The thesis statement of an essay identifies what the essay is about and why the subject of the essay is being discussed--its significance, importance, relevance, or value (SIRV). While the thesis usually comes at the end of the first paragraph of an essay, it may appear elsewhere in the essay. Sometimes students will begin an essay with just a thesis statement. The problem in doing this is that the thesis statement usually requires some background information be presented to help the reader understand the thesis. Some instructors may require students to underline the thesis statements in their essays, but the thesis statement should be easily recognizable by its role in stating the main idea of the essay, whether or not it is underlined.