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How to Write a Thesis Statement in IELTS Writing Task 2
A thesis statement is a sentence or two that presents the main argument or claim of a piece of writing, such as an essay or research paper. It serves as a roadmap for the paper, guiding the reader through the main points that the author will be making. It is usually found in the middle of at the end of the introduction and should be clear and specific.
To put it another way, thesis statement is the most important sentence of your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay. This is such a sentence where you are picturing the whole essay. This sentence will demonstrate your position regarding the question statement, and it will also indicate how you are going to justify your position in the essay. To put it simply, a thesis statement is the concise summary of the essay.
When you are writing a thesis statement in an IELTS essay is important because it:
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Summarizes the main idea of the essay in one sentence
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Provides a clear and specific direction for the rest of the essay
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Helps the reader understand the purpose of the essay
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Allows the writer to stay focused and on topic throughout the essay
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Helps to score a high band score in IELTS writing task 2, as the thesis statement is a part of the assessment criteria for Task Response.
Remember, there will be only one thesis statement in an essay. In case of IELTS Writing Task 2 essay, the thesis statement should be in the introduction paragraph.
From our Task 2 band 9 magic structure you already know that the Question Paraphrase is the first sentence of your introduction paragraph. The 3rd/final sentence of this paragraph will be an Outline Sentence, which states how the essay is going to extend the discussion. The Thesis Statement will be the 2nd sentence in this paragraph, which is exactly in between the Question Paraphrase and the Outline Sentence.
How to Write an Excellent Thesis Statement
To write a strong thesis statement, follow these steps:
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Identify the topic of your paper: Before you can write a thesis statement, you need to know what you are writing about.
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Narrow the topic: Once you have identified the topic, you should try to narrow it down to a specific aspect of the topic that you can discuss in your paper.
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Develop a claim: Your thesis statement should present a claim or argument about the topic that you have narrowed down. This claim should be specific and supportable with evidence.
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Be specific: A strong thesis statement should be specific and not too general. Avoid vague words and phrases like "many people" or "society."
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Consider the audience: Keep in mind who your audience is and what their perspective on the topic might be.
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Use active voice: Use active voice while writing thesis statement, it makes your statement more powerful.
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Revise: Once you have written your thesis statement, read it over and consider if it is clear, specific, and supportable. Revise as needed.
Example: Thesis Statement
Look at the question sentence below:
"Many studies prove that globalization is harming people by spreading various contagious diseases faster, rather than doing good for the people across the world.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?"
Writing a thesis statement will be pretty easy for you if you can find two important things:
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The keywords
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The action words
Keywords are usually nouns and adjectives, whereas action words are verbs. In the example question above:
Globalization, harming, and disease are the keywords. Agree and disagree are the action words.
Remember, a thesis statement has to be very specific to the discussion topic. That's why you must find the keywords before writing a thesis statement. Once you know the keywords and action words, it's quite easy for you to maintain your focus on the the specific area. Otherwise, there is always risk of being too general.
The thesis statement of the above-stated question can be as below:
"This essay clearly disagrees with the statement that globalization is harming people by spreading diseases rather than doing good, and it presents logic with supportive examples."
Look, when you wrote the thesis statement, you needed to go through this important question answer session in your head:
Question: Did you clarify the position of this essay?
Answer: Yes, I stated clearly that this essay disagrees with the question statement.
Question: Did you just copy the sentence?
Answer: No, I rearranged it.
Question: Did you use the same words that were used in the question sentence?
Answer: No, I used some synonyms and paraphrases.
Look at the messages that your thesis statement is conveying to the examiner:
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"Hi dear examiners, I have clearly understood the question. It is about the impact of globalization. This question statement argues that globalization is harming us, rather than doing good.
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However, my essay does not comply with the question statement. Rather, with supportive examples and logic, it shows how globalization is doing the other way around."
After coming across the discussion above, hope you understand the importance of a thesis statement for an IELTS Task 2 essay. And also hope you are now quite confident about writing a smart thesis statement.
Up next:
Well, you know we help students with a guarantee of 7+ band score in IELTS Writing. You can check how to avail the maximum benefit from our IELTS Writing Assistance.
Don't ignore the resources below:
Check the detailed discussion on all the types of IELTS Task 2 essays: