Follow these steps in building up your thesis:

• Look for interesting appealing facts, controversial issues and arguments in your primary sources, analyze them.
• Write down a working thesis.
• Place your thesis at the end of an introductory paragraph.
• Think of the counter-arguments to your thesis. It will help you to polish it.

These are the features of a good thesis statement:

• A good thesis presents the writer’s clearly defined position on the topic. (Don’t beat around the bush. Express your point of view briefly and accurately)
• A good thesis is meaningful.
• A good thesis does not promise to cover more than the essay affords.
• An efficient thesis has a manageable, debatable claim.
• A good thesis is presented in the end of the first paragraph.
• A good thesis comprises two parts: - first, it informs what you are going to discuss and then how you are going to do it.

Mind the three “never” rules for thesis statements:

• A thesis is never an interrogative sentence.
• A thesis is never an enumeration.
• A thesis should never be unclear, aggressive or confrontational.