A thesis statement is a sentence that concisely sums up the central argument of the research project. For this course, the thesis statement is drafted first as a central question (hypothesis) and then derived as a defensible thesis statement.
A thesis statement has some defining characteristics:
Two sample questions emerge from the two methods used:
| The 5 W's Method | The PICO Method |
| "How have the changes in NCAA rules for marketing the Name, Image, & Likeness of student athletes changed the way that student athletes perceive their public image and communicate their public persona?" | "For full time social media influencers (P), what role does corporate sponsorship play (I) toward influencing brand image and bias in product endorsement (O) compared to generating revenue from self-selected endorsements and ad revenue" |
In order to transform these questions into working thesis statements, start by simply shifting or reframing the verb from a point of questioning to a point of declaration!
| The 5 W's Method | The PICO Method |
| "Student athletes who wish to take full advantage of the potential revenue that comes with marketing NIL, must submit to an imbalanced amount of personal time and to unhealthy mental constraints when promoting public image and communicating public persona" | "Full time social media influencers (P), who acquire corporate sponsorship (I) will sacrifice originality and increase product bias (O) compared to influencers who maintain independence to earn income (C)." |
By shifting or reframing the verb, these questions have now become defensible Thesis Statements from which evidence is given and demonstrated.