Hi, I'm Ellen. In this video, I'll talk about research questions and thesis statements in academic essays. Academic essays differ from other types of essays because instead of addressing topics, they deal with problems or questions. Your job as the author of an essay is to identify one or more specific problems or questions to address. It's important to keep in mind your target audience when identifying these questions. Will your target audience find these questions interesting? Ask yourself whether problems or questions you come up with are significant. In an academic essay, you shouldn't try to present everything you know about a topic but rather look for evidence that helps you to answer your question or solve your problem. The questions that you identify are called research questions. Identifying these research questions involves, in a way, identifying a gap in knowledge, and then attempting to fill this gap. But how do you know if your research question is interesting or significant to your target audience? An interesting and significant research question is one that leads to something that is new to the audience or something that they cannot find by merely consulting an encyclopedia. A good research question will also need to be problematic. This means that the research question should lead to a claim that is debatable. What I mean by a debatable claim is an assertion that could either be accepted or denied. Just because you argue for one particular answer to the question or solution to the problem, it doesn't mean that they aren't other possible answers or solutions out there. Your job as an author is to respond to your problem or question by proposing a solution in the form of an assertion or claim. It is up to you to persuade the target audience that the assertion or claim that you make is worthwhile and backed up by evidence. Not all questions that you can ask about your topic are problematic. What I mean by this is that some questions lead to answers which are either right or wrong and therefore, not debatable. Take the following example, for instance, asking a question along the lines of, what were the events in the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, can be answered by merely listing a series of historical events. A list of historical events can't be denied. What's the point of trying to convince your audience of something that is already fact? The same goes for questions such as what's the capital city of Denmark? The answer, Copenhagen, cannot be denied. At least, not after members of your target audience have consulted an encyclopedia. Let's talk a little now about providing an answer to your research question. The claim that you will need to make in your essay, the claim that can either be accepted or denied, is called the "central idea". Another term for this is the "thesis statement". Thesis statement is a sentence that presents your position on the topic and predicts how the topic will be developed, as well as revealing your stance on the topic. It also functions as a guide to your reader. Your thesis statement can function as a kind of road map to your essay. This road map or blueprint predicts the scope, the purpose, and the direction of your essay. Having a strong thesis statement shows your audience that you have a clear idea of how you want your essay to deal with the topic in terms of solving a problem or answering a question. In other words, in terms of a claim that you have carefully thought through and that you can justify with the help of evidence. [MUSIC]