Writing a persuasive thesis statement requires research, thoughtfulness, and skilled writing. Before developing a thesis statement, there must be a purpose behind the statement, an investment in the ideas that the writer is trying to convey. This purpose should come from the convictions of the writer, convictions that can be backed up with research. The research should be approached thoughtfully, in a manner that will help to back up and extend the assertions in the thesis statement. Finally — and this is one of the most difficult aspects for some people — a persuasive thesis statement should be written in clear, direct prose.
One of the first steps of writing a persuasive thesis statement is coming up with an idea for the thesis statement that can be backed up with research. For example, the following thesis statement may be based in conviction, but not in research: "My Antonia by Willa Cather is an interesting book about a fascinating woman." The writer may truly believe that My Antonia is interesting and that the heroine is fascinating, but the thesis statement is based on an emotional reaction to the book rather than research regarding the book or even research that backs up an emotional reaction.
This next thesis statement, however, can be backed up with research: "My Antonia by Willa Cather represents a unique brand of feminism as it existed on the Nebraskan plains at the turn of the 20th century." Not only does this thesis statement root the novel in time and place, but it also uses a term common in literary analysis — feminism — to describe the heroine. Once this thesis statement has been crafted, the writer can go on to conduct more research to back up the statement.
For people who are still working on their writing abilities, it is advisable to use the advice of a teacher, professor, or campus writing tutor to help in the process of writing a persuasive thesis statement. Although there are some basic rules for good writing, it is not an exact science and it takes practice to learn how to make a well-crafted sentence. As such, it is best to work with experts while honing this craft. It is especially important to make sure that a paper includes a persuasive thesis statement because it is this statement that anchors the entire paper. Without a strong, persuasive thesis statement, the text of the paper as a whole may wander and arrive at dead ends.
