a thesis statement about stress

Thesis Statement About Stress In College

This sample essay on Thesis Statement About Stress In College provides important aspects of the issue and arguments for and against as well as the needed facts. Read on this essay’s introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Stress management is an inevitable thing in the modern industrialized society. The pressures of college life make it stressful necessitating learning of some mechanisms and skills to cope with and manage stress in the day-to-day life. Definition. Stress can be defined as the wear and tear our bodies experience as we adjust and adapt to our changing environment.

(Whitman, 1985). Stress is both physiological and psychological. We also need to distinguish stress from stressors. “Stressors are demands made by the internal or external environment that upset balance, thus affecting physical and psychological well-being and requiring action to restore balance” (Lazarus & Cohen, 1977).

It is important to note that these internal and external pressure, for instance, financial constraints, family separation are just stressors and one’s response to such occurrences constitutes stress.

Without learning the art of stress management, individuals will be ineffective in whatever they are engaged. College students are not exception. A loaded curriculum, work-study programs and involvement in such things as drug all add up to students’ stress. Failure for college students to learn and develop good stress management strategies, learning will be difficult or extremely cumbersome rather than being an interesting engagement.

Causes of stress Well, there can be no stress unless there are stressors. in this part of the paper; we will explore some of the possible causes of stress (stressors) in college.

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Stress Management Thesis Statement

1) Inadequate money

Some parents or guardians may not give or afford for their college students enough money to meet their educational and personal needs. When a student gets so much involved psychology with an issue like this, he/she is likely to be stressed and weighed down.

It is believed that over 90% college students are in relationships (dating) college relations are characterized with such issues as unfaithfulness, drunkenness and other negatives like separations triggered by peer pressure. These issues make college students in relationships vulnerable to stress as they fall prey to such stressors.

3) Change of new environment

In most cases, students attending college are required to relocate from home to college. This change of environment is likely to be a stressor and actually many college students are prone this form of stress.

4) Parental expectations

Some parents have too high expectations for their children. Such parents may actually communicate the same to their college going children. When a student knows that the parent has such high up expectations of him/her, he /she is likely to be stressed especially when they are engulfed by the fear that they are not likely to attain/reach their parents expectations. Also over-indulging in studying so as to please their parents by meeting these expectations may cause stress.

5) Unrealistic expectations

Both the students and their parents may have unrealistic expectations. For instance, a student may set too high a target for himself. In the effort to achieve these expectations, students may work harder and this may drain them psychologically and physically leading to stress.

6) Social pressures

As noted elsewhere in this paper, peer pressure is one of the major causes of stress in college students. As one joins college, he meets cliques in the school setup. These small groups have their own distinct cultures. As a student joins some of these small groups, he is required to change and adapt to the group’s culture. Changing of one’s behavioral patterns and adapting to new ones may be stressful. Also such groups may engage in stressful activities.

7) New responsibilities

A college student may be assigned a number of responsibilities on top of the coursework, for instance, he/she may be made the president of a club among others, and these added responsibilities may weigh heavy on the student thereby causing stress. Other causes include, change in sleeping habits, stress-prone diet, and extra-curricular activities. Stress may have positive effects.

Importance of stress To some people, every time the term stress is mentioned, they associate it with negative results/effects. But this is not true. Not all stress is negative or bad. Infact, almost everyone needs some stress in his or her life for without it life would be gloomy, dull and uninteresting. “Insufficient stress acts as a depressant” (www.ivf.com/stress.html.) Stress makes life bright, adds flavor, challenge to life. Stress helps to jump- start us. The challenge and opportunities created by stress are vital in developing new and essential skills for life.

We will be cheating ourselves if we entertain the thought that we can avoid stress. Put bluntly, stress is an unavoidable part of life but if managed well, it can be a very constructive motivational factor in our lives.

Negative Effects 1) Alcohol and drug addition. When college students are confronted with stress they may not have positive strategies to cope with such pressure. This may make them resort to alcohol and drug abuse as a means to relieve stress.

2) Headaches, chest pain among others. Excess stress may cause aches to students and this may make them in effective in their learning.

3) Irritable and anger prone. This may severe his/her relationship with other students and even teachers. This obviously has a negative effect on learning.

4) Sleeplessness. Stress makes the student to lack sleep and this will negatively affects their learning process as they may feel drowsy and lazy during class time.

5) Unethical behaviors. Student stressed up due to lack of adequate finances may resort in to such behaviors as commercial sex and stealing and this may hinder their learning.

Stress has a chain of effects and symptoms. They all point out that one’s life is not managed well. Well, stress may make a student to be overwhelmed but such bursts of adrenaline that helps students to finish their assignment within the stipulated time, face some challenges and do well in some areas is actually positive stress.  “Stressors, such as noise or sleep loss, act by either increasing or decreasing the arousal level of the individual relative to the optimum level for a given task (Hockey & Hamilton, 1983). As we have seen stress has both positive and negative effects.

Stress management strategies Having explored some of the effects of stress on college students, it is clear that failure for students to learn smart stress management and coping strategies can be detrimental to college students. Learning stress management skill is almost a must for students if they have to become productive individuals both in school and in the community, some of these strategies can be helpful to students:

1) Exercise: physical exercise helps students to relieve themselves of stress. Students should learn how to cope and manage stress through physical exercises. Students should make exercise part and parcel of their curriculum. They should be discouraged from using temporary solutions such as drugs (caffeine)

2) Having enough sleep: student should learn to get enough sleep so that their minds and bodies get relaxed. They should learn to invest in adequate and healthy sleep. This must not be optional.

3) Relaxing techniques: students should learn techniques to help them relax both their minds and bodies. This can be done through such avenues as enjoying soothing music medication, massage, and deep breathing. “Techniques such as biofeedback…are used. Biofeedback aim to develop awareness and control of responses to stressors” (Glanz et al, 2002)

4) Getting organized: Student must learn to prioritizing tasks through the help of a

Work schedule otherwise they will have “so much to do, so little time”(Williams, 1996). When students learn to get organized they avoid stress emanating from failure to complete tasks within the required time.

5) Enjoy humor: laughter is medicine, so they say. Students should learn to stop being too serious sometimes and this will help them cope with stress. They should learn to enjoy humor and laughter. They should learn to take a break from books and smell the roses. Stopping procrastinations, learning to say no to some responsibilities which one doesn’t have adequate time for are all strategies that can help students manage and cope with stress effectively in college.

Students should learn effective strategies in management and coping with stress so that their detrimental effects can be counteracted. When such strategies are mastered, stress becomes a challenge to facilitate learning. Stress management should be made part of the college curriculum to help them overcome some of these negative effects and capitalize on the positive hence learn more effectively

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Stress and Coping Mechanisms Among College Students

• Masters Thesis
• Cornejo, Joaquin
• Park, Hyun Sun
• Brown, Jodi
• Acuña, Maria
• Social Work
• California State University, Northridge
• self-acceptance.
• college students
• self-compassion
• Dissertations, Academic -- CSUN -- Social Work.
• coping mechanism
• 2020-06-01T19:29:25Z
• http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/216140
• by Joaquin Cornejo
• California State University, Northridge. Department of Social Work.

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• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Home > Student Research, Creative Works, and Publications > Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations > 512

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The role of resilience, emotion regulation, and perceived stress on college academic performance.

Katherine A. Pendergast , University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Follow

Committee Chair

Ozbek, Irene Nichols, 1947-

Committee Member

Clark, Amanda J.; Rogers, Katherine H.

Dept. of Psychology

College of Arts and Sciences

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Stress is a common problem for college students. The goal of this thesis was to examine the relationships between protective and risk factors to experiencing stress and how these factors may predict academic performance in college students. 125 college students were surveyed twice over the course of a semester on emotion regulation strategies, trait resilience, and perceived stress. The relationships between these variables and semester GPA were analyzed using correlational, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression analyses. It was determined that trait resilience scores do predict use of emotion regulation strategies but change in stress and trait resilience do not significantly predict variation in academic performance during the semester. Limitations and future directions are further discussed.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my advisor, Dr. Ozbek, and committee members, Dr. Clark and Dr. Rogers, for invaluable feedback and support. Additional thanks to Dr. Jonathan Davidson, M.D., for his permission to use the CD-RISC to better understand resilience in the college population. Also, I would like to extend thanks to Linda Orth, Sandy Zitkus, and the entire records office staff of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for their willingness to collaborate and assist with this project. Lastly, I would like to thank the faculty and students of the Psychology Department for their overall support.

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Stress (Psychology); Academic achievement -- Education (Higher)

Stress; Resilience; Emotion regulation; Academic performance

Document Type

Masters theses

xi, 72 leaves

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Recommended Citation

Pendergast, Katherine A., "The role of resilience, emotion regulation, and perceived stress on college academic performance" (2017). Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/512

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How Does Stress Affect the Body? Essay

Introduction.

Stress is an inseparable part of any human experience, which is why its effects on the body need to be examined further. Although efforts must be applied to reduce the extent of stress and the exposure to it, eradicating the specified phenomenon from an individual’s life is presently impossible and barely productive (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Instead, the effects of stress and their mitigation need to be learned closer to reduce possible health outcomes. Especially after the pandemic of COVID-19 has made the levels of stress in people worldwide skyrocket, the significance of studying the levels of stress on the human body has grown tremendously (Schönrich et al. 3). This paper will examine the effects of stress on different systems within a human body, further recommending the strategies that can be used to alleviate the adverse outcomes.

Stress: Definitions

Before proceeding with listing the multiple outcomes of stress affecting the human body and its multiple systems, one might want to define the subject matter first. The notion of stress might seem simple enough, meaning mostly feeling of unease caused by negative emotions. However, the concept of stress is far more complex due to the presence of multiple factors determining its development, as well as the numerous ways in which it can manifest itself (Schönrich et al. 2). Therefore, to define stress, one may need to consider several perspectives.

As a separate health issue, stress does not occur in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5). Instead, DSM-5 offers definitions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD), anxiety, and related conditions (American Psychiatric Association 265). The described approach is quite reasonable since the very notion of stress is quite broad. Indeed, examining the subject matter, one will recognize the presence of a twofold nature of it. Namely, stress encompasses both the state of anxiety and emotional unease, while also implying the range of external factors affecting an individual. Collier et al. suggest that stress should be defined as “the environment that places a strain on a biological system” (10367). As shown in the described definition, the notion of stress is seen as a combination of the components that elicit negative emotions and confusion.

Stress and the Human Body

To examine the effects of stress on the human body, a basic understanding of how the human body functions are needed. To simplify the exploration of the complex neurological pathways that the stress response suggests, one may need to isolate eleven primary systems within the human body. These are the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, reproductive, digestive, immune, urinary, and exocrine (Rathus and Nevid 17). Since changes occur within every system and are intertwined closely within the human body, it is crucial to consider each with the described connection in mind.

Effects of Stress on the Musculoskeletal and Exocrine Systems

As an immediate and instinctive response to stress, the muscles in the human body become tense. The specified reaction causes muscles to become the shield against a possible injury, also allowing one either to fight effectively or to run (Rathus and Nevid 121). The increase in muscle tension is spurred by the rise in the levels of cortisol, which is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex located in the adrenal gland (Rathus and Nevid 121). In turn, chronic stress causes muscles to be overly tense constantly, which may lead to long-term effects such as muscle cramps (Rathus and Nevid 122). Prolonged stress also affects the exocrine system in the long term, causing hair loss and brittle nails.

Effects of Stress on the Respiratory System

In the event of a sudden introduction of stress factors, the respiratory system responds in increased activity. Namely, the number of breaths per minute increases due to the rise in the need to supply oxygen to muscles and the brain (Hales and Hales 22). The described outcome is linked directly to the aforementioned “fight or flight” instinct, which enables the body to increase the speed and precision of its reactions to external factors. Furthermore, due to the constriction of the air pathways, breaths become shorter and faster (Rathus and Nevid 124). Thus, the respiratory system becomes overloaded in the event of acute stress; in fact, studies show that an asthma attack may occur as a result (Rathus and Nevid 124).

Effects of Stress on the Cardiovascular System

Due to the need to supply an increased amount of oxygen to lungs and muscles, the rise in breaths per minute causes the cardiovascular system to function at a faster pace as well, raising the heartbeat significantly. The observed phenomenon is explained by stronger heart contractions caused by the increase in the levels of cortisol, as well as adrenaline and noradrenaline (Hales and Hales 22). Furthermore, due to the need for a larger oxygen intake for the body, the amount of blood pumped through the blood vessels and the heart increases substantially, causing a faster heart rate and an increased workload for the cardiovascular system.

Effects of Stress on the Nervous System

Being under the influence of stress-inducing factors, the nervous system also produces an immediate response. However, before assessing the effects of stress on it, one should mention that the nervous system is typically split into two main parts, namely, the autonomic and somatic ones (Hales and Hales 24). The former, in turn, is subdivided into the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems (Hales and Hales 24). The latter plays a direct role in activating the aforementioned “fight or flight” response as it sends signals to the adrenal medulla and the pituitary gland (Hales and Hales 22). As a result, the glands releasing cortisol, adrenalin, and noradrenalin are activated, causing immediate changes in the rest of the systems, particularly, the endocrine and the respiratory ones. Thus, the chain of immediate responses toward the emerging risk is launched. When affected by stress in the long term, the nervous system continues to respond, causing further deterioration of the body.

Effects of Stress on the Endocrine System

As emphasized above, stress factors cause an immediate release of the hormones that activate the rest of the systems. Therefore, what is known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis within the endocrine system is activated once stress factors emerge. As a result, stress-related hormones, primarily, cortisol, adrenalin, and noradrenalin, are produced. Cortisol, in turn, supplies the energy needed to address a stress-related situation.

Effects of Stress on the Gastrointestinal and Reproductive Systems

The gastrointestinal system also responds to stress quite promptly due to the immense number of neurons in it. However, due to the disruption of the standard functioning of the gastrointestinal cells, stress can result in muscle spasms within the gastrointestinal system. The described phenomenon may entail a variety of effects ranging from diarrhea to constipation.

Examining the effects of stress on the human reproductive system, one should consider the differences between the male and female ones. In the male system, due to the rise in the levels of testosterone, which is activated through the parasympathetic path, the phenomenon of arousal is often observed as a response to immediate threat and stress (Hales and Hales 23). In the female reproductive system, long-term effects such as the disruption of the menstrual cycle and the inability to conceive can be seen as the key outcomes.

Effects of Stress on the Urinary and Excretory Systems

In an overactive bladder, the increased level of stress may lead to more rapid functioning and the need to urinate more frequently, leading to incontinence. In the long term, the specified effects may cause additional health conditions, such as bladder inflammation. Similarly, the excretory system’s functioning is disrupted to a considerable degree under the influence of both short- and long-term stress. The specified effects are likely to aggravate until the stress factors are removed from an individual’s environment, which is why the threat of kidney damage must be considered for those experiencing constant emotional distress.

Effects of Stress on the Immune System

As a rule, a significant drop in the functioning of the immune system is observed after individual experiences severe stress. When considering short-term stress, the immune system of an individual remains unaffected for the most part; however, in the long term, the immune system suffers significantly. Due to the focus on managing a specific set of stress factors, the human body loses the ability to produce antibodies as effectively as it used to do. Consequently, one’s ability to withstand the impact of multiple health threats is diminished to a large extent, causing one to become more susceptible to infectious diseases and, overall, more vulnerable to health threats. The described outcomes suggest that the immune system must remain one of the priorities when addressing stress as a health concern.

Effects of Stress on the Lymphatic System

Finally, the effects that stress produces on the lymphatic system of an individual need to be touched upon. The lymphatic system is also affected once an individual is exposed to stress, causing the neural-inflammatory signaling to be reduced significantly. Long-term exposure to stress may cause the development of cancerous cells in lymph nodes, as a recent study explains (Le and Sloan 3). Therefore, addressing the problem of stress promptly is essential to prevent oncological issues from developing.

Although stress is often taken for granted and believed to have mostly superficial effects solely on the nervous system, it affects profoundly the entirety of the human body. Even in the instances when stress occurs for a short amount of time, the changes taking place in one’s body are very noticeable, causing a string of adverse effects. In the long term, the effects of stress on one’s health are detrimental since stress affects every single system. Thus, creating strategies for managing stress as a tangible threat to one’s well-being is instrumental. Moreover, promoting patient education concerning the strategies for managing stress and preventing it from taking place needs to be designed.

Works Cited

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) . American Psychiatric Publishing.

Center on the Developing Child. “Brief: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body.” CDC , Web.

Collier, Robert J., et al. “A 100-Year Review: Stress Physiology Including Heat Stress.” Journal of dairy science, vol. 100, no. 12, 2017, pp. 10367-10380. Web.

Hales, Dianne, and Julia Hales. Personal Stress Management: Surviving to Thriving . Nelson Education, 2016.

Le, Caroline P., and Erica K. Sloan. “Stress-Driven Lymphatic Dissemination: An Unanticipated Consequence of Communication between the Sympathetic Nervous System and Lymphatic Vasculature.” Molecular & Cellular Oncology , vol. 3, no. 4, 2016, pp. 1-8.

Mental Health. “Anxiety Global.” OurWorldData , 2020, Web.

Rathus, Spencer A., and Jeffrey S. Nevid. Psychology and the Challenges of Life: Adjustment and Growth . John Wiley & Sons, 2019.

Schönrich, Günther, Martin J. Raftery, and Yvonne Samstag. “Devilishly Radical NETwork in COVID-19: Oxidative Stress, Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), and T Cell Suppression.” Advances in Biological Regulation , vol. 77, 2020, pp. 1-12.

“The Body Systems.” Adelphi , 2020, Web.

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25 Thesis Statement Examples That Will Make Writing a Breeze

Understanding what makes a good thesis statement is one of the major keys to writing a great research paper or argumentative essay. The thesis statement is where you make a claim that will guide you through your entire paper. If you find yourself struggling to make sense of your paper or your topic, then it's likely due to a weak thesis statement.

Let's take a minute to first understand what makes a solid thesis statement, and what key components you need to write one of your own.

A thesis statement always goes at the beginning of the paper. It will typically be in the first couple of paragraphs of the paper so that it can introduce the body paragraphs, which are the supporting evidence for your thesis statement.

Your thesis statement should clearly identify an argument. You need to have a statement that is not only easy to understand, but one that is debatable. What that means is that you can't just put any statement of fact and have it be your thesis. For example, everyone knows that puppies are cute . An ineffective thesis statement would be, "Puppies are adorable and everyone knows it." This isn't really something that's a debatable topic.

Something that would be more debatable would be, "A puppy's cuteness is derived from its floppy ears, small body, and playfulness." These are three things that can be debated on. Some people might think that the cutest thing about puppies is the fact that they follow you around or that they're really soft and fuzzy.

All cuteness aside, you want to make sure that your thesis statement is not only debatable, but that it also actually thoroughly answers the research question that was posed. You always want to make sure that your evidence is supporting a claim that you made (and not the other way around). This is why it's crucial to read and research about a topic first and come to a conclusion later. If you try to get your research to fit your thesis statement, then it may not work out as neatly as you think. As you learn more, you discover more (and the outcome may not be what you originally thought).

Additionally, your thesis statement shouldn't be too big or too grand. It'll be hard to cover everything in a thesis statement like, "The federal government should act now on climate change." The topic is just too large to actually say something new and meaningful. Instead, a more effective thesis statement might be, "Local governments can combat climate change by providing citizens with larger recycling bins and offering local classes about composting and conservation." This is easier to work with because it's a smaller idea, but you can also discuss the overall topic that you might be interested in, which is climate change.

So, now that we know what makes a good, solid thesis statement, you can start to write your own. If you find that you're getting stuck or you are the type of person who needs to look at examples before you start something, then check out our list of thesis statement examples below.

Thesis statement examples

A quick note that these thesis statements have not been fully researched. These are merely examples to show you what a thesis statement might look like and how you can implement your own ideas into one that you think of independently. As such, you should not use these thesis statements for your own research paper purposes. They are meant to be used as examples only.

• Vaccinations Because many children are unable to vaccinate due to illness, we must require that all healthy and able children be vaccinated in order to have herd immunity.
• Educational Resources for Low-Income Students Schools should provide educational resources for low-income students during the summers so that they don't forget what they've learned throughout the school year.
• School Uniforms School uniforms may be an upfront cost for families, but they eradicate the visual differences in income between students and provide a more egalitarian atmosphere at school.
• Populism The rise in populism on the 2016 political stage was in reaction to increasing globalization, the decline of manufacturing jobs, and the Syrian refugee crisis.
• Public Libraries Libraries are essential resources for communities and should be funded more heavily by local municipalities.
• Cyber Bullying With more and more teens using smartphones and social media, cyber bullying is on the rise. Cyber bullying puts a lot of stress on many teens, and can cause depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Parents should limit the usage of smart phones, monitor their children's online activity, and report any cyber bullying to school officials in order to combat this problem.
• Medical Marijuana for Veterans Studies have shown that the use of medicinal marijuana has been helpful to veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Medicinal marijuana prescriptions should be legal in all states and provided to these veterans. Additional medical or therapy services should also be researched and implemented in order to help them re-integrate back into civilian life.
• Work-Life Balance Corporations should provide more work from home opportunities and six-hour workdays so that office workers have a better work-life balance and are more likely to be productive when they are in the office.
• Teaching Youths about Consensual Sex Although sex education that includes a discussion of consensual sex would likely lead to less sexual assault, parents need to teach their children the meaning of consent from a young age with age appropriate lessons.
• Whether or Not to Attend University A degree from a university provides invaluable lessons on life and a future career, but not every high school student should be encouraged to attend a university directly after graduation. Some students may benefit from a trade school or a "gap year" where they can think more intensely about what it is they want to do for a career and how they can accomplish this.
• Studying Abroad Studying abroad is one of the most culturally valuable experiences you can have in college. It is the only way to get completely immersed in another language and learn how other cultures and countries are different from your own.
• Women's Body Image Magazines have done a lot in the last five years to include a more diverse group of models, but there is still a long way to go to promote a healthy woman's body image collectively as a culture.
• Cigarette Tax Heavily taxing and increasing the price of cigarettes is essentially a tax on the poorest Americans, and it doesn't deter them from purchasing. Instead, the state and federal governments should target those economically disenfranchised with early education about the dangers of smoking.
• Veganism A vegan diet, while a healthy and ethical way to consume food, indicates a position of privilege. It also limits you to other cultural food experiences if you travel around the world.
• University Athletes Should be Compensated University athletes should be compensated for their service to the university, as it is difficult for these students to procure and hold a job with busy academic and athletic schedules. Many student athletes on scholarship also come from low-income neighborhoods and it is a struggle to make ends meet when they are participating in athletics.
• Women in the Workforce Sheryl Sandberg makes a lot of interesting points in her best-selling book, Lean In , but she only addressed the very privileged working woman and failed to speak to those in lower-skilled, lower-wage jobs.
• Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide should be legal and doctors should have the ability to make sure their patients have the end-of-life care that they want to receive.
• Celebrity and Political Activism Although Taylor Swift's lyrics are indicative of a feminist perspective, she should be more politically active and vocal to use her position of power for the betterment of society.
• The Civil War The insistence from many Southerners that the South seceded from the Union for states' rights versus the fact that they seceded for the purposes of continuing slavery is a harmful myth that still affects race relations today.
• Blue Collar Workers Coal miners and other blue-collar workers whose jobs are slowly disappearing from the workforce should be re-trained in jobs in the technology sector or in renewable energy. A program to re-train these workers would not only improve local economies where jobs have been displaced, but would also lead to lower unemployment nationally.
• Diversity in the Workforce Having a diverse group of people in an office setting leads to richer ideas, more cooperation, and more empathy between people with different skin colors or backgrounds.
• Re-Imagining the Nuclear Family The nuclear family was traditionally defined as one mother, one father, and 2.5 children. This outdated depiction of family life doesn't quite fit with modern society. The definition of normal family life shouldn't be limited to two-parent households.
• Digital Literacy Skills With more information readily available than ever before, it's crucial that students are prepared to examine the material they're reading and determine whether or not it's a good source or if it has misleading information. Teaching students digital literacy and helping them to understand the difference between opinion or propaganda from legitimate, real information is integral.
• Beauty Pageants Beauty pageants are presented with the angle that they empower women. However, putting women in a swimsuit on a stage while simultaneously judging them on how well they answer an impossible question in a short period of time is cruel and purely for the amusement of men. Therefore, we should stop televising beauty pageants.
• Supporting More Women to Run for a Political Position In order to get more women into political positions, more women must run for office. There must be a grassroots effort to educate women on how to run for office, who among them should run, and support for a future candidate for getting started on a political career.

Still stuck? Need some help with your thesis statement?

If you are still uncertain about how to write a thesis statement or what a good thesis statement is, be sure to consult with your teacher or professor to make sure you're on the right track. It's always a good idea to check in and make sure that your thesis statement is making a solid argument and that it can be supported by your research.

After you're done writing, it's important to have someone take a second look at your paper so that you can ensure there are no mistakes or errors. It's difficult to spot your own mistakes, which is why it's always recommended to have someone help you with the revision process, whether that's a teacher, the writing center at school, or a professional editor such as one from ServiceScape .

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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

What’s Covered:

What is the purpose of a thesis statement, writing a good thesis statement: 4 steps, common pitfalls to avoid, where to get your essay edited for free.

When you set out to write an essay, there has to be some kind of point to it, right? Otherwise, your essay would just be a big jumble of word salad that makes absolutely no sense. An essay needs a central point that ties into everything else. That main point is called a thesis statement, and it’s the core of any essay or research paper.

You may hear about Master degree candidates writing a thesis, and that is an entire paper–not to be confused with the thesis statement, which is typically one sentence that contains your paper’s focus. 

Read on to learn more about thesis statements and how to write them. We’ve also included some solid examples for you to reference.

Typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph, the thesis statement serves as the roadmap for your essay. When your reader gets to the thesis statement, they should have a clear outline of your main point, as well as the information you’ll be presenting in order to either prove or support your point. 

The thesis statement should not be confused for a topic sentence , which is the first sentence of every paragraph in your essay. If you need help writing topic sentences, numerous resources are available. Topic sentences should go along with your thesis statement, though.

Since the thesis statement is the most important sentence of your entire essay or paper, it’s imperative that you get this part right. Otherwise, your paper will not have a good flow and will seem disjointed. That’s why it’s vital not to rush through developing one. It’s a methodical process with steps that you need to follow in order to create the best thesis statement possible.

Step 1: Decide what kind of paper you’re writing

When you’re assigned an essay, there are several different types you may get. Argumentative essays are designed to get the reader to agree with you on a topic. Informative or expository essays present information to the reader. Analytical essays offer up a point and then expand on it by analyzing relevant information. Thesis statements can look and sound different based on the type of paper you’re writing. For example:

• Argumentative: The United States needs a viable third political party to decrease bipartisanship, increase options, and help reduce corruption in government.
• Informative: The Libertarian party has thrown off elections before by gaining enough support in states to get on the ballot and by taking away crucial votes from candidates.
• Analytical: An analysis of past presidential elections shows that while third party votes may have been the minority, they did affect the outcome of the elections in 2020, 2016, and beyond.

Step 2: Figure out what point you want to make

Once you know what type of paper you’re writing, you then need to figure out the point you want to make with your thesis statement, and subsequently, your paper. In other words, you need to decide to answer a question about something, such as:

• What impact did reality TV have on American society?
• How has the musical Hamilton affected perception of American history?
• Why do I want to major in [chosen major here]?

If you have an argumentative essay, then you will be writing about an opinion. To make it easier, you may want to choose an opinion that you feel passionate about so that you’re writing about something that interests you. For example, if you have an interest in preserving the environment, you may want to choose a topic that relates to that. 

If you’re writing your college essay and they ask why you want to attend that school, you may want to have a main point and back it up with information, something along the lines of:

“Attending Harvard University would benefit me both academically and professionally, as it would give me a strong knowledge base upon which to build my career, develop my network, and hopefully give me an advantage in my chosen field.”

Step 3: Determine what information you’ll use to back up your point

Once you have the point you want to make, you need to figure out how you plan to back it up throughout the rest of your essay. Without this information, it will be hard to either prove or argue the main point of your thesis statement. If you decide to write about the Hamilton example, you may decide to address any falsehoods that the writer put into the musical, such as:

“The musical Hamilton, while accurate in many ways, leaves out key parts of American history, presents a nationalist view of founding fathers, and downplays the racism of the times.”

Once you’ve written your initial working thesis statement, you’ll then need to get information to back that up. For example, the musical completely leaves out Benjamin Franklin, portrays the founding fathers in a nationalist way that is too complimentary, and shows Hamilton as a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that his family likely did own slaves. 

Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing

Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and that you feel like you can truly write a paper on the topic. Once you’ve done that, you can then begin writing your paper.

When writing a thesis statement, there are some common pitfalls you should avoid so that your paper can be as solid as possible. Make sure you always edit the thesis statement before you do anything else. You also want to ensure that the thesis statement is clear and concise. Don’t make your reader hunt for your point. Finally, put your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph and have your introduction flow toward that statement. Your reader will expect to find your statement in its traditional spot.

If you’re having trouble getting started, or need some guidance on your essay, there are tools available that can help you. CollegeVine offers a free peer essay review tool where one of your peers can read through your essay and provide you with valuable feedback. Getting essay feedback from a peer can help you wow your instructor or college admissions officer with an impactful essay that effectively illustrates your point.

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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This resource provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements.

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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FAQ: What is a thesis statement and how do I write one?

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Last Updated: Apr 01, 2024 Views: 12

What is a thesis statement.

A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea of your paper. It is not just a statement of fact, but a statement of position. What argument are you making about your topic? Your thesis should answer that question.

How long should my thesis statement be?

Thesis statements are often just one sentence. Keep thesis statements concise, without extra words or information. If you are having trouble keeping your thesis statement to one sentence, consider the following:

• Is your thesis is specific enough?
• Does your thesis directly supports your paper?
• Does your thesis accurately describes your purpose or argue your claim?

Can I see some example thesis statements?

The following websites have examples of thesis statements:

• Thesis Statements This link opens in a new window (UNC)
• Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements This link opens in a new window (OWL at Purdue)
• Writing an Effective Thesis Statement This link opens in a new window (Indiana River State College)

These web resources may be helpful if you are looking for examples. However, be sure to evaluate any sources you use! The Shapiro Library cannot vouch for the accuracy of information provided on external websites.

Where can I find more information?

Video tutorials.

• The Persuasive Thesis: How to Write an Argument This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Research and Citation Playlist This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Planning a Paper series: Drafting a Thesis Statement This link opens in a new window ( Infobase Learning Cloud - SNHU Login Required)

More Information

• Build a Critical Analysis Thesis This link opens in a new window (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a Compare & Contrast Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a History Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)
• Build a Persuasive Thesis This link opens in a new window  (SNHU Academic Support)

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please speak to your instructor about the appropriate way to craft thesis statements for your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

Online Students

To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:

• Academic Support Overview: Getting Help with your Schoolwork This link opens in a new window

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