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What Is A Senior Thesis And How To Write It?

First, what is senior thesis? A senior thesis is a written project where you use different hypotheses, theory, argument, or creative thinking. It is usual practice for most students to take this project work in the senior year of college or high school.

A senior thesis tends to be more demanding than a research paper in terms of the amount of work and the length of the write-up. However, it is less than the work required for any Master’s thesis.

Is a Senior Thesis Required?

It is understandable to want to know if a senior thesis is required. I mean, anyone would want to know just how important it is before choosing to dedicate much time to it.

Well, a senior thesis is not compulsory in every college/university, and neither is it compulsory for every course of study.

In general, you can write a senior thesis if you have an overall GPA of 3.2, are ending your junior year, and meet your departmental requirements. If a senior thesis is not a requirement for completing your degree, you may decide to write one for several reasons. Some benefits are:

• It will look good on your resume
• It will give you an opportunity for some independent research
• You get some experience managing your project, etc.

If you cannot commit to finishing a senior thesis, then you shouldn’t start it. But if you would like to write one, then we’ve got lots of senior thesis topics and ideas for you! You will also get to learn how to write a senior thesis in this article!

How To Write a Senior Thesis

Writing a senior thesis can be a lot easier if you know what to do. First, you need to choose the right adviser, select a topic you would like to work on, write a proposal, and get approved. Here are some things you need to know about writing your senior thesis.

A thesis proposal is a short overview of what your senior thesis papers will look like. This document carries detailed descriptions of your senior thesis topic. Your thesis proposal can be between 1 to 5 pages long and should carry any relevant information. The proposal will also carry a list of books you’ve used or that you intend to use during the writing of your senior thesis.

The length of a senior thesis may vary depending on several reasons. The senior thesis length can be dependent on strict specifications by the college. Your senior thesis may be between 10,000 to 20,000 words long.

The senior honors thesis is a 6-credit final thesis that you must present as a written formal document. The senior thesis title page, also known as the cover page, is the page that carries, at first glance, details of the project. The information on this page includes the thesis title, name of the student, name of college, name of supervisor, etc.

The senior thesis defense is an avenue created for faculty and examiners to ask you about your research work. You are to tell them the outcome of the research to the point when you’re asked. The questions center around what you have in your senior thesis paper, so ensure you have remarkable up-to-date information at every point.

Senior Thesis Topic

It is essential that you find excellent senior thesis topics. Finding these excellent topics is the pain point for many students. Well, we are here to help you with some senior thesis topics.

Checking out past senior thesis topics can also set you on the right path earlier in your research. For example, if you are a student writing a CMC senior thesis, senior thesis UF, senior thesis Princeton, or yale senior thesis, you can search for award-winning senior thesis topics. These topics can give you an idea of topics that may best suit your purposes. Never forget that you should always choose topics that you find interesting. Here are some history senior thesis topics that you can choose from:

• Yankees of the East: 20th Century America
• History of the German Ford Motor Company
• How women saw themselves in the Jazz Age
• The Emergence of Great Societies
• The roles of women post WWII

Get A Senior Thesis Example

Looking through some senior thesis examples can help you easily get the hang of what a senior thesis looks like. You can also request past projects from senior friends and colleagues, as this can significantly reduce the stress on you.

Senior Thesis Format

Now, I’ll give you a working senior thesis format. If you want an excellent and well-written thesis, you can follow the senior thesis outline given below. Here is an outline according to the guidelines for writing UF senior thesis or Princeton senior thesis.

In this chapter, you have to discuss the significance and purpose of the thesis. Also, you should state what you hope to achieve by the work.

Here, you will discuss the theory behind your research work. This chapter discusses past theoretical works that are related to your research.

This chapter explains how you intend to gather your data. Here, you state the method and experiments you followed to arrive at your results. It would help if you also described the analysis of your data. This must be done conscientiously.

This chapter addresses the findings from your experiments and data analysis only. You begin by listing out the types of tests taken and the outcome. You can use tables and charts to illustrate numeric results as the case may be.

Here you don’t just restate your findings, but you expatiate on the deductions you made from your findings. This chapter answers the “so what?” question. This is not a section to mince words when you explain what the results mean to the theory.

Include all references at the end of work.

Senior Thesis Ideas

There are many fields and sources to get senior thesis topic ideas from. These fields include health, technology, social media, education, religion, music, environment, etc. If you want to do a UF psychology senior thesis research, for example, these are some senior thesis psychology topics you can explore.

• The deep-seated reasons for discrimination and prejudice
• Personal perception and social cognition
• Marketing, propaganda, and persuasion
• Eating behaviors and outlook about life
• Phobias and antisocial behaviors
• Group therapy profile
• False memories and dreams.

Graphic Design Senior Thesis

When you become a senior in the Graphic Design Program at your institution, you can choose a social or personal problem to address through a design problem-solving technique or process. It may take you a semester or session to complete this work, so you have to start early enough. After completing the thesis, you can showcase your work and experience an exhibition. Don’t forget to put in your best effort.

High School Senior Thesis

The high school senior thesis is a document of at least 2,000 words written by high school seniors. This exercise usually strengthens research capabilities. Some high school senior thesis topics may include:

• A documentary on a place
• Learning about programming
• Research about the nature of colors and lots more.

In conclusion, when you’ve decided to write a senior thesis, the best thing to do is segment your work into small doable bits. Also, you need to schedule your time so that you can complete the thesis in due time or contact professional thesis writers . We wish you good luck!

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A Classical School’s Guide to Senior Thesis Research, Introduction: Classical Education and Information Literacy

This article is the introduction to an ongoing series aimed to equip students at classical schools with the skills needed to research for their senior thesis. To get links to the entire series, click  here . 

What is a Senior Thesis?

In most classical Christian schools, 12th graders are expected to write, present, and sometimes defend, a senior thesis. The senior thesis is a wonderful opportunity for students to take the skills they have learned throughout their educational experience (skills like thinking logically and being able to communicate with clarity, eloquence, and wisdom), and apply these in a field the student feels passionate about.

Some senior theses that were presented at classical schools in recent years included topics as diverse as the following:

• Alexa Listens to All My Problems: Why Artificial Intelligence Assistants Harm Us
• How to Save a Life: Why Parents’ Religious Belief Should be Overruled in Life Saving Treatment for their Children
• Dueling With Dualism: Theology And Neuroscience Supporting Anthropological Monism
• A Moral and Practical Justification of a Compensation-Based Kidney Transplantation System
• Keep The Conversation Going: Why Censorship is Not the Answer to Hate Speech
• A Budding Concept: Why Christians Should Support the Use of Medical Marijuana for Pain Relief
• The Gender Wage Gap Myth: Why the Gender Wage Gap is Not Due to Male Privilege
• In the Eye of the Beholder? A Biblical Understanding of Artistic Beauty

It is not unusual for these theses to reach a higher standard than most college papers. Sometimes the senior theses and the associated presentations are of such high quality that schools are even invited to bring their students on lecture tours.

Are 12th Graders Adequately Prepared For Senior Thesis?

There are many aspects of a classical education that prepare students for the research component of their senior thesis. Since a classicaleducation is based on the Great Books, including a heavy dose of literature from ancient Greece and Rome (which is, after all, the justification for calling this education “classical”), these students will have spent years at the feet of the best writers and the wisest thinkers in Western civilization. Moreover, having been expected to write essays every semester, they will have had ample opportunity to hone their essay-writing skills long before coming to senior thesis class.

Yet for all this preparation, many students find themselves unprepared for the research component of the senior thesis. They may be incredible writers, skilled communicators, and they may be masters of logical argumentation; yet all this is not sufficient to write a good senior thesis if the student has not been trained in the craft of research.

Consider the case of Jacob, who has been attending a classical school since 6th grade and is now in the first semester of 12th.  He has been taught to be a good reader and a skilled thinker, but he has never been taught best practices for information retrieval. When Jacob has an information need, his “research methods” are indistinguishable from millions of other young people his age: he simply speaks or types a query into Google, and then sees what comes up. Sometimes Jacob finds what he needs quickly, but often he has to click around a bit until his search reaches closure. When Jacob is working on a school project, he will sometimes spend quite a while on his PC deeply engrossed in surfing the web.

Jacob considers himself quite a good researcher, for he can find his way around the internet with alacrity, and over the years he has developed a knack for knowing the sorts of websites he can trust. Yet if you were to ask Jacob to explain how he identifies trustworthy sources, he wouldn’t be able to say. He doesn’t know how to use site limiters to refine a Google search, and has never used the databases on library computers. Jacob also wouldn’t be able to tell you what critical thinking skills are important for source evaluation, nor what epistemic virtues are necessary for distinguishing fact from opinion.

Jacob wants to do his senior thesis on the relationship between immigration and the rise of neo-Fascism in Europe, and he is just beginning to research for this project. Not surprisingly, Jacob is doing senior thesis research just like he’s always done research, clicking around on Google until he finds something that seems useful, often following hyperlinks from one site to the next. Jacob’s mother is “old school” and asks him to go to a library to research using books. Since beginning work on his senior thesis, Jacob has been to his local library a couple times, and found a couple books that looked promising, both published over five years ago.

Jacob’s ineptitude as a researcher is not his own fault. He is a smart student, consistently gets good grades, and he is open to learning. Yet no one has ever bothered to teach him how to research. Jacob’s experience is not unique, and is shared by the majority of students in classical schools: they have been taught to read well, to think well, to write well, but they have not been taught how to be “information literate.” They are still producing great work, as mentioned above, and yet this work could be even better if a little information literacy instruction were incorporated into senior thesis class. But what exactly is this thing called “information literacy”?

Research and Information Literacy

Most of us do research every day. When you ask Google to find the nearest gas station, or when you look up a recipe or sports statistic, you are doing research. Since most of us perform research every day, we might as well know how to do it right.

Although all of us perform research all the time, that doesn’t mean that all of us are good researchers. To be a good researcher involves the confluence of a very specific set of computer-based skills and epistemic virtues that do not necessarily arise automatically from studying the Great Books. These research skills, which are often grouped together under the broad category of “information literacy,” include such things as being familiar with ways to use information networks (both digital and physical) to find relevant information and weed out what is irrelevant. Information literacy also involves knowing how to use computer applications for research in both liberal arts and STEM subjects. It involves being able to use critical thinking to evaluate information sources, in addition to exercising epistemic virtue when working with information.

For a variety of reasons that will be discussed below, many classical schools de-emphasize information literacy, even in 12th grade senior thesis class.

What Has Classical Education to do With Information Literacy?

There are a number of reasons that classical schools are generally lacking when it comes to training students in these information literacy skills. Some of these reasons are practical and some ideological.

How Christian Teachers Can Address the Information Literacy Crisis

Most teachers who oversee a senior thesis class have a background in the liberal arts in general, and rhetoric in particular, and thus they may be suspicious of information literacy, which tends to be more associated (whether rightly or wrongly) with the social sciences and STEM subjects.

Another factor is that many teachers still prefer the model of research that persisted when they were young before online journals and databases significantly altered the research landscape. Since being information literate in the contemporary world involves using computer applications for information retrieval, this may seem unappealing to educators who pursued the liberal arts specifically to avoid working with technology. The technological components of information literacy may even be seen as antithetical to the ethos behind a classical approach to the humanities.

Another factor is that some classical educators who recognize that the liberal arts have inherent value in and of themselves and not merely as a means towards external ends (which is quite true, as I have argued here and here ), will then commit a non sequitur by assuming that those disciplines that derive their value as means to practical ends are lacking in value or are not the proper object of classical education. This can be seen in the fact that so many classical educators use scare quotes whenever talking about education that is “useful,” or employ the adjective “utilitarian” as a pejorative for devaluing knowledge that brings practical benefit. This leads to the bizarre spectacle of students who live in a 50% Hispanic community who cannot speak a word of Spanish yet spend an entire year learning Homeric Greek, or students who are never given a class on applied critical thinking and cognitive distortions but spend four semesters studying syllogistic logic, or students who are never taught how to manage money but are taught a course on the philosophy of economics. Each of these scenarios are based on real-world examples I have encountered. The most glaring incongruity I have observed is the idea that using school resources to teach computer coding is bad, since programing is “useful,” whereas using resources to teach symbolic logic is good, even though computer code and symbolic logic are virtually identical.

These reactionary assumptions about the goal of education need not concern us here, other than to say that all the great thinkers of the past, with perhaps the exception of Socrates and Emerson, would have found this dualism quite quixotic, if not a total betrayal of a holistic anthropology. For the best thinkers of our tradition, to be a mature man or woman involved the application of virtue and competency to the particular historical and cultural contingencies of one’s unique time, place, and vocation. Just as Michelangelo could not have been a great artist without achieving competency in practical skills like mixing paints and knowing how to use a hammer and chisel, so students today cannot be good thinkers and writers without achieving competency in the practical skills comprising information literacy. And just as the craft of mixing paints was different in Michelangelo’s time than in our own, so the craft of research is different today than it was ten years ago, and will probably be different again five years from now.

What to Expect From the Upcoming Series

The upcoming series of articles I will be publishing will focus on the following four aspects of information literacy that can help students find information online when researching for their senior thesis.

• How to Find Information Online
• How to Leverage the Power of Google
• How to Evaluate Online Information
• How to Use Information from the Internet
• How to Be Virtuous When Researching Online

But why the focus on researching online? What about researching with books? That is a good question, and there are a number of answers. First, for better or worse, books are no longer sufficient for most research questions, especially questions that have been discussed in electronic periodicals. Because of this, even a mediocre researcher must be familiar with methods of electronic information retrieval. Second, students in classical schools are generally already well-trained in how to read books, yet are lacking the skills to perform effective research online. Thirdly, whether we like it or not, contemporary students will likely be doing the majority of their research on the internet; thus, they might as well be taught the skills for doing this well. C.S. Lewis once said that good philosophy must exist to answer bad philosophy; in the same way, good information literacy skills must be taught to help counteract the lazy and uncritical ways we have grown accustomed to using Google.

A fourth reason for focusing on online research relates to a point I made in my book Saints and Scoundrels.  I mentioned that someone who has never been trained to think will then, by default, be trained to be a bond-servant to the latest fads and fashions. Similarly, if we are not trained in the best practices for finding, evaluating, and using information online, then by default we will be subject to non-human forces like SEO, page rank, and Google’s AI machines. In a sense, information literacy is a way to take back our humanity, and to return power to the student that would otherwise be ceded to algorithms.

Further Reading

• Entire Series on Information Literacy
• Interview with Michael d’Esterre on Classical Education and Emotional Wellness

Virtue and Classical Education: A Commencement Address to a Graduating Class

• Josef Pieper and the Lost Art of Leisure

Contemplative Relationships

Gratitude, Love, and the Struggle for Spiritual Emotion

Interview About “Gratitude in Life’s Trenches”

The Role of Stillness in Education and the Problem of Thinking Too Quickly

Check out the latest Symbolic World blog post, The Artistry of the Machine in the Empire of Desire, by Robin Phillips: https://t.co/kHFwnMYcPZ — Jonathan Pageau (@PageauJonathan) May 31, 2023

The intellectual life is like a love affair, or like prayer. There are many economic and health benefits to a love relationship, yet if a man holds his wife’s hand merely to experience those benefits, then we rightly say this is perverse. https://t.co/vM0ulUmY0s — Salvo (@salvomagazine) December 7, 2020

More than Schooling: The Perils of Pragmatism in Christian Attitudes Toward the Liberal Arts by Robin Phillips https://t.co/wh5X6dP63s — Touchstone (@touchstonemag) October 8, 2018

Disclosure on social media merely buffers us against our real feelings, since it enables us to broadcast a curated version of our emotions in much the same way that pornography presents a curated version of the physical body. https://t.co/KLhMtlFOyZ — Salvo (@salvomagazine) May 22, 2021

50 High School Senior Thesis Topics [PDF Included]

As high school seniors approach the end of their academic journey, one final task stands before them: the senior thesis. This capstone project is a culmination of their years of learning and provides an opportunity to delve deeply into a topic of their choosing. The senior thesis is a chance for students to showcase their research, writing, and analytical skills, as well as their creativity and intellectual curiosity. 

With so many potential research topics to explore, the senior thesis is a unique and exciting opportunity for high school seniors to leave their mark on the academic world. In this article, we will explore some of the most interesting and engaging high school senior thesis topics, and offer tips on how to choose the right topic for you.

Unleashing the Creative Minds: Exciting thesis ideas for high schoolers

Much like satire essay topics , literacy essay topics , and biology research topics , the topics given below cover a wide range of subjects, from science and technology to art, and literature. They are intended to inspire high school seniors to think critically and explore their interests in depth.

Students can choose a topic that resonates with them and conduct research to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Each topic has its unique significance and can lead to interesting and thought-provoking insights that can contribute to the larger body of knowledge on the subject.

1.   The effects of social media on mental health: 

With the rise of social media, there is growing concerned about its impact on mental health, making this an important and timely topic to explore.

2.   The impact of climate change on local ecosystems:

 Climate change is an urgent global issue that has significant impacts on local ecosystems, making this topic highly relevant.

3.   The history and impact of jazz music: 

Jazz is a uniquely American art form that has had a profound impact on music and culture worldwide, making it an interesting and important topic for exploration.

4.   The effects of caffeine on the human body: 

Caffeine is a commonly consumed substance with a range of effects on the body, making this topic both interesting and relevant.

5.   The causes and consequences of income inequality: 

Income inequality is a significant societal issue with far-reaching consequences, making this an important topic for exploration.

6.   The role of technology in education: 

Technology is rapidly transforming education, and understanding its impact on learning is crucial for shaping the future of education.

7.   The history and significance of the Civil Rights Movement: 

The Civil Rights Movement was a defining moment in American history that continues to shape our society today, making it a compelling and important topic for study.

8.   The impact of fast food on public health: 

Fast food is a ubiquitous part of modern life with potentially significant health consequences, making this topic both interesting and relevant.

9.   The portrayal of gender roles in media: 

The media plays an important role in shaping societal attitudes toward gender, making this a timely and important topic for exploration.

10.   The history and significance of the Olympic Games: 

The Olympic Games are a celebrated global event with a rich history and cultural significance, making them a fascinating topic for study.

11.   The effects of sleep deprivation on academic performance: 

Sleep is crucial for academic success, and understanding its effects on performance is important for students and educators alike.

12.   The role of art in society: 

Art has the power to inspire, challenge, and transform society, making this a fascinating and important topic for exploration.

13.   The history and impact of hip-hop music: 

Hip-hop is a cultural phenomenon that has had a significant impact on music, fashion, and society, making it an interesting and important topic for study.

14.   The impact of social class on education: 

Social class can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes, making this a relevant and important topic for exploration.

15.   The impact of globalization on culture: 

Globalization is reshaping culture in a complex and sometimes unexpected ways, making this a fascinating and important topic for study.

16.   The effects of exercise on mental health: 

Exercise has been shown to have significant mental health benefits, making this an important topic for exploration.

17.   The role of government in protecting the environment: 

Governments play a crucial role in protecting the environment, making this a relevant and important topic for exploration.

18.   The impact of video games on cognitive development: 

Video games are a popular form of entertainment with potentially significant impacts on cognitive development, making this topic both interesting and relevant.

19.   The impact of social media on political activism: 

Social media has been a powerful tool for political activism in recent years, making this topic both timely and important for exploration.

20.   The history and impact of rock music: 

Rock music is a genre with a rich history and cultural significance, making it an interesting and important topic for study.

21.   The effects of stress on physical health: 

Stress can have significant impacts on physical health, making this topic both relevant and important for exploration.

22.   The impact of immigration on society: 

Immigration has shaped societies throughout history, and understanding its impact is crucial for understanding our world today.

23.   The role of art in political activism: 

Art can be a powerful tool for political activism, making this a timely and important topic for exploration.

24.   The effects of technology on human communication: 

Technology is rapidly transforming the way we communicate, making this topic both interesting and relevant.

25.   The impact of social media on self-esteem: 

Social media has been shown to have both positive and negative effects on self-esteem, making this a relevant and important topic for study.

26.   The effects of childhood obesity on health outcomes: 

Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern with significant health consequences, making this an important topic for exploration.

27.   The history and impact of punk rock music: 

Punk rock is a genre with a unique history and cultural significance, making it an interesting and important topic for exploration.

28.   The effects of mindfulness meditation on mental health: 

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have significant mental health benefits, making this an important topic for study.

28.   The impact of technology on privacy: 

Technology has transformed the way we think about privacy, making this a relevant and important topic for study.

29.   The history and impact of reggae music:

 Reggae is a genre with a rich history and cultural significance, making it an interesting and important topic for exploration.

30.   The effects of social support on mental health: 

Social support can have significant mental health benefits, making this an important topic for study.

31.   The portrayal of beauty standards in media: 

The media plays a powerful role in shaping societal attitudes toward beauty, making this an important and timely topic for exploration.

32.   The impact of social media on romantic relationships: 

Social media has transformed the way we navigate romantic relationships, making this topic both interesting and relevant.

33.   The role of technology in modern art: 

Technology is transforming the way we create and experience art, making this a fascinating and important topic for study.

34.   The impact of social class on health outcomes:

 Social class can have a significant impact on health outcomes, making this a relevant and important topic for exploration.

35.   The history and impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation with profound impacts on American society, making it an important and compelling topic for study.

36.   The effects of peer pressure on academic performance: 

Peer pressure can have both positive and negative impacts on academic performance, making this a relevant and important topic for exploration.

37.   The impact of climate change on global health: 

Climate change has significant impacts on global health, making this a timely and important topic for exploration.

38.   The effects of music on memory and cognitive function: 

Music has been shown to have both short- and long-term effects on memory and cognitive function, making this an interesting and important topic for study.

39. The impact of technology on education: 

Exploring the role of online learning platforms and digital tools in enhancing student learning outcomes.

40. Critical thinking skills in higher education:

 Examining the factors that promote the development of critical thinking skills among college students.

41. Teacher-student relationships and academic achievement:

 Investigating the impact of positive teacher-student relationships on academic performance.

42. The impact of parental involvement on academic achievement: 

Examining the ways in which parental involvement can positively impact academic performance.

43. Learning styles and student achievement:

 Investigating the relationship between individual learning styles and academic achievement.

44. The role of motivation in student success:

 Exploring the importance of motivation in academic achievement.

45. The effects of socioeconomic status on academic achievement:

 Examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic performance.

46. Cross-cultural differences in academic achievement:

 Investigating how cultural diversity can impact academic achievement.

47. The impact of standardized testing on student learning:

 Examining the effectiveness of standardized testing as a measure of student achievement.

48. Teaching methods and student engagement:

 Exploring the relationship between different teaching methods and student engagement in learning.

49. The impact of classroom environment on student learning:

 Examining how the physical and social environment of the classroom can impact student learning outcomes.

50. Teacher burnout and turnover: 

Investigating the factors that contribute to teacher burnout and turnover, and the impact on student achievement.

All work and no play makes jack a dull boy: How to make your thesis journey fun?

Writing a thesis can be a long and challenging journey that requires a significant amount of time, effort, and dedication. However, it’s important to remember that taking breaks and finding ways to make the process more enjoyable can help you stay motivated and focused. At the same time, it is often there on every high schooler’s bucket list. Here are some tips to make your thesis journey more fun:

• Break it down into smaller tasks: Writing a thesis can seem overwhelming, but breaking it down into smaller tasks can help make it more manageable. You can start by creating a list of tasks and prioritizing them based on importance and deadlines. Then, focus on completing one task at a time, rather than thinking about the entire thesis at once.
• Set achievable goals: Setting goals that are realistic and achievable is important to maintain your motivation and focus. You can set daily, weekly, or monthly goals, depending on your needs and timeline. Celebrating each milestone can help boost your confidence and encourage you to keep going.
• Create a supportive community: It can be helpful to have a supportive community while working on your thesis. You can join a study group, create a writing group with peers, or seek a mentor to provide guidance and support. Having people who understand what you’re going through can help you feel less alone and motivate you to keep working.
• Find a comfortable workspace: Your workspace can have a big impact on your productivity and focus. Find a space that is comfortable and free from distractions. Make sure your desk and chair are at the right height, and that you have adequate lighting. A clutter-free workspace can also help you feel more organized and focused.
• Take breaks: Taking regular breaks is important to avoid burnout and maintain your focus. You can take short breaks throughout the day to stretch, meditate, or take a walk. Longer breaks, such as a weekend getaway, can also help you recharge and come back to your work with fresh energy.
• Mix it up: Sometimes, changing your routine can help you stay engaged and focused. You can experiment with different writing techniques, such as brainstorming, mind-mapping, or freewriting. Changing your study location can also help, such as working from a café, library, or park. Listening to music or using different background noises can also help you stay focused.
• Reward yourself: Setting up a reward system can help you stay motivated and give you something to look forward to. You can reward yourself for completing a task, reaching a milestone, or sticking to your study schedule. Rewards can be small, such as a favorite snack or a movie, or larger, such as a weekend trip or a spa day.

In conclusion, high school senior thesis topics can be a great way for students to explore their interests and develop critical thinking skills. These topics cover a wide range of subjects and can lead to fascinating insights and discoveries. By conducting research and writing a thesis, students can gain a deeper understanding of their chosen topic and contribute to the larger body of knowledge on the subject.

Whether exploring social issues, science, technology, art, or literature, there is a topic out there for every student to delve into and make their own. By choosing a topic that resonates with them and putting in the work to create a well-researched and thoughtful thesis, high school seniors can develop valuable skills and gain a sense of accomplishment and pride in their work.

Having a 10+ years of experience in teaching little budding learners, I am now working as a soft skills and IELTS trainers. Having spent my share of time with high schoolers, I understand their fears about the future. At the same time, my experience has helped me foster plenty of strategies that can make their 4 years of high school blissful. Furthermore, I have worked intensely on helping these young adults bloom into successful adults by training them for their dream colleges. Through my blogs, I intend to help parents, educators and students in making these years joyful and prosperous.

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The senior thesis is typically the most challenging writing project undertaken by undergraduate students. The writing guides below aim to introduce students both to the specific methods and conventions of writing original research in their area of concentration and to effective writing process.

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• Senior Theses

Doing a senior thesis is an exciting enterprise. It’s often the first time students are engaging in truly original research and trying to develop a significant contribution to a field of inquiry. But as joyful as an independent research process can be, you don’t have to go it alone. It’s important to have support as you navigate such a large endeavor, and the ARC is here to offer one of those layers of support.

Whether or not to write a senior thesis is just the first in a long line of questions thesis writers need to consider. In addition to questions about the topic and scope of your thesis, there are questions about timing, schedule, and support. For example, if you are collecting data, when should data collection start and when should it be completed? What kind of schedule will you write on? How will you work with your adviser? Do you want to meet with your adviser about your progress once a month? Once a week? What other resources can you turn to for information, feedback, and support?

Even though there is a lot to think about and a lot to do, doing a thesis really can be an enjoyable experience! Keep reminding yourself why you chose this topic and why you care about it.

Tips for Tackling Big Projects:

Break the process down into manageable chunks.

• When you’re approaching a big project, it can seem overwhelming to look at the whole thing at once, so it’s essential to identify the smaller steps that will move you towards the completed project.
• Your adviser is best suited to help you break down the thesis process with field-specific advice.
• If you need to refine the breakdown further so it makes sense for you, schedule an appointment with an  Academic Coach . An academic coach can help you think through the steps in a way that works for you.

Schedule brief writing sessions at regular times.

• Pre-determine the time, place, and duration.
• Keep it short (15 to 60 minutes).
• Have a clear and reasonable goal for each writing session.
• Make it a regular event (every day, every other day, MWF).
• time is not wasted deciding to write if it’s already in your calendar;
• keeping sessions short reduces the competition from other tasks that are not getting done;
• having an achievable goal for each session provides a sense of accomplishment (a reward for your work);
• writing regularly can turn into a productive habit.

Create accountability structures.

• In addition to having a clear goal for each writing session, it's important to have clear goals for each week and to find someone to communicate these goals to, such as your adviser, a “thesis buddy,” your roommate, etc. Communicating your goals and progress to someone else creates a useful sense of accountability.
• If your adviser is not the person you are communicating your progress to on a weekly basis, then request to set up a structure with your adviser that requires you to check in at less frequent but regular intervals.
• Commit to attending Accountability Hours  at the ARC on the same day every week. Making that commitment will add both social support and structure to your week. Use the ARC Scheduler to register for Accountability Hours.
• Set up an accountability group in your department or with thesis writers from different departments.

Create feedback structures.

• It’s important to have a means for getting consistent feedback on your work and to get that feedback early. Work on large projects often lacks the feeling of completeness, so don’t wait for a whole section (and certainly not the whole thesis) to feel “done” before you get feedback on it!
• Your thesis adviser is typically the person best positioned to give you feedback on your research and writing, so communicate with your adviser about how and how often you would like to get feedback.
• If your adviser isn’t able to give you feedback with the frequency you’d like, then fill in the gaps by creating a thesis writing group or exploring if there is already a writing group in your department or lab.
• The Harvard College Writing Center is a great resource for thesis feedback. Writing Center Senior Thesis Tutors can provide feedback on the structure, argument, and clarity of your writing and help with mapping out your writing plan. Visit the Writing Center website to schedule an appointment with a thesis tutor .

Accept that there will be some anxious moments.

• To reduce this source of anxiety, try keeping a separate document where you jot down ideas on how your research questions or central argument might be clarifying or changing as you research and write. Doing this will enable you to stay focused on the section you are working on and to stop worrying about forgetting the new ideas that are emerging.
• You might feel anxious when you realize that you need to update your argument in response to the evidence you have gathered or the new thinking your writing has unleashed. Know that that is OK. Research and writing are iterative processes – new ideas and new ways of thinking are what makes progress possible.
• Breaking down big projects into manageable chunks and mapping out a schedule for working through each chunk is one way to reduce this source of anxiety. It’s reassuring to know you are working towards the end even if you cannot quite see how it will turn out.
• It may be that your thesis or dissertation never truly feels “done” to you, but that’s okay. Academic inquiry is an ongoing endeavor.

Focus on what works for you.

• Just because your roommate wrote 10 pages in a day doesn’t mean that’s the right pace or strategy for you.
• If you are having trouble figuring out what works for you, use the  ARC Scheduler  to make an appointment with an  Academic Coach , who can help you come up with daily, weekly, and semester-long plans.

Use your resources.

• There’s a lot of the thesis writing process that has to be done independently, but there are also a lot of free resources at Harvard to help you do the work.
• If you’re having trouble finding a source, email your question or set up a research consult via Ask a Librarian .
• If you’re looking for additional feedback or help with any aspect of writing, contact the Harvard College Writing Center . The Writing Center has Senior Thesis Tutors who will read drafts of your thesis (more typically, parts of your thesis) in advance and meet with you individually to talk about structure, argument, clear writing, and mapping out your writing plan.
• If you need help with breaking down your project or setting up a schedule for the week, the semester, or until the deadline, use the  ARC Scheduler  to make an appointment with an  Academic Coach .
• If you would like an accountability structure for social support and to keep yourself on track, come to Accountability Hours at the ARC.

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What Is a Senior Thesis?

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A senior thesis is a large, independent research project that students take on during their senior year of high school or college to fulfill their graduation requirement. It is the culminating work of their studies at a particular institution, and it represents their ability to conduct research and write effectively. For some students, a senior thesis is a requirement for graduating with honors.

Students typically work closely with an advisor and choose a question or topic to explore before carrying out an extensive research plan.

Style Manuals and the Paper's Organization

The structure of your research paper will depend, in part, on the style manual that is required by your instructor. Different disciplines, such as history, science, or education, have different rules to abide by when it comes to research paper construction, organization, and modes of citation. The styles for different types of assignment include:

Modern Language Association (MLA): The disciplines that tend to prefer the MLA style guide include literature, arts, and the humanities, such as linguistics, religion, and philosophy. To follow this style, you will use parenthetical citations to indicate your sources and a works cited page to show the list of books and articles you consulted.

American Psychological Association (APA): The APA style manual tends to be used in psychology, education, and some of the social sciences. This type of report may require the following:

• Introduction

Chicago style: "The Chicago Manual of Style" is used in most college-level history courses as well as professional publications that contain scholarly articles. Chicago style may call for endnotes or footnotes corresponding to a bibliography page at the back or the author-date style of in-text citation, which uses parenthetical citations and a references page at the end.

Turabian style: Turabian is a student version of Chicago style. It requires some of the same formatting techniques as Chicago, but it includes special rules for writing college-level papers, such as book reports. A Turabian research paper may call for endnotes or footnotes and a bibliography.

Science style: Science instructors may require students to use a format that is similar to the structure used in publishing papers in scientific journals. The elements you would include in this sort of paper include:

• List of materials and methods used
• Results of your methods and experiments
• Acknowledgments

American Medical Association (AMA): The AMA style book might be required for students in medical or premedical degree programs in college. Parts of an AMA research paper might include:

• Proper headings and lists
• Tables and figures
• In-text citations
• Reference list

Choose Your Topic Carefully

Starting off with a bad, difficult, or narrow topic likely won't lead to a positive result. Don't choose a question or statement that's so broad that it's overwhelming and could comprise a lifetime of research or a topic that's so narrow you'll struggle to compose 10 pages. Consider a topic that has a lot of recent research so you won't struggle to put your hands on current or adequate sources.

Select a topic that interests you. Putting in long hours on a subject that bores you will be arduous—and ripe for procrastination. If a professor recommends an area of interest, make sure it excites you.

Also, consider expanding a paper you've already written; you'll hit the ground running because you've already done some research and know the topic. Last, consult with your advisor before finalizing your topic. You don't want to put in a lot of hours on a subject that is rejected by your instructor.

Organize Your Time

Plan to spend half of your time researching and the other half writing. Often, students spend too much time researching and then find themselves in a crunch, madly writing in the final hours. Give yourself goals to reach along certain "signposts," such as the number of hours you want to have invested each week or by a certain date or how much you want to have completed in those same timeframes.

Organize Your Research

Compose your works cited or bibliography entries as you work on your paper. This is especially important if your style manual requires you to use access dates for any online sources that you review or requires page numbers be included in the citations. You don't want to end up at the very end of the project and not know what day you looked at a particular website or have to search through a hard-copy book looking for a quote that you included in the paper. Save PDFs of online sites, too, as you wouldn't want to need to look back at something and not be able to get online or find that the article has been removed since you read it.

Choose an Advisor You Trust

This may be your first opportunity to work with direct supervision. Choose an advisor who's familiar with the field, and ideally select someone you like and whose classes you've already taken. That way you'll have a rapport from the start. 

Consult Your Instructor

Remember that your instructor is the final authority on the details and requirements of your paper. Read through all instructions, and have a conversation with your instructor at the start of the project to determine his or her preferences and requirements. Have a cheat sheet or checklist of this information; don't expect yourself to remember all year every question you asked or instruction you were given. 

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Thesis Helpers

Find the best tips and advice to improve your writing. Or, have a top expert write your paper.

How to Write a Senior Thesis? Student’s Manual

If you’re an undergraduate student, you might know that you will be required to write a senior thesis to graduate. You may also know that this will be the most challenging project that you might have to undertake during your academic career. But, what is a senior thesis? And, how do you write it successfully within the provided timeframe?

Well, a senior thesis is an independent, large research project that learners are required to undertake during their college or high school senior year as a graduation requirement. It is also called a senior honors thesis. This project marks the culmination of the study work of students at a learning institution. It represents the ability of the leaders to conduct independent research and present their findings in writing effectively. In most cases, undertaking this project successfully is a requirement for learners to graduate with honors.

On joining high school or college, many students ask, “Is a senior thesis required for my program?” Knowing whether you will be required to write this paper early is important because it enables you to prepare for it. Thus, you avoid struggling to learn how to write a senior thesis at the last minute. Nevertheless, this project shouldn’t give you sleepless nights. Just follow these steps when writing a senior thesis.

Choose a Senior Thesis Topic you’re Passionate About

Writing senior thesis papers gives most students the first opportunity to choose their preferred topics to write about. This provides incredible autonomy. But, if you choose a topic that you aren’t passionate about, dedicating hours or days exploring it in detail will be difficult.

Completing college and high school senior thesis entails writing in an unscripted world. This converts dreaming into praxis while enabling learners to expand academic horizons past what they are accustomed to.

This project presents an outlet for converting the imaginary world into something tangible and real that mentors and peers can read, understand, and challenge. These possibilities make it possible for students to get senior thesis topics that invoke feelings of zeal.

If unsure of what to write about, explore senior thesis topic ideas online. These can be a good place to start the process of choosing a topic for your thesis. The internet has many sources where you can find great ideas for history senior thesis topics and senior thesis topic psychology experts and students would like to read about. Explore these sources to find a topic you will find interesting to write about.

Write a Senior Thesis Outline

Once you’ve chosen a topic, conduct some research to know the main topics to include in your paper. Come up with an outline that will enable you to present your main topics and their supporting evidence. An outline is a structure that shows how you will present the information gathered through in-depth research.

Your outline can include the senior thesis title page, the introduction , the body section with the chapters to be included, and the conclusion. How you outline your paper should depend on the information you wish to include and the instructions provided by your professor.

The outline should solve tasks like:

• Reveal your topic and thesis statement
• Show the expediency and relevance of the project
• Show the chosen methodological base
• Expound your senior thesis ideas or thoughts consistently and logically
• Draw conclusions objectively

To avoid missing important information, your outline should include a senior thesis cover page, the introduction, theoretical part, practical part, scientific novelty evidence, conclusions, bibliography, and applications. These sections should be logically completed and detailed.

Each senior thesis format may vary but it should reflect the main ideas of the entire project. It should also show the essence of every subparagraph and chapter if they are parts of the work.

Define the Objectives and Goals of Your Thesis

There are many college and high school senior thesis topics you may have chosen. So, why did you choose this particular topic for your paper? What do you want to accomplish by the end of your project? Whether you’re writing a CMC senior thesis or a UF senior thesis, you should have clear goals and objectives of your project.

When writing this paper, a goal can be to consolidate and systemize a theory in a specialty within the course of solving a practical problem and identifying independent work’s abilities. Tasks should also be formulated. For instance, a task can be to formulate literature on a topic after studying it, researching, and learning its basic concepts and terms. You can use a senior thesis example in your field to see how the author has defined their goals and objectives in the paper.

Make and Stick to a Schedule for Writing Your Senior Thesis Paper

Perhaps, the question that’s lingering in your mind now is, “how long is a senior thesis?” Well, most professors expect students to write between 70 and 89-page magnum opus. However, some would rather have learners write a strong article-sized thesis of between 25 and 40 pages. Thus, most professors look for quality rather than quantity.

But, regardless of your senior thesis length, have a schedule for writing it and stick to it. You can have something like a to-do list. This will make you feel like you have accomplished something whenever you cross off something from the list. You can have a weekly checklist or schedule that coincides with your writing process.

Procrastination may have plagued your past in academics. Nevertheless, bear in mind the fact that you might not succeed with your senior thesis defense if you keep procrastinating. Therefore, come up with a schedule and stick to it throughout or ask thesis services to help you.

Your schedule should highlight when to submit your senior thesis proposal, as well as when to write certain sections, when to complete the first draft and when your final draft will be due. The schedule should enable you to visualize both the short-term and long-term objectives of your writing project.

Start Writing

Whether you’re writing a Princeton senior thesis or Yale senior thesis, the structure is almost the same. You have to include certain parts and focus on writing each section at a time.

Your paper should include the following sections, according to the normal academic standards:

• The title page
• Table of contents
• The abstract
• A five-page introduction
• The main part
• A conclusion with two to three pages
• Bibliographic list
• Applications

To know the content to include in each of these sections, find and read good senior thesis examples. Most schools and faculties have samples that can guide students in writing these papers. Therefore, talk to your professor to see if they can get you a sample thesis.

Proofread Your Work

This is the last step in the process of writing this paper. Whether you have written a UF psychology senior thesis or a graphic design senior thesis, make sure that you proofread your work to remove all errors.

Focus on the following when proofreading your work:

• Logical or smooth development of the content of your thesis
• Work structure
• Flow of your thought and sentence structure
• All errors, including contextual, stylistic, punctuation, spelling, and grammatical.
• Thesis formatting

Make sure that you have presented your senior thesis psychology or senior thesis UF work in a clear and easy to understand manner.

You no longer have to ask, ‘what is senior thesis?’ That’s because this article has explained everything you need to know about this paper. Follow the guidelines and tips provided here to complete your project successfully whether you’re writing a senior thesis Princeton or Yale paper.

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Three Approaches to Senior Theses

Central Magnet School, (Murfreesboro, TN). For the past eight years, as part of graduation requirements, Central Magnet School requires student to complete a Senior Thesis. The Senior Thesis is an interdisciplinary project where seniors synthesize what they have learned, demonstrate college level scholarship, and develop and complete an original process or product that contributes to the greater field of study. Students must incorporate cross-curricular components by having two faculty (one in the English department and one in another department) as part of their thesis panel. Students choose a topic of interest that they research with the help of a mentor who is an expert in the field within the community. Mentors for students have included university professors, politicians, medical professionals, educators, engineers, and individuals in IT and marketing. During the theses, students also have regular conferences with a Field of Study Advisor, who is an expert in the field and their Senior English teacher.

Students choose from one of three approaches to their thesis. The Experimental Thesis approach includes research in the areas of Bio-Med and Psychology. For example, a past topic addressed “Antibacterial Properties of Cockroaches and Maggots against Escherichia coli.” The Product Thesis approach involves a student creating a product based on their research. For example, students developed apps and computer programs, wrote business plans and novellas, composed concertos, and created documentaries. The Systematic Thesis approach answers a definite research question by collecting and summarizing empirical evidence. For example, a student thesis addressed “The Rise of a New Tornado Alley: The Impacts of Dixie Alley’s Rise to Power.” The thesis culminates in students publishing and defending their findings.

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5 writing tips from a senior thesis writer.

Most people would not think that writing your college application essays and writing a senior thesis in college are very similar. However, as I have been writing on my thesis and reflecting over my time at college in general, I’ve realized in a lot of ways they are similar.

They both kind of mark an end of an era - your time at high school and your time at college. This can bring a lot of excitement and nostalgia. But it can also include a lot of pressure as I’ve also found myself condensing the stress of planning for the future into writing my application/thesis.

I’m still writing my thesis (deadline is March 8th ah!), but here are five tips that I think have been important for me to remember and can be helpful for writing college application essays as well!

1) Write about something that matters to you This is matters a lot! For one, if you have to spend a decent amount of time working on a paper, you need to enjoy talking about the topic. I know I would’ve been incredibly burned out researching, writing, and thinking about the same thing if I didn’t find it meaningful. It also relates to the purpose of the college application essay - for the admissions officers to get to know you who are! It's important to remember that colleges are not only adding a face to a classroom, they're adding a community member, a roommate, a friend.

I spent A LOT of days in the archives

2) Just start! This is easier said than done, but at a certain point, you just have to jump in. Waiting to get started doesn’t lessen the stress, and it certainly doesn’t get you closer to finishing. I found it easier to start when I realized I don’t have to have it all figured out to put the first words down. Start with something you know or just freeform ideas around the topic, they don’t have to be in your essay permanently. For my thesis, I know there was some tangentially related topics that I could carry over from my junior tutorial paper so I used them as a jumping off point, even I didn’t know if they would be in my final version.

3) Get on a schedule Again, this is HARD! It’s going to look different for everyone, but I think finding a routine for writing is vital. I really started cracking down on my thesis over winter break, and I set the goal of working on it everyday starting on December 26th. There were a lot of days where I did some minimal edits or thought planning/organizing, and there were a lot of other days where I completed helpful research or made a lot of progress in terms of word count. But because I made myself do something everyday, even if it wasn’t a lot, it really helped me stay motivated. On the days where you really don’t want to work on an essay, the desire to not break a streak of writing (“I’ve worked for 6 days in a row, wow that’s a lot. I feel proud! Do I want to stop that streak…?”), led me to stay dedicated and on track.

Having a schedule also meant I could reward myself with coffee breaks!

4) Realize it will never be “perfect”, and that’s okay! The thing about writing is that, to some degree, it’s always subjective. If you give a piece of writing to several people and ask for their feedback, they will all give you different comments. Of course, they all might be helpful, but sometimes they might conflict with each other. Or maybe they are about something you felt very certain was the way you wanted it to be. You have to trust yourself! There is no “perfect” because that’s going to mean something different for each person. Even if a person says you should change something, if you don’t agree with them, you shouldn’t change it! At the end of the day, it is YOUR writing, YOUR project, and in the case of college application essays, it’s often YOUR story.

5) Don’t be afraid of change Recently, after I had something resembling a first draft, I was rereading over my introduction which explained a lot of my framing/methodology. And I realized that my body chapters were actually relying on a different concept that I had originally set out to discuss. It wouldn’t take an outrageous amount of work to adjust this in my introduction, though I would need to do more research. But I was a little scared. I would have to backtrack! Remove things I had worked hard on! I’m supposed to have figured out everything by now, it’s too late for changes! Plot twist: Nope, it’s not too late, and it doesn’t indicate what you had done before was a waste of time. It’s something that happens a lot. Once you start writing and get into a flow, you often find your main point sometime after you’ve already begun. It’s a sign of being a good writer to recognize the shift and to be willing to adapt. The previous work wasn’t a waste, it was needed to get you to your final product (even if it’s not in the final product).

I found that taking walks were a great way to clear my head and organize my thoughts!

I hope some of these tips are helpful. Writing them out has been helpful to me as I head into the last month (gulp) of thesis writing. And let me leave you with two main points: trust yourself and don’t procrastinate! We’ve got this!

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Where do i start: how to prepare for your senior thesis.

All majors here at Yale require the completion of a senior requirement in order to graduate. For some seniors, that may mean completing a project or taking a written or oral exam. For others, like myself, that means writing a semester or year-long thesis about a topic relating to your major of study. According to the Handbook for Directors of Undergraduate Studies in Yale College, “the senior requirement measures whether the student can demonstrate some form of mastering or substantial competence in some significant aspect of the subject of the major.” In other words, this requirement exists to show the knowledge and expertise you have developed through your time here at Yale. So, where do you begin?

One of the first things to complete on your “Senior Thesis To-Do List” is finding an advisor. Having an advisor who you are not only comfortable with but who also has experience in the topic you’re interested in is incredibly important. You’ll be spending a lot of time with your advisor and ideally, you want someone who will both push you in exploring your interests and be able to guide you on how best to approach a long thesis paper.

Once you have found an advisor, you should start narrowing down your thesis idea. Do not worry if you don’t have a specific thesis topic right off the bat. I surely didn’t and I’m glad I was able to have the opportunity to talk about topics at length with my advisor before we made a final decision. Begin BIG and then slowly start finding ways to make your thesis specific. My advisor and I had several meetings where we discussed the big topics I was interested in - gender, health, political science - and the various routes my paper could go in depending on the specific question I came up with. You want to find a topic that you are generally interested or passionate about, so take your time and explore.

After deciding on the specific thesis topic that you’ll be tackling in your paper, it’s time to begin your research and prep for the writing process. Writing a senior essay is a very daunting task. For my major - political science - the senior paper needs to be 25 pages minimum. This paper has the potential of being the longest paper you’ll write during your entire Yale undergraduate career and so, preparation is necessary.

A great resource offered by Yale to undergrads writing their thesis (or any other type of paper)  are library consultations, which you can schedule through the Yale Library Homepage. I recently had a consultation with a librarian in the social studies library and it was such a great experience. We spent about an hour and half talking about my thesis, sections I was possibly thinking about including in my essay and then explored the various databases I could use to find sources.

Tackling the senior thesis is all about patience and time management. It is going to be a long process, whether you’re writing it in one semester or taking the whole academic year. If you don’t pace yourself, it can soon feel overwhelming. So, ease yourself into the research process and take advantage of the resources your advisor and Yale can offer you.

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Fun Ways to Teach Thesis Statements for High Schoolers

• Trent Lorcher
• Categories : High school english lesson plans grades 9 12
• Tags : High school lesson plans & tips

The Thesis Statement Dilemma

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On my way out the door, I noticed all the English teachers were busily grading essays . “Hey, Bob,” I shouted as I stumbled into his classroom, “Not done with those essays yet? I finished mine an hour ago.” “How’d you grade them so fast?” he asked. “It’s simple,” I responded, “I didn’t teach my students how to write a thesis statement, so grading their essays was easy. I just gave them all F’s. While you guys waste your time teaching valuable lessons and then having to actually grade their essays, we watch movies.” “So, none of your students know anything about writing?” “Nope.” “You’re a disgrace!” Bob shouted. He moved toward me, stapler in hand. Next thing I remember, I was surrounded by angry tax-payers. Angry tax-payer #1 shouted, “Get up you thief! Our tax dollars pay your salary and you’re supposed to teach the children of this great state how to write! I suggest you start doing your job tomorrow morning, or you’ll pay dearly!” The angry tax-payer clubbed me with a ruler and knocked me out again. When I awoke, Bob was asking me if I wanted to learn some fun ways to teach thesis statements to my students. I now share these ideas with you.

What to Do Before Writing

• You must begin with a topic question. If your instructor has assigned an essay question to answer, this step has been done for you. If you are doing a research paper, take time to come up with a good topic question.
• You must form an opinion and state it clearly. Do not be wishy-washy.
• Be sure you have approached your evidence fairly, without bias.
• Consider both sides of a controversial issue.
• Once you’ve established the topic question, a clear position, and objectivity, you’re ready to write a thesis statement.

What Is a Thesis Statement?

Students have heard the term thesis statement hundreds of times by the time they reach high school, yet have only a vague understanding of what one is. Your first responsibility is to teach them that a thesis statement:

• Presents your opinions or thoughts on a subject or an issue. You cannot write an essay without one.
• Must contain a subject + an opinion.
• Answers the topic question (the one you created or the one presented to you by the instructor).

TIP : A thesis statement should never contain the following: in my opinion, I think, I believe , etc. Tell them that the entire thesis represents what they believe. However, it may be helpful for students to begin their thesis statement rough draft with i_n my opinion, I believe, or I think_ to make sure they are expressing their thoughts or opinion on a specific subject or issue. When writing the final draft, simply eliminate those phrases.

How to Teach Students to Write A Thesis Statement

It is important to demonstrate the difference between good and bad thesis statements. These instructions will help you teach the former:

• Good Example: Success is a result of doing the right things consistently.
• Bad Example: In a world full of success gurus and books about success, it becomes ever so more important to delineate the one trait that ultimately determines success: doing the right things consistently.
• Good example: The key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal.
• Bad example: T_he key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal, which is also the key to successfully running a business and coaching a football team._
• Good example: Lebron James’ ability to score, pass, and rebound make him the league’s most valuable player.
• Bad example: Does Lebron James’ ability to score, pass, and rebound make him the league’s most valuable player?
• Bad Example: Lebron James’ ability to score, pass, and rebound just might make him the league’s most valuable player.

Write It Out

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are not the same thing. The following steps will help you and your students write clearly:

• Write several trial statements: writing is a process - you don’t have to get it perfect on the first try. Teach your students to revise their work .
• If you’re having trouble deciding which side to take on a controversial issue, write your thesis statement from two different points of view. Then decide which one better represents your opinion. If you still can’t decide, list facts on both sides of the issue and decide which facts make a more persuasive argument.

Evaluating the Work

You’ve spent a lot of valuable classroom time teaching thesis statements, but your lesson is not finished without teaching your students how to evaluate their writing. Instruct students to use the following questions to analyze their statement:

• Good example: Romeo’s prior feelings for Rosaline diminish the credibility of his love for Juliet.
• Bad example: This essay examines whether or not Romeo’s prior feelings for Rosaline diminish his love for Juliet.
• Good example: Juliet was not the first woman to capture Romeo’s fancy; she was, however, the one who affected him the most.
• Bad example: Romeo loved Juliet with all his heart, but he loved Rosaline too. It could be argued they were both his favorite.
• Bad example: Immature, whiny, male-pig Romeo, a male harlot, ruined precious Juliet whom he loved no more than Rosaline.

More Teaching Ideas

The following activities will help reinforce the concept.

• Have students create thesis statements on a slice of paper. Collect the paper and read them to the class. Have the class vote on them.
• Do the same activity, but use individualized white boards to record judgments .
• Read the thesis statements anonymously. The ones that do not qualify get tossed in the garbage can (visualizing what happens to writing is powerful). Give students a chance to rewrite until they get it right.
• Write random topics on the board and have groups of students brainstorm good ones.
• Make the thesis statements part of a writing challenge .
• Require that students get thesis statements approved before writing an essay.

Click here for a complete 1st semester curriculum map for language arts with lesson plans and links. I hope you learned some fun ways to teach thesis statements to your students. If you have other tips, be sure to leave them in the comments. Image by  Nicholas Jackson  from  Pixabay

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Us navy warship commander mocked for holding rifle with scope mounted backward.

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The commander of a US Navy warship is apparently a not-so-sharpshooter.

A commanding officer of the USS John S. McCain, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, was mocked online after he was photographed holding an assault weapon with its scope mounted backward as he took aim at a target known as a “killer tomato.”

Cmdr. Cameron Yaste “observes the live-fire exercise event. The ship is in U.S. 7th Fleet conducting routine operations,” read a caption posted by Defense Visual Information Distribution Service alongside an image of him holding up the weapon with the Trijicon VCOG scope installed backward while pointed at a large target balloon.

It noted that the “7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific Region.”

Several people also pointed out that Yaste’s shooting stance and technique were not exactly on the level of, say, a US Marine.

One user fired off the first salvo on X, where he wrote : “US Navy just killing it on Instagram,” alongside laughing and cringing emojis.

“Man. The scope is annoying, but that grip placement is downright WILD,” another responded.

A third said: “lol it’s completely pointless. You may as well just grab the mag.”

And yet another took aim at the Yaste’s leadership bona fides.

“Boat captain of a guided-missile destroyer is the chef’s kiss,” he wrote.

One user on X wrote : “US Navy just killing it on Instagram,” alongside laughing and cringing emojis.

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Soon after eagle-eyed viewers spotted the tactical blunder, the Navy yanked the embarrassing image from the official Defense Department database.

“Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI is completed!” the US Navy said after removing the photo.

Yaste earned a commission through the Navy ROTC in 2006, according to his official bio . He also attended the Naval Post Graduate School, where he earned a master’s degree in astronautics.

He was previously the combat systems and weapons officer aboard the USS Hopper.

The Post has reached out to the US Navy for comment.

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