Designing a thesis statement

Question

I need a thesis statement for this topic : 1000 word essay on a natural disaster caused due to human influence … I chose dust bowls but i’m not clear about my thesis statement.

Answer

A thesis statement is used to guide a written study and set the scope of the discussion. The thesis statement may put forward a position or belief that is to be investigated and proven or disproven. Alternatively, the statement may be an outline for an explanation of the topic. The nature of the thesis statement will depend on the type of essay you are writing.

In your case, if your aim is to explain how dust bowls are a human-influenced natural disaster and what effects they have then your thesis statement could be along the lines of: “Dust bowls represent a man-made natural disaster that can render an area uninhabitable”.

If you are arguing that dust bowls are man-made, rather than natural, it could be: “Human activity plays a vital role in the creation of dust bowl disasters”.

An analytical essay, looking at the impact of dust bowls, could have a thesis statement such as: “Man-made dust bowls can have impacts severe enough to be considered a natural disaster”.

It is important that your thesis statement reflect the purpose of your essay, it will be strongly linked to the findings in your conclusion, and the type of arguments to be made throughout.

An important point to note is that a thesis statement is not the same as a purpose statement (where you would say “This essay/study will…”), a thesis statement is less direct and acts as a statement to prompt discussion.

The thesis statement is normally located after your introduction, once you have established the topic that you will be looking at.