how to write thesis statement in css essay

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How to write a thesis statement + examples

What is a thesis statement?

Is a thesis statement a question, how do you write a good thesis statement, how do i know if my thesis statement is good, examples of thesis statements, helpful resources on how to write a thesis statement, frequently asked questions about writing a thesis statement, related articles.

A thesis statement is the main argument of your paper or thesis.

The thesis statement is one of the most important elements of any piece of academic writing . It is a brief statement of your paper’s main argument. Essentially, you are stating what you will be writing about.

You can see your thesis statement as an answer to a question. While it also contains the question, it should really give an answer to the question with new information and not just restate or reiterate it.

Your thesis statement is part of your introduction. Learn more about how to write a good thesis introduction in our introduction guide .

A thesis statement is not a question. A statement must be arguable and provable through evidence and analysis. While your thesis might stem from a research question, it should be in the form of a statement.

Tip: A thesis statement is typically 1-2 sentences. For a longer project like a thesis, the statement may be several sentences or a paragraph.

A good thesis statement needs to do the following:

• Condense the main idea of your thesis into one or two sentences.
• Answer your project’s main research question.
• Clearly state your position in relation to the topic .
• Make an argument that requires support or evidence.

Once you have written down a thesis statement, check if it fulfills the following criteria:

• Your statement needs to be provable by evidence. As an argument, a thesis statement needs to be debatable.
• Your statement needs to be precise. Do not give away too much information in the thesis statement and do not load it with unnecessary information.
• Your statement cannot say that one solution is simply right or simply wrong as a matter of fact. You should draw upon verified facts to persuade the reader of your solution, but you cannot just declare something as right or wrong.

As previously mentioned, your thesis statement should answer a question.

If the question is:

What do you think the City of New York should do to reduce traffic congestion?

A good thesis statement restates the question and answers it:

In this paper, I will argue that the City of New York should focus on providing exclusive lanes for public transport and adaptive traffic signals to reduce traffic congestion by the year 2035.

Here is another example. If the question is:

How can we end poverty?

A good thesis statement should give more than one solution to the problem in question:

In this paper, I will argue that introducing universal basic income can help reduce poverty and positively impact the way we work.

• The Writing Center of the University of North Carolina has a list of questions to ask to see if your thesis is strong .

A thesis statement is part of the introduction of your paper. It is usually found in the first or second paragraph to let the reader know your research purpose from the beginning.

In general, a thesis statement should have one or two sentences. But the length really depends on the overall length of your project. Take a look at our guide about the length of thesis statements for more insight on this topic.

Here is a list of Thesis Statement Examples that will help you understand better how to write them.

Every good essay should include a thesis statement as part of its introduction, no matter the academic level. Of course, if you are a high school student you are not expected to have the same type of thesis as a PhD student.

Here is a great YouTube tutorial showing How To Write An Essay: Thesis Statements .

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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• Sep 19, 2023

Crafting Strong Thesis Statements for CSS Essays

Updated: Sep 24, 2023

In the world of academic writing and essay composition, a strong thesis statement is like a helpful guide that leads your readers through your work. This is particularly important when writing advanced essays on current global issues, which are often part of exams like the CSS examination. In this blog post, we will explore how to create effective thesis statements for these types of essays, using examples from past CSS essay papers.

Understanding the CSS Essay Papers

The CSS examination in Pakistan evaluates candidates' knowledge and analytical skills through various subjects, one of which is essay writing. The CSS essay paper is designed to assess your ability to critically analyze contemporary global issues, articulate your thoughts and present well-structured arguments. Understanding the nature of past CSS essay topics can help you prepare for what to expect:

Climate Change and Its Implications : This topic explored the environmental challenges faced by the world and the urgency of addressing climate change.

Globalization and Its Impact : Essays on globalization examined how it has reshaped economies, cultures, and societies worldwide.

Human Rights and Social Justice : Discussions on human rights emphasized the need for global cooperation in promoting justice and equality.

Geopolitical Dynamics in Contemporary World : These essays often focused on issues like regional conflicts, international relations, and the role of major powers.

Crafting an Effective Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is the backbone of your essay. It concisely states the main argument or position you will defend in your essay. Here's how to create a strong thesis statement for essays on contemporary global issues:

Be Specific : Avoid vague statements. Your thesis should provide a clear and specific focus for your essay. Consider what aspect of the issue you will address.

Make It Debatable : A thesis statement should be an assertion that can be debated or challenged. Avoid stating facts; instead, present your perspective on the issue.

Highlight Significance : Explain why your topic matters. Discuss the broader implications of the issue and why it is relevant in the contemporary world.

Consider Complexity : Contemporary global issues are often multifaceted. Your thesis should reflect this complexity by acknowledging different perspectives or dimensions of the problem.

Examples of Strong Thesis Statements

Thesis Statement on Climate Change:: "The urgent need to combat climate change transcends national borders, necessitating global cooperation and innovative solutions to secure a sustainable future for all."

Thesis Statement on Globalization : "While globalization has spurred economic growth and cultural exchange, it also underscores the pressing need to address income inequality and protect cultural diversity on a global scale."

Thesis Statement on Human Rights : "In an interconnected world, safeguarding human rights and promoting social justice is not only a moral imperative but also essential for ensuring global stability and prosperity."

Thesis Statement on Geopolitical Dynamics: "The ever-evolving geopolitical landscape demands a nuanced approach to international relations, rooted in diplomacy, cooperation, and conflict resolution to avert global crises."

Writing advanced essays on contemporary global issues for exams like the CSS requires careful consideration and precision, starting with a well-crafted thesis statement.

By examining past CSS essay topics and practicing the art of constructing effective thesis statements, you can enhance your ability to convey your ideas clearly and persuasively.

Remember that your thesis statement sets the tone for your entire essay, so invest time and effort in perfecting it. Good luck with your CSS examination and essay-writing endeavors!

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How to Write a Thesis Statement & Essay Outline

• Posted on February 29, 2024 February 29, 2024

How to Write a Thesis Statement & Essay Outline

Writing your thesis statement and planning out your essay outline are two of the most important things you can do if you want to have a concise, accurate, and interesting argumentative essay. In addition, the time you spend brainstorming your research paper will save you hours of edits in the long run.

A good thesis statement is the backbone of your entire essay. Fortunately, writing thesis statements is easy if you follow our step-by-step guide that walks you through crafting a robust argumentative thesis statement.

The main point of your essay should be highlighted in your thesis statement. You can further expound upon this central theme in your introductory paragraph, letting your audience know exactly what they can expect from your paper. It’s essential to make your thesis statement as straightforward as possible, laying out the case for the rest of your paper.

What is a Thesis Statement?

A strong thesis statement gives your audience a clear understanding of what to expect from your essay. Think of it like a micro-roadmap that efficiently lets your readers know where the essay will take them.

Most thesis statements revolve around proving a point or making a specific claim. While it can be based upon your opinion, it’s also vital to remember that you need to substantiate any claims that you make with facts.

It’s important to have one significant theme in your thesis statement. If you try to express too many things, you will confuse the reader. Thesis statements need to be concise, crystal-clear and express a statement of fact. Therefore, mastering a thesis is a crucial part of all essay writing.

You can also use your thesis statement to address a specific issue and explain how you’ll break it down in your essay. If you’re talking about something controversial, you should substantiate your claims with facts and logic. The best essays tackle complex topics by  breaking them down into logical and easily understandable chunks.

If you’re dealing with a hot-button topic, it’s a good idea to mention that there are other viewpoints. Then, you can dissect these viewpoints and explain why you disagree with them later on in your essay.

What to Include in a Thesis Statement

Start off with a working thesis. Give some thought to your thesis statement’s significant points, and condense them until you have a very compact but straightforward statement about the issue. Make sure that you include plenty of supporting evidence to back up your thesis.

Although all thesis statements are different, there are some general qualities that you should strive to include. First, spend some time crafting your thesis because the clearer you are on your objectives, the easier your essay will be to write.

• Your thesis statement should be concise, direct, and clear
• It should encapsulate your essay as much as possible
• The thesis should contain a combination of opinion and support

You also need to brainstorm the critical components of your essay. What are you trying to achieve? Who is your audience? Think about what the reader would want to learn from the essay and distill it down into one very powerful line.

It’s completely natural to spend a significant amount of time on your thesis statement. You might be tempted to jump right into your essay without ironing out the finer points, but this can make the writing muddied or challenging to read. So instead, spend as much time as you need to come up with a good thesis statement that you can back up with facts.

What is an Outline?

Once you have your thesis statement, it’s time to jump into your outline. Good outlines combine logical frameworks with plenty of brainstorming and act as a template for the whole essay. Your outline is an integral part of the writing process, as it allows you to look at all of the subtopics of your essay in logical order.

Every subtopic should reflect your thesis statement and bolster your position. Start with your introductory paragraph and then drill down into the finer points of the essay. Finally, address conflicting viewpoints and explain why you’ve taken the position you have.

A constructive way of coming up with opposing viewpoints is to write down bullet points from the other side. Then, think of all of the counterarguments that you’ve heard and write down logical rebuttals to them. If you’re having trouble coming up with counterarguments, search for your topic online and read a few papers that express differing views.

The best outlines are analytical, expository, and argumentative. They teach the audience something new through a logical process. Although your thesis statement can be based on opinion, it’s vital that you back it up with facts and explain why the audience should trust your authority.

Drafting Your Essay Outline

Now, it’s time to draft your essay outline. The more prep work you do in the beginning, the fewer edits that you’ll need to do later on. Identify what will go into your first paragraph and what the key points of your essay will be.

Write down these points and organize them into a logical framework. Try to blend the points into each other, guiding the reader on a comprehensive overview of why your thesis statement is important and correct. Every subtopic should echo your thesis statement.

All outlines should contain an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

Your introduction is a brief overview of your essay. Give your reader a general idea of what you’ll be covering and why it’s crucial. You don’t have to go into too much detail here, as your essay body will undoubtedly elaborate on your key points.

Your body will be the longest part of the essay and contain all of your subtopics. Please spend some time crafting and organizing your body so that it’s as straightforward as possible with a strong focus on accessibility. Remember, each body paragraph should bring something new to the essay.

The conclusion is where you wrap everything up. Make sure that you restate your thesis and hit on any critical points the essay addressed. You will want to write a powerful closing statement too.

Final Thoughts

Once you have your thesis statement and outline done, it’s time to start writing your essay. At this point, you should think about what style you want to use. Some high schools and colleges prefer  APA style , whereas others want you to write your essay in  AP style . If you don’t know which one your school is looking for, ask your professor or inquire at your writing center. There are guides for both online.

After you’re done writing your essay, read it through to ensure that it coincides with your thesis statement. If you’ve written your thesis statement and outline properly, there should be minimal content edits.

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How to write an effective CSS essay?

CSS essay writing might seem daunting at first, but with proper organization and attention to detail you can compose an informative essay that effectively expresses your ideas. Here are some steps to help get you underway:

Select a Topic:

Carefully consider writing a css essay prompt or assignment and decide on a topic before beginning your writing assignment. Make sure that you comprehend any potential questions or topics before getting started.

Brainstorm:

Take time to consider your topic and write down any ideas that come to you, no matter how rough or incomplete.

Create an Outline : Arrange your ideas into an outline to help visualize the structure of your passage and keep you on track as you write. An outline can also serve to keep your thoughts organized while keeping you writing on track.

Write an Introduction: An effective introduction should introduce the topic and provide some background information, while including a thesis statement that informs your readers what your writing will cover.

Write the Body of Your Essay:

Your essay’s body should build and support your thesis statement, with each paragraph covering one idea or point and providing evidence to back them up.

Write Your Conclusion:

Your conclusion should summarise and restate the main points of your essay while providing your reader with a final thought or message.

Edit and Revise: Once you have your first draft finished, take some time to go over and edit and revise it. Look out for any errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation; ensure your writing flows logically while clearly communicating your ideas.

Consider these steps and you should be on the way to writing an outstanding essay!

Visit our website for more essay writing experience, we cover all type of essay related to css and pms exam. Thanks cssessays.com

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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

What’s Covered:

What is the purpose of a thesis statement, writing a good thesis statement: 4 steps, common pitfalls to avoid, where to get your essay edited for free.

When you set out to write an essay, there has to be some kind of point to it, right? Otherwise, your essay would just be a big jumble of word salad that makes absolutely no sense. An essay needs a central point that ties into everything else. That main point is called a thesis statement, and it’s the core of any essay or research paper.

You may hear about Master degree candidates writing a thesis, and that is an entire paper–not to be confused with the thesis statement, which is typically one sentence that contains your paper’s focus. 

Read on to learn more about thesis statements and how to write them. We’ve also included some solid examples for you to reference.

Typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph, the thesis statement serves as the roadmap for your essay. When your reader gets to the thesis statement, they should have a clear outline of your main point, as well as the information you’ll be presenting in order to either prove or support your point. 

The thesis statement should not be confused for a topic sentence , which is the first sentence of every paragraph in your essay. If you need help writing topic sentences, numerous resources are available. Topic sentences should go along with your thesis statement, though.

Since the thesis statement is the most important sentence of your entire essay or paper, it’s imperative that you get this part right. Otherwise, your paper will not have a good flow and will seem disjointed. That’s why it’s vital not to rush through developing one. It’s a methodical process with steps that you need to follow in order to create the best thesis statement possible.

Step 1: Decide what kind of paper you’re writing

When you’re assigned an essay, there are several different types you may get. Argumentative essays are designed to get the reader to agree with you on a topic. Informative or expository essays present information to the reader. Analytical essays offer up a point and then expand on it by analyzing relevant information. Thesis statements can look and sound different based on the type of paper you’re writing. For example:

• Argumentative: The United States needs a viable third political party to decrease bipartisanship, increase options, and help reduce corruption in government.
• Informative: The Libertarian party has thrown off elections before by gaining enough support in states to get on the ballot and by taking away crucial votes from candidates.
• Analytical: An analysis of past presidential elections shows that while third party votes may have been the minority, they did affect the outcome of the elections in 2020, 2016, and beyond.

Step 2: Figure out what point you want to make

Once you know what type of paper you’re writing, you then need to figure out the point you want to make with your thesis statement, and subsequently, your paper. In other words, you need to decide to answer a question about something, such as:

• What impact did reality TV have on American society?
• How has the musical Hamilton affected perception of American history?
• Why do I want to major in [chosen major here]?

If you have an argumentative essay, then you will be writing about an opinion. To make it easier, you may want to choose an opinion that you feel passionate about so that you’re writing about something that interests you. For example, if you have an interest in preserving the environment, you may want to choose a topic that relates to that. 

If you’re writing your college essay and they ask why you want to attend that school, you may want to have a main point and back it up with information, something along the lines of:

“Attending Harvard University would benefit me both academically and professionally, as it would give me a strong knowledge base upon which to build my career, develop my network, and hopefully give me an advantage in my chosen field.”

Step 3: Determine what information you’ll use to back up your point

Once you have the point you want to make, you need to figure out how you plan to back it up throughout the rest of your essay. Without this information, it will be hard to either prove or argue the main point of your thesis statement. If you decide to write about the Hamilton example, you may decide to address any falsehoods that the writer put into the musical, such as:

“The musical Hamilton, while accurate in many ways, leaves out key parts of American history, presents a nationalist view of founding fathers, and downplays the racism of the times.”

Once you’ve written your initial working thesis statement, you’ll then need to get information to back that up. For example, the musical completely leaves out Benjamin Franklin, portrays the founding fathers in a nationalist way that is too complimentary, and shows Hamilton as a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that his family likely did own slaves. 

Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing

Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and that you feel like you can truly write a paper on the topic. Once you’ve done that, you can then begin writing your paper.

When writing a thesis statement, there are some common pitfalls you should avoid so that your paper can be as solid as possible. Make sure you always edit the thesis statement before you do anything else. You also want to ensure that the thesis statement is clear and concise. Don’t make your reader hunt for your point. Finally, put your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph and have your introduction flow toward that statement. Your reader will expect to find your statement in its traditional spot.

If you’re having trouble getting started, or need some guidance on your essay, there are tools available that can help you. CollegeVine offers a free peer essay review tool where one of your peers can read through your essay and provide you with valuable feedback. Getting essay feedback from a peer can help you wow your instructor or college admissions officer with an impactful essay that effectively illustrates your point.

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How To Write an Evidence in an Essay Body Paragraphs | CSS and PMS Essay Guide | How To Write an Evidence in the CSS and PMS Essay Body Paragraphs | How to Write CSS Essays? | How to Write PMS Essays? | CSS and PMS Essay Guide by Sir Syed Kazim Ali

As a lawyer in a jury trial persuades the judge to agree with his claims, the CSS and PMS aspirants must have to convince their examiners of the validity of their arguments. And this can only be done by writing relevant evidence that supports your arguments. Since the examiner has started asking for argumentative essays, easy yet tricky to crack, it is undoubtedly of great importance to learn how to write evidence to qualify for the essay paper, especially in the CSS examination. What is a piece of evidence and how and where to write it is a question hundreds of aspirants ask me through messages and emails. Unfortunately, I hardly have time to write the lectures here because it takes me around five lectures, 3 to 4 hours a class, to clear my students on the concept of evidence and how to write it effectively. Yet I have given the glimpse and crux of my lectures related to evidence. All my students must read this article to revise the concept briefly again and get almost 20 to 30 body paragraphs evaluated by me within the next five days. 

In the CSS and PMS essays, you can write evidence in a number of ways. It could be data from a relevant subject, quotes from a book, saying from an expert, or even testimony from a historical book. No matter what form you use in your essays, the only thing you need to focus on is they must support your thesis statement in the essay’s introductory paragraph or arguments in the essay’s body paragraphs.

Why is evidence necessary in the CSS and PMS essays?

In the CSS and PMS essays’ papers, relevant, clear, and well-supported arguments are the key to success. To do this, you have to use evidence to support and back up your claims (known as arguments) to persuade the examiner to agree with your point of view. If you effectively make the essay checker agree with your viewpoints, you can easily crack the essay paper. 

Types of evidence

Many different types of evidence can be used in essays. Some common examples include:

1- Analogy-Based Evidence

Analogy-based evidence is a comparison you write to support your arguments in an essay. You need to be sure about the relevancy of the analogy whether there exist similarities between the two things you are comparing or not.

✓ Like a car’s engine, a state’s institutes require regular reforms to function effectively. ✓ Like cancer, corruption can gobble up all kinds of development a country makes.

Important Points

• ✓ It is the weakest way to support your arguments.
• ✓ It can be written in the essays’ introductory paragraphs to support any of your arguments coming after the hook and context.
• ✓ It can be written in the essays’ body paragraphs to support your arguments, usually known as topic sentences.
• ✓ I recommend you avoid using this type of evidence.

2- Anecdotal Evidence

Anecdotal evidence is your personal story or experience, research, or example that you use to try to illustrate your point of view. Remember, it is often considered less reliable than other types of evidence, so I recommend my students avoid using it, especially in essays’ body paragraphs. However, an anecdote as a hook can only be used in narrative essays, which are hardly asked in the CSS and PMS examinations. Therefore, if you use this hook to start your descriptive, expository, or fact-based essay, you hardly qualify for the essay paper, especially the CSS essay paper. Sadly, most high-school teachers and B.S.-level English lecturers and professors in Pakistan make their students use an anecdote to start essays. As a result, they hardly score above 20 and fail their essay paper.

“I know an aspirant who didn’t qualify for the CSS essay paper three times because he always used anecdotal evidence in his essay’s body paragraphs or anecdotes to start his essays.”

• ✓ Less reliable and doesn’t support your argument effectively.
• ✓ This type of evidence can only be used in narrative essays.
• ✓ Never use anecdotes as a hook to start an argumentative essay.
• ✓ Never write this type of evidence in argumentative essays’ body paragraphs.

3- Hypothetical Evidence

Hypothetical evidence is a situation that your write to support your argument. To persuade your examiner about your point of view, you can use this type of evidence. However, you have to make sure that the hypothetical situation is realistic. Otherwise, it will undermine your argument.

“If the world’s leaders do not take immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth’s surface average temperature will continue to rise.”

Important Point

• ✓ It is not much strong, but good enough to support your arguments.
• ✓ It can be written in the essays’ introductory paragraphs to support any of your arguments while suggesting ideas.
• ✓ I recommend you use it. 

4- Logical or Analytical Evidence

Logical or analytical evidence is your reasoning and logic that you use to support your arguments.

“The capital punishment, the death penalty, is a deterrent to immoral crimes because it removes the possibility of rehabilitation.”

5- Statistical Evidence

Statistical evidence is data from research papers or surveys that you use to support your arguments. This type of evidence is the most persuasive because it is based on factual data. However, it is important to make sure that the data is from a reliable source.

“According to a study by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), corruption, if not tackled timely, can rob millions of people of a bright future.”

• ✓ It is strong enough to support your arguments.
• ✓ It can be written in the essays’ introductory paragraphs to support any of your arguments.
• ✓ I recommend you use it frequently.

6- Testimonial Evidence

Testimonial evidence is a quote from an expert or someone you use to support your argument. This type of evidence is the most persuasive because it uses the authority of an expert to support your argument. However, it is important to make sure that the expert is credible and that their opinion is relevant to your argument.

“According to Dr. Nimra Fawad, a leading expert on the health effects of smoking, “Smoking is injurious to health and a major contributor to heart disease and lung cancer.”

• ✓ I recommend you use it.  

7- Textual Evidence

Textual evidence is a quote or sentence from a literary work or historical document that you use to support your argument. This type of evidence is also the most persuasive. However, it is important to make sure that the source is credible and relevant to your argument.

“In his book ‘Corruption and Accountability,’ Dr. Hafiz Pasha says, ‘You never really understand what corruption can cause to the state unless you understand how much accountability is important for economic sustainability.’”

How to introduce evidence in the essays’ body paragraphs?

Along with knowing what type of evidence you can use; it is also crucial to know and practice how to use it in the most effective way while writing an essay’s body paragraph. I have written some steps that you can take to incorporate evidence in your CSS and PMS English essay paper.

Essay’s Body Paragraph Structure

My students, you are advised to revise the essay lectures in which we learn and practice outlines, introductory paragraphs, and body paragraphs in detail. So, you know how to write argumentative, descriptive, expository, and fact-based essay body paragraphs. I have written the essay’s body paragraph structure again for your convenience.

• ✓ Argument/Thesis statement/Topic Sentence/Claim
• ✓ Support the topic sentence
• ✓ Write your evidence
• ✓ Explain or comment on your evidence
• ✓ Add another evidence and explain (if required)
• ✓ Link back to your topic sentence

Essays’ Body Paragraphs Examples

Here are examples of full essays’ body paragraphs with all steps applied. The topic sentence is bold; the supporting sentence is underlined; the evidence is bold and underlined; the explanation or comment on the evidence has no formatting. 

Social media also negatively impacts the preparation of thousands of competitive aspirants. Maximum failure in the CSS and PMS examinations has been a glaring example. According to Miss Nirmal Hassni, Deputy Director NAB , “Aspirants who are over-exposed to social media are more likely to display credulous behaviour and hardly prepare themselves for the exams than those who do not believe in social networks websites.” Moreover, as every fresh qualifier and officer has started providing essay and precis coaching by displaying their videos, DMCs, and tips and tricks on social media, thousands of new CSS and PMS aspirants become easy prey to their coaching. That results in further complexities among those fresh aspirants because tips and tricks never let them know the nature of the English essay paper and how to outline their arguments and start and end essays. As a result, the failure ratio has increased by leaps and bounds each year. Thus, social media, without any doubt, has psychologically impacted CSS and PMS aspirants and negatively affected their preparation .

The span between equality and its actuality in Pakistan has become even more expansive. Over the years, the country has shown its commitment to reaffirming the dream of equality for its citizens. However, it is one of the countries with the highest levels of inequality today. Various studies have dismissed the myth of Pakistan as “the land of pure and opportunity”. In contrast, many of its citizens may disagree on how to implement equality. In fact, inequality experienced all over is undesirable. Years back, Pakistan may have been true in claiming that the country offers equality to all, but many of those promising stories about the country today are a hoax.   Dr Hafeez Pasha’s argument is well-supported by evidence that a deficiency of opportunity and poverty are highly associated with inequality.  And undoubtedly, these two factors are the determinants of economic inequality in many countries. Consequently, the few people who have had the chance to access resources are more likely to tend to grab more wealth than those who remain without it. This situation leads to the economic gap between people and, therefore, economic inequality.

One of the main hurdles to reaching a global consensus on countering global warming is the debate over which countries should accept the responsibilities . Since developed economies have historically been responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, it has been argued that they should prioritize technological development to counter environmental concerns. Article 3.1 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC – 1992) explicitly states that the developed country parties should take the lead in combating climate change and its adverse effects. Nevertheless, because UNFCCC outlines merely a principle, not an actionable plan, it has remained problematic to decide to what extent developed and developing countries can be allowed emissions. Moreover, it has also not formulated any straightforward financial and technological plan for developed nations to combat the impacts of global warming. As a result, fighting global warming and climate change impacts has been a point of contention among the international comity. In summary, equal responsibility should be pursued in reaching a global agreement on global warming; however, developing an actionable strategy will be problematic unless the world’s leaders show seriousness regarding this environmental issue .

University, for sure, is a place where students become leaders and employers who lead the world politically and economically in the bigger picture of their lives. But along with the focus on learning skills, the most significant benefit of going to universities is not necessarily what students learn but the other students they meet and the connections they create there.   Sir Syed Kazim Ali’s argument beautifully explains the abovementioned fact: “Whenever students are asked to give reasons for joining the university, they always write down discipline-oriented motives. Practically, a significant number of grads go on to professions unrelated to their degrees.”  So, not knowledge alone but skills and students’ connections at university always help students have a useful professional contact for their bright future. Hence, knowledge, connections and skills are highly important elements for a university grad to have a successful future.

Bad governance has made Pakistan fail to produce equal employment opportunities. The crisis has made it almost impossible to equip the country’s youth with equal employment opportunities. That results in 8% of unemployed youth, and consequently, poverty has started causing more social, economic, and political chaos across the country.   According to the Asian Development Bank’s Poverty Report on Pakistan, nearly 23% of the country’s graduates have to live below the poverty line because they barely earn $1.15 a day .  Moreover, it has been an undeniable fact that poverty-ridden citizens and unemployed youth can quickly become prey to terrorist organizations, thus, becoming a threat to the country’s peace, prosperity, and stability. Although bad governance has jolted Pakistan’s social, political, and economic fabric, through good governance, the malice of unemployment and poverty could easily be countered.  

Without proper check and balance mechanisms and good governance, corruption has become the norm in Pakistan, impacting everyone’s life equally. F or example, a person who has never been to any police station and has never done any wrongdoing can still be found in a police station because his opponent has greased the palms of a police officer. Moreover ,  according to the World Bank’s latest report, corruption has been the leading cause of low Foreign Direct Investment and doing business in Pakistan.  A country experiencing corruption of nearly 14 billion a day can never incite the international community to invest. Unfortunately, Pakistan has become a country where none can get his legitimate work done without bribing government officials. Ironically, this situation impacted government machinery and jolted the general public’s faith in the state.  

Today’s Pakistani society has sadly become adversely unequal. Citizens are different for various factors and reasons: cities, education, and culture. Even this inequality has started affecting children psychologically.   For example, a child from a low-income family hardly gets a quality education and, therefore, always ends up in the same income level class. In contrast, children from wealthy families always have the chance to acquire quality education and end up in the middle or upper middle class.   This sad situation promotes an environment of discrimination, resulting in frustration and antagonism among the various classes of society. Therefore, the prospects of children’s future in Pakistan greatly depend upon what class and family they belong to rather than what qualities and skills they possess. 

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Oct 26, 2018 • knowledge, information.

Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

A thesis statement is a sentence stating the specific idea or opinion you address in a paper or essay, and is usually located at the end of the first paragraph. It gives focus to your writing, answers questions your paper may evoke, and reflects your clear analysis of a subject, which are elements your reader requires.

The role of a thesis statement is to support your research; consequently it develops after you have conducted your research, not before. Writing a thesis before research weakens your paper’s foundations.

Is every thesis a statement of fact? No. Your opinion and views on a subject are very much infused into the thesis. For example, an English assignment asking if Prospero is a sympathetic character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest can inspire different student statements.

Generally, there are three thesis statement classifications: poor, working, and strong. A poor thesis is vague, or is difficult to prove, because it is unsupported or unrelated to the subject of your paper. (Not recommended.) A working thesis statement is like a draft, a work in progress, and ready for further clarification. (Getting warmer.) A strong thesis statement grabs the reader’s attention, and shows your clear views on a subject, backed by research and textual evidence. (This is where you want to be!)

Therefore, a strong thesis statement requires a command of your collected research or notes before crafting a thesis statement. You can move from research to a working thesis by outlining the main ideas that work together, thus focusing your thoughts. Create a list of related words or phrases from your research, or write your opinions and observations of a subject. This will help you connect ideas in a unique way, and perhaps reveal an idea you hadn’t considered before, all essential tasks you should perform before you set down your thesis and fashion the body of your paper.

Sources and other good articles on how to construct a thesis statement:

• Online Writing Lab’s (OWL) Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements
• The Writing Centerand University of NorthCarolina (UNC)
• Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services "How to Write a Thesis Statement"

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