Thesis statement

The thesis statement states the thesis or argument of the author in an essay or similar document. Usually no more than a sentence or two long, it is a focused section of text that clearly delineates the argument that is presented in the work and is usually found at the end of the first paragraph of a paper. The thesis statement says what the author or authors are trying to prove in the document. The thesis statement is invaluable when constructing an outline, as it shows what points need to be proven. Often, amateur writers will try to make a thesis statement a summary of what they will talk about. They will do this by constructing their statement by piecing together the central points from each idea that they will cover in their paper. This makes for a convoluted thesis statement which is most likely a run-on sentence.