Thesis statements

A thesis statement should identify the major claim of a work and:

 Be specific

 Be appropriate to the type of paper you're writing

 Appear within the first section of your text so that it is immediately clear to your reader what
the paper is about

For example: "Royal Roads University is unique amongst post-secondary institutions on Vancouver
Island because of its history, diversity of wildlife, Hatley Castle, and educational programs".

The advantage of a clear thesis statement is that it will also help you to stay on track. At any time during
your writing process, you should be able to make a direct connection between what you're writing and
your thesis statement. If that connection isn't clear, you may need to either adjust your writing, or
revisit your thesis statement. Thesis statements can change during the evolution of a paper; however,
make sure you re-examine your outline before you divert too far from your original plan.

Please see the resources below for more information on writing thesis statements:

 Thesis Statement: How to Write a Strong Thesis Sentence for Your Essay  (Youtube video)

 Using Thesis Statements (University of Toronto) 

Problem statements

A problem statement concisely details a vision and method that will be used to solve a problem.  

A problem statement should:

 Be clear and specific

 Discuss potential problems for the writer/researcher

 Not offer a solution

Please see the resource below for more information on writing problem statements:

 Tips on Writing a Problem Statement (Yourdictionary.com)

Research questions

A research question should:

 Be clear and specific;

 State the focus of investigation in the research; and

 Not be answerable with a yes/no response.

For example: How is Royal Roads University different from other post-secondary institutions on
Vancouver Island?

Please see the resources below for more information on writing research questions:

 Developing a Researchable Question (SAGE Research Methods; requires RRU login)

 Research Questions and Hypotheses (John Creswell; excerpt originally published in 2009

in Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches)