Writing an academic paper is not easy. But, among all components of an academic paper writing restating a thesis statement might be one of the most confusing parts. A mere one or two lines is enough to take away your good night’s sleep. But, avoiding it altogether is also never an option since your conclusion will remain incomplete. Then what should you do? If you are puzzled like most other students of college and university, then this blog can be of great help to you. Here, you will learn how to restate a thesis and also gain knowledge about the importance of thesis restatement in your academic paper.
What Is a Restated Thesis?
You might feel tempted to learn how to restate a thesis first, but clarifying your ideas on the thesis restatement will help you understand the concept better. In simple terms, a restated thesis is the thesis statement placed at the concluding part of your paper. Here, you place the thesis statement using different words and structure the sentences in a different way from what you include in the original thesis statement. However, the primary idea of your thesis remains the same. But, you must remember that a thesis and restated thesis are not identical twins. Hence, you must focus on preserving the same content but use different words to state it.
Before I share how to restate a thesis let us elucidate on why you must restate a thesis.
Why Is It Important To Restate A Thesis?
For a substantial and valuable academic work, you must learn how to restate a thesis in its conclusion. Here’s why:
- A restated thesis helps reintroduce your innermost argument, thus bringing to light its perceived significance.
- A properly restated claim helps to develop the proposition.
- A reworded thesis restatement indicates to the readers the completion of your paper.
Read More: Interesting Art History Thesis Topics To Explore and Write About
How to Restate a Thesis?
Now, let us divulge how to restate a thesis in detail. We suggest you adhere to the steps we explained below. By doing so, you can build your paraphrased thesis impactful without outdoing your persuasive arguments.
Step 1: Carefully read the original thesis statement again
Step 2: Take a look at the voice in which you have built your thesis statement. For example, did you use 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person perspective to develop your thesis statement? What voice – active or passive did you adopt to develop your paper, etc?
Step 3: List all keywords and essential points to include in the restated thesis. Then write the synonyms or closely related words beside the listed terms. It will help to make different renderings of the same idea.
Step 4: Think about making your thesis more impactful by elaborating on the original contribution without changing its meaning.
Step 5: Rephrase the thesis statement by implementing any of the strategies elaborated below.
How to Rephrase a Thesis: Different Approaches?
You can use various strategies to restate your thesis. Here are the most reliable approaches to make your readers understand the argument effectively without any problems.
Restate a Claim by Substituting Synonyms
This is the simplest approach you can take when unsure of how to restate a thesis. The English language is full of synonyms. Hence, you will never find any issue to find a suitable substitute for the words you mentioned in the original thesis.
For example, picture this is your thesis statement:
Natives of color have accomplished marked success in the struggle for their civil rights and equality in the USA over the last 100 years,
You may conduct tests with synonyms as liberally as you want. Here are some variants:
- The 20th-century civil rights movement provided many civil liberties and freedoms to minorities in the United States of America.
- The condition of racial equality enhanced considerably over the past 100 years, giving racial minorities a powerful voice in American society.
Restating Your Thesis by Changing the Sentence Structure
The syntax is also a luxuriant source of inspiration for thesis changes. If you have made the original thesis in compound sentences, then break them up into smaller sentences. Alternatively, if you have formed the original thesis with multiple simple sentences, think about combining them into one longer restated thesis.
The sentences below highlight how to restate a thesis without changing the primary points used in the original statement.
Original thesis: Diabetes is a growing issue in the United States of America, impacting 100 million people today.
Restated thesis: With the count of individuals with diabetes more than 100 million most recently, one can barely deny that diabetes is an urgent public health issue.
In the original statement, we placed our focus on diabetes. However, in the reworded thesis, we included the numbers as the first piece of information. This way, we have directed the reader’s attention to the importance of the problem.
Also Read: Impressive Architecture Thesis Topics For Academic Writing
Restate Your Thesis by Changing the Tense
In most situations, the original thesis statement employs future or present tense. It allows the readers to know what they are about to read. For example, it can begin with an introductory phrase:
I will fight for canceling homework for students to give them more spare time and relieve the burden of high school studies.
In this example, I have written the thesis statement in the present tense. It links to the typical data of time students use on their homework. You can change this statement into a past-tense sentence in the final paragraph, highlighting that you have proved your arguments.
Example:
The evidence presented here highlighted that students gained from homework annulment and had more quality time for their hobbies and recreation.
Restating a Thesis by Shortening or Expanding It
The length of your thesis statement is also essential. You may portray it in a shorter format at the start of your paper, centering only on the general idea of your research question. Soon after, once you have laid out the arguments and elucidated them in detail, you can present a more extended description of the initially devised problem.
Example:
Original thesis: Assigned seats in canteens can help reduce the issue of school bullying.
Restated thesis: Bullying practices like refusing a seat to a classmate will become impossible if students are assigned a fixed seat in the canteen.
In this restated thesis illustration, we have expanded the original idea, highlighting what “assigned seating” and “school bullying” indicate. This way, the restated approach could absorb the evidence discussed in the argumentative essay’s body.
Restate a Thesis by Linking It to the Research Problem
This strategy will suit you best if you are writing a research paper. You must link the thesis statement to the problem you have mentioned in the introduction.
For example, if you are writing a paper on child obesity in the USA, you can reiterate the thesis as follows:
Although preventive healthcare has observed much improvement in the past 10 years, the evidence establishes that child obesity is still expanding, at alarming rates.
Read More: Synthesis Essay Topics and Ideas To Consider For Assignments
How to Restate a Thesis: Examples of Sentences
Now, let’s explore how to restate a sentence in practice. Have a look at the following examples:
Example 1
Original thesis: Body image deformation is a recurrent symptom of eating disorders.
Restated thesis: The ways people distinguish their body shape specify how healthy their self-image is. Researches show that people with a distorted body image are susceptible to developing an eating disorder or by now have this condition.
Here, we extended the thesis statement by building it longer and adding some details.
Example 2
Original thesis: Marijuana legalization opens new paths for teenage substance abuse.
Restated thesis: The rates of teenage cannabis use have been on the rise because of the recent recreational and medical cannabis laws.
Here, we have altered the sentence structure by changing the first and second parts. The original thesis centers on the validation of marijuana, while the restated thesis begins by talking about the increasing rates of teenage weed consumption.
Example 3
Original thesis: I will claim that healthy eating habits grow because of a constructive family pattern.
Restated thesis: The existing evidence highlighted the major role of family eating patterns on the child’s growth of eating habits.
In this example, we have altered the tense of the thesis statement from future to past, bringing to light how a purpose changed into a completed task.
How to Reframe a Restated Thesis?
Once you have come down to the concluding paragraph of your assignment, it is time to examine how to reframe your primary claim. It’s essential not to carbon copy the introductory thesis since it has a distinct function in the final section. Here are some practical reframing suggestions:
- Change the word of the original thesis and place it at the start of your conclusion. It will reestablish the focus back to your original research purpose.
- Focus on the details of your central claims. You can compile them from topic sentences utilized in the body paragraphs.
- Once you reaffirm the thesis, you can go on about the broader implication of the problem you have explored. Make a reasonably connected call to action depending on the cited evidence. You can also highlight your study’s limitations and elucidate what additional research is needed.
Read More: Innovative Graphic Design Thesis Ideas For Students
Bonus Tips on Restated Thesis Statement
Here, find some bonus tips on how to restate a thesis carefully. Use our tried and tested tips for developing an excellent reworded thesis. Check them out:
- Never act contrite for your judgment or research findings. Any set of words like “though I’m not a specialist,” “it’s just my opinion” and so on decrease your credibility and make the reader distrust your expertise.
- Recognize the counterarguments. If you glue to your point of view only, the paper may seem prejudiced or subjective. So, it is always more valuable to give recognition to both sides of the argument.
- Avoid bringing clichés into play as much as you can. Make your point self-explanatory.
- Use operational sentence starters in place of the trivial “in conclusion” to avoid apparent dullness. Some novel ideas for your conclusion are:
- It’s apparent to me that
- The evidence confronts
- My last point is
- It is my honest belief that
As you can find, restating a thesis statement needs effort. Using widespread vocabulary and syntax will lend you a hand in restructuring the content and keeping hold of its meaning.
Conclusion
By now you must have learned how to restate a thesis in the concluding paragraph of your paper. However, if you are still confused about how to make an effective thesis statement or need help in merging it with the body of your conclusion, get in touch with us immediately.
