statement.

What Makes a Good Thesis Statement?

I have a question for you, dear reader! If thesis statements are so important, what exactly makes a thesis statement good? Any guesses? If you can master the process by which we create good theses (note here the plural of thesis is theses), you will be well on your way to becoming a better writer.

The good about these questions, is that there is no secret to writing a good thesis. But it all boils down to learning ‘how to do it’ AND practicing what you learn. It’s that simple, but yet difficult to master if you take this lightly.

So learning to craft a good thesis statement takes practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. To help you on this self-exercising, there are fortunately a couple strategies that will help you make your life easier. Think of these guidelines as “rules of thumb” that will make your thesis statements more likely to succeed.

If your thesis meets the following criteria, there’s a good chance you are a winner! And winner you should always fight to be!

A Good Thesis Statement Must Be Interesting.

Quite often, students get so caught up in the mechanics of a thesis that they forget the most important part of writing a good paper. It needs to be worth reading – make it creative and interesting! If no reasonable reader would care about the topic, then it doesn’t matter how good or insightful your argument is. Always consider the reader. No paper can succeed if it reaches no reader. Ask yourself: Do I care about this topic? Would I read this paper?

A Good Thesis Statement Must Be Specific.

Writers commonly think that choosing a broad topic will make writing the paper easier. After all, the more you have to choose from, the easier it will be, right? Actually, the exact opposite is true. Very broad thesis statements lead to information paralysis. So much can be said about the topic that the writer ends up barely saying anything at all. A thesis that’s too broad almost always results in a paper that repeats the same general statements over and over again. Usually, the writer never actually explores the topic in any kind of meaningful way.

A Good Thesis Statement Must Be Manageable.

Similar to the specificity guideline, a good thesis statement must also be manageable. You don’t want to set up an epic game plan for a three-page paper. Manageability will vary according to the length of the paper you are writing. For example, you wouldn’t want to examine all of William Faulkner’s novels in five pages, but you might for a 300-page PhD dissertation. The five-pager would be more manageable if you focused only on one of his novels, like The Sound and the Fury.

Examples of Good and Bad Thesis Statements

Bad Thesis 1: The Affordable Care Act has many pros and cons.

Let’s see how this thesis statement works according to our guidelines.

Is it interesting? Yes, some readers would find this topic interesting.
Is it specific? No, not really. We don’t know what direction the writer will go, or how many pros and/or cons will be explored. We don’t know what group will be the focus of this paper–students, retirees, families?
Is it manageable? Maybe, but because the thesis lacks specificity, we don’t know for sure whether the topic is appropriate for the assignment.

SOLUTION:

Although many special interest groups have fought the Affordable Care Act, the bill has at least three major provisions that benefit recent college graduates which is crucial to stimulating the American economy.

Do you see why this thesis is better? It focuses specifically on one group (recent college graduates) and it limits the discussion to “three major provisions,” thereby making the argument manageable.

Bad Thesis 2: Since the American Revolution, protest has been an important part of American culture.

Ask the big three questions.

1. Is it interesting? Sure, many people would like to read a paper on this topic.
2. Is it specific? This is a close call, but it’s probably safe to say this thesis is specific. It focuses on the single theme of protest in American culture.
3. Is it manageable? Aha, here’s the problem. This topic is not manageable. Think about how many protests have occurred over the past 250 years of American history. You would have to write a whole book to cover this vast topic.

SOLUTION:

The protests that sparked the American Revolution have much in common with contemporary political movements like Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party.

This new thesis zeros in on two very focused periods in American history and compares them. This paper would leave out everything that happened in between these two historical events and, as a result, the paper’s thesis will be much more manageable.

Final Thoughts About Thesis Statements

When writing your thesis statement, keep in mind that this important sentence is flexible. It can change. We might even go as far as to say that it should change over the course of the paper. This is why we often refer to your first few attempts as a working thesis statement.

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out exactly what point you want to make. Sometimes you won’t even realize your main point until the end of the paper. I call this “writing towards your thesis.” It happens quite often, in fact. Different people write different ways. Just make sure you go back and revise your introduction when you finally realize your main point.

Whether you craft a strong working thesis in the beginning or whether you write towards your thesis, just remember those three important questions: Is it interesting, specific, and manageable? If your thesis meets these three standards, your paper is off to a good start!

That’s it! Go write your thesis and craft it to the best of your abilities!

Share Your Thesis Ideas With Us!

Already been writing your thesis, share your experience with us! Write down your comments below, eager to her from you!

On this blog, I have stressed several times that writing is critical to your success. You should invest time to learn how to write good english and hence developing your own methods and style of presenting your opinions. I also told you that you need to express your ideas convincingly. In this article I will explain something additional that you should think and know about; you should be able to make a clear distinction between efficient writing and effective writing.

What Is Efficient Writing?

An efficient writer is someone who writes an article considerately, without showing any true commitment, any true motivation and without any true desire to touch his audience. He writes just to convey a message. The message is there, that’s only his satisfaction. But do note that an efficient writer is doing things right.

What Is Effective Writing?

An effective writer is someone who is very diligent about what he writes. Unlike an efficient writer, he cares more than just conveying a message. He is keenly concerned in the way he wants to express his words, in how his readers will respond and about the overall quality of his “work”. He is very stubborn about making a forceful, appealing and convincing approach to writing his thoughts, taking care proofreading his work and re-factoring it over and over again until he convinces himself that the work is a masterpiece (showing good characteristics of pillar articles). As you have guessed, an effective writer does the right thing.

Employers Will Look For Effective Writers Who Can Make The Difference!

If you are to do well (as a student, as an employee, as a writer or as a blogger) and if you want to progress in your chosen career, the ability to express yourself clearly, concisely and persuasively is a skill you should be trying to develop and nourish. In any competitive environment if two contestants are otherwise equal in intelligence and skills, the one who is the most effective in conveying his message will be the one who will earn the highest points, respect, credibility and consideration.

To Think About: If a marketing agency is looking for writers or composers, will he choose an efficient writer or someone who is effective?

How Is Your Writing Judged By Your Audience?

Over To You – In Which Writing Category You Fall?

Do you write often? In what category do you fall, effective writing or efficient writing? What do you think you can improve with your writing?

(Use the comment form below to voice your opinion convincingly!)

When you plan to write about something (applicable to any other article writing or GP Essays) a methodological approach must always be adopted. It can also be applied to an oral presentation of any topic.

This approach consists of a number of steps which are followed in a logical order:

1) STEP 1 – Understanding

You should make yourself understand the topic first! What it really means, what are its full implications..etc

2) STEP 2 – Definition / Introduction

You should first give a brief description or definition of the topic in a clear, simple language.

3) STEP 3 – Classification

You should classify the facts and details of the topic in a logical, coherent form for your reference.
For example:
– Start with a brief background/history of the topic
– present most common facts first (any general opinions that are already known)
– Show the positive aspects then the negative ones if it is a controversial topic

4) STEP 4 – Presentation / Development

You may now present your topic by following the order of details in the classified references/notes you made in STEP 3
– Use clear language
– Avoid complicated expressions
– In case of an oral presentation, pronounce technical terms clearly and slowly to ensure everyone understands
– Use illustrations only when it is necessary to explain
– You may use references to arouse interests
– Entertain with a joke, but never do this if you are not sure
– You may add an emotional touch if you want, but never exaggerate

5) STEP 5 – Conclusion

You can now conclude by:
– giving your opinion
– summarising the main points
– Add any last message (make it a striking and impressive one)

This approach is the hard work, knowledge and experience that I have gained personally while I was a college student some 4 years back. All of my articles on writing is based from my own experiences and insights and I have full trust on what I try to teach or show you and I sincerely hope it will be helpful to you. But I’m not in any means saying that I’m a perfect guy in writing.. but consider my “such type of” articles as a humble attempt of sharing the knowledge that I have gained freely from people whom I consider to have attained wisdom (I will surely and undoubtedly dedicate this Post to my evergreen English Guru aka my English teacher who is by now aged 70yrs old. Sir, you are always in my heart, God Bless!). I hope you liked this article and I will also suggest you to read my previous articles listed below:
1) Writing the GP Essay – Write to convince!
2) How to write good English
3) Writing – The Why And The Essence

Feel free to share your point of view and your experiences by using the comment form,
thanks!

Before reading, make sure your read my previous one on: Writing – The Why And The Essence

What Is Meant By “Writing Good English” ?

The meaning of ‘good English‘, and hence writing good English, may vary from people to people around the world since we come from different backgrounds and due to the nature of our education. Despite the fact that there is no governing bodies of linguists to gauge its exact meaning, we do have a standard set by the authorities indulged in linguistics. Hence, sensible authors, careful writers and educated people using English language as their medium of writing, try to conform to these standards as closely as they can. These standards may be grammatical rules, language structure, and universally accepted words, idioms or metaphors.

English Language, IMHO The Best

There are so many languages nowadays which can be used, but the English language is the most widely used (and universally accepted formal language). In my humble opinion, English language includes and transcends all subjects. It is for English writers and lovers a whole means of expression, the attainment of which makes them articulate and intelligible human beings, able to inherit the past, to possess the present and to confront the future. The ability to write good English is simply an art for them.

My Own Experience With Writing – Good English A Myth?

I was not so fluent or good at writing English in my early days of school. I was always favoring French, the second official language of my country – Mauritius. There were some personal reasons which I will not elaborate right now to keep on the subject title. But one main reason was that I was always scoring an ‘A’ in all my French classes despite the fact that I was never doing any French essays or practicing it.

This fact was initially a mystery to me because I was always trying my best to write good English and I was never successful in getting good results. Then, I finally remembered I was frequently reading some one or two pages of French books every day. Yeah I mean it, I loved the famous French book – ‘Les Six Compagnons de la Croix Rousse, by Jean Jacques Bonzo‘ and this made reading French more than just a hobby.

I was reading in my free times (when there was an empty class session when teachers were busy or absent), sometimes during recess, in the bus and at night just to finish all its series. Like this, my hunger for French adventure books became a craze. But in this process, I was unaware that while reading so much, French words seemed to have become hackneyed phrases.

This is why my friends used to tell me: “man, where do you fetch all these nice French wordings?“. What I want to emphasize here is; if you keep reading and looking at English/French words or a small sentence everyday for at least some 30 minutes, you will end up with these words soaked into your mind without realising it. And when you will start to write English, you will be amazed to see your mind popping out nice words; that’s how you will progress to write good English!

The Secret Of Writing Good English

While reading you should build up a personal ‘database‘ of special words or phrases. Get a small copy book and list down all striking, unknown words to you. Therefore, be regular in breeding a medley of nice words in your special ‘note-book‘. Those precious words are your key to writing good English.

Now, does this mean that you should read everyday? Not really, but you should definitely go through your smorgasbord of words in your note-book everyday! I strongly believe that there are 2 kinds of people – one who read very very often, if not everyday, to master the language (as i did unknowingly for the French language) and the second person who read little, but nurturing a high mastery of the basics and techniques of the English language (this one was my conscious experience with English).
But here, the key tricks are:

1. Each time and every single time you read, you should keep growing your ‘database’ of words. Keep looking for new prominent words.
2. Make the English dictionary be your bosom English friend – never keep a word in your book without finding and writing down it’s meaning. Else, do not bother about even writing it down – trust me!
3. You should pinpoint good critical articles/books, think about what you are reading and in this process be generous to yourself by taking notes conscientiously of new golden words. This is because you are reading rarely and hence you should make those rare readings worth 10 times the ones that you would read everyday. So you have to be very selective and analytical in what you will read.
4. Now that you have a copy-book full of defined words, don’t just sit around and smile at it. Go and put them into practice. Start by writing good sentences with these words and write some essays. Writing here is pivotal. Just like a car cannot run without a battery, you cannot expect to have a fluent English if you do not practice writing English. (the battery being your skill in writing and your car the knowledge of the language and wordings)

Support Your Effort To Write Good English With Observation

Going further in our approach, while reading decent articles, you should see how Mr X is using his words in his articles. Observe how he constructs his sentences. Then, with your analytical and critical reading, coupled with your observation and some personal insights, you should try to emulate the fresh expressiveness of Mr X.

How to do this, you say? Sit down, try to write a good English sentence where you can use those words better than Mr X. You will once again be amazed at yourself at how well you performed. You will even be seeing yourself gaining momentum and hence writing good English paragraphs. Reward yourself after your hard work, you deserve it!

=> I sincerely hope this article on ‘how to write good English‘ and my effort to explain it to you, has been fruitful for you. If you do like I explain, there is no excuse in not being able to produce good quality English writings. And I wish you all the best

What’s Next Concerning Writing Good?

My aim is to make you say ‘Wonderful‘ by bringing decent piece of work (written by me). So, keep supporting Wakish Wonderz and subscribe to my free email list to receive secret quality tips weekly. My next article is on ‘GP Essays – how to write General Paper essays‘. This is particular targeted to students taking part in HSC Cambridge students as an addition to this article.

Before ending, I will sincerely advise you to buy or get a copy of this book below. This book was prescribed to me by my English/GP Guru and I should say that I salutes my Guru for this book, it’s a treasure to me!(You will indeed come back and thank me for having shown you this book!)