I'm doing a research report on the Stonehenge. Would a good thesis be that building Stonehenge took a lot of hard work, and that its construction took a lot of planning? This is not my actual thesis statement, but would this be a good idea to prove?

Answer 1

That is not a thesis statement because no one would dispute you about any of that.

A thesis statement must include factual information (which you already have) plus your position/opinion/stance. Without your position on the topic, it isn't a true thesis statement. So think of this sentence as the angle you want to take on the topic and what you intend to prove by the end of your paper. (If your statement is simply factual, then there's nothing to prove!)

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/thesistatement.html
This is one of the very best places I've seen online to help students write good thesis statements. It shows you sentences that aren't thesis statements and how to turn each one into real thesis statements.

Answer 2

Here's a really good website to get help researching and writing a paper:
http://www.ipl.org/div/aplus/

Click on Step by Step (toward the right) and follow their directions.