Once you have read a variety of sources, considered your issue from different perspectives, and chosen an entry point in the research conversation, you are ready to form a working thesis: a one-sentence (or occasionally a two-sentence) statement of your central idea. Because it is a working, or tentative, thesis, it is flexible enough to change as your ideas develop.

In a research paper, your thesis will answer your central research question. In a paper reviewing the literature on a topic, the thesis analyzes the often competing conclusions drawn by a variety of researchers.

Following is a research question posed by Luisa Mirano, a student writing a review of the literature on childhood obesity, followed by a working thesis that begins to answer the question.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Is medication the right treatment for the escalating problem of childhood obesity?

WORKING THESIS

Understanding the limitations of medical treatments for children highlights the complexity of the childhood obesity problem in the United States and underscores the need for physicians, advocacy groups, and policymakers to search for other solutions.

Mirano, “Can Medication Cure Obesity in Children? A Review of the Literature”