How to Write a Thesis Statement

What is a Thesis Statement?

Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an

essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or
analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis
statement.
Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?

 to test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two

 to better organize and develop your argument
 to provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument

In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you

think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores.
How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement?

Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll
down or select a link to a specific topic.

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned

Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced

to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment
into a specific question. For example, if your assignment is, “Write a
report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of
using computers in a fourth-grade class,” turn the request into a
question like, “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a
fourth-grade class?” After you’ve chosen the question your essay will
answer, compose one or two complete sentences answering that
question.

Q: “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-

grade class?”

A: “The potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class

are . . .”

OR

A: “Using computers in a fourth-grade class promises to improve . . .”

The answer to the question is the thesis statement for the essay.

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How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned

Even if your assignment doesn’t ask a specific question, your thesis

statement still needs to answer a question about the issue you’d like
to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question
you’d like to write about.

A good thesis statement will usually include the following four

attributes:

 take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree

 deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the
nature of the assignment
 express one main idea
 assert your conclusions about a subject

Let’s see how to generate a thesis statement for a social policy paper.

Brainstorm the topic.

Let’s say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by
changes in the dietary habits of Americans. You find that you are
interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume.

You start out with a thesis statement like this:

Sugar consumption.

This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a

general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you
want to say about sugar consumption.

Narrow the topic.

Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the
conclusion that elementary school children are consuming far more
sugar than is healthy.

You change your thesis to look like this:

Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children.

This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one
segment of the population: elementary school children. Furthermore, it
raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree,
because while most people might agree that children consume more
sugar than they used to, not everyone would agree on what should be
done or who should do it. You should note that this fragment is not a
thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions
on the topic.

Take a position on the topic.

After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what
you really want to say about this topic is that something should be
done to reduce the amount of sugar these children consume.

You revise your thesis statement to look like this:

More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices

available to elementary school children.
This statement asserts your position, but the terms more
attention and food and beverage choices are vague.

Use specific language.

You decide to explain what you mean about food and beverage
choices, so you write:

Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine

times the recommended daily allowance of sugar.

This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. It merely reports a

statistic instead of making an assertion.

Make an assertion based on clearly stated support.

You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this:

Because half of all American elementary school children consume

nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should
be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy
alternatives.

Notice how the thesis answers the question, “What should be done to
reduce sugar consumption by children, and who should do it?” When
you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific
question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your
ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new
insights.

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How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.

Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a

subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness,
you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to
evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:
There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb
Tea Supplement.

This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second,

the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague.

Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss

that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a
potential danger to customers.

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's

specific.
2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.

Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your

assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own
family as an example, you might come up with either of these two
thesis statements:

My family is an extended family.

This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your

reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will
probably stop reading.

While most American families would view consanguineal marriage as

a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my
own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an
extended family.

This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience

contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a
strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be
interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your
point.
3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.
Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If
your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might
confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:

Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and

Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.

This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide

whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages.
To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to
become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:

Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential,

companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer
both advertising and customer support.

This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related.
Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain
words like because, since, so, although, unless, and however.
4. A strong thesis statement is specific.

A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about,
and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For
example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you
might say:

World hunger has many causes and effects.

This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world

hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages.
Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to
identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like
this:

Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in

the infertile soil is rarely profitable.
This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a
more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific
causes for the existence of hunger.

Writing Tips: Thesis Statements

 Defining the Thesis Statement
 Questions to Ask When Formulating Your Thesis
Defining the Thesis Statement
What is a thesis statement?

Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The
argument(s) you make in your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures
your position on this main idea is what we call a thesis statement.

How long does it need to be?

A thesis statement focuses your ideas into one or two sentences. It should present the topic of
your paper and also make a comment about your position in relation to the topic. Your thesis
statement should tell your reader what the paper is about and also help guide your writing and
keep your argument focused.

Questions to Ask When Formulating Your Thesis

Where is your thesis statement?

You should provide a thesis early in your essay -- in the introduction, or in longer essays in the
second paragraph -- in order to establish your position and give your reader a sense of direction.

Tip: In order to write a successful thesis statement:

 Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper.
 Be as clear and as specific as possible; avoid vague words.
 Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my
paper is…”

Is your thesis statement specific?

Your thesis statement should be as clear and specific as possible. Normally you will continue to
refine your thesis as you revise your argument(s), so your thesis will evolve and gain definition
as you obtain a better sense of where your argument is taking you.

Tip: Check your thesis:

 Are there two large statements connected loosely by a coordinating conjunction (i.e.
"and," "but," "or," "for," "nor," "so," "yet")?
 Would a subordinating conjunction help (i.e. "through," "although," "because," "since") to
signal a relationship between the two sentences?
  Or do the two statements imply a fuzzy unfocused thesis?
 If so, settle on one single focus and then proceed with further development.

Is your thesis statement too general?

Your thesis should be limited to what can be accomplished in the specified number of pages.
Shape your topic so that you can get straight to the "meat" of it. Being specific in your paper will
be much more successful than writing about general things that do not say much. Don't settle for
three pages of just skimming the surface.

The opposite of a focused, narrow, crisp thesis is a broad, sprawling, superficial thesis. Compare
this original thesis (too general) with three possible revisions (more focused, each presenting a
different approach to the same topic):

 Original thesis:
 There are serious objections to today's horror movies.
 Revised theses:
 Because modern cinematic techniques have allowed filmmakers to get
more graphic, horror flicks have desensitized young American viewers to
violence.
 The pornographic violence in "bloodbath" slasher movies degrades both
men and women.
 Today's slasher movies fail to deliver the emotional catharsis that 1930s
horror films did.

Is your thesis statement clear?

Your thesis statement is no exception to your writing: it needs to be as clear as possible. By

being as clear as possible in your thesis statement, you will make sure that your reader
understands exactly what you mean.

Tip: In order to be as clear as possible in your writing:

 Unless you're writing a technical report, avoid technical language. Always avoid jargon,
unless you are confident your audience will be familiar with it.
 Avoid vague words such as "interesting,” "negative," "exciting,” "unusual," and "difficult."
 Avoid abstract words such as "society," “values,” or “culture.”

These words tell the reader next to nothing if you do not carefully explain what you mean by
them. Never assume that the meaning of a sentence is obvious. Check to see if you need to
define your terms (”socialism," "conventional," "commercialism," "society"), and then decide on
the most appropriate place to do so. Do not assume, for example, that you have the same
understanding of what “society” means as your reader. To avoid misunderstandings, be as
specific as possible.

Compare the original thesis (not specific and clear enough) with the revised version (much more
specific and clear):
  Original thesis: Although the timber wolf is a timid and gentle animal, it is being
systematically exterminated. [if it's so timid and gentle -- why is it being
exterminated?]
 Revised thesis: Although the timber wolf is actually a timid and gentle animal, it
is being systematically exterminated because people wrongfully believe it to be a
fierce and cold-blooded killer.

Does your thesis include a comment about your position on the issue at hand?

The thesis statement should do more than merely announce the topic; it must reveal what
position you will take in relation to that topic, how you plan to analyze/evaluate the subject or
the issue. In short, instead of merely stating a general fact or resorting to a simplistic pro/con
statement, you must decide what it is you have to say.

Tips:
 Avoid merely announcing the topic; your original and specific "angle" should be clear. In
this way you will tell your reader why your take on the issue matters.
 Original thesis: In this paper, I will discuss the relationship between fairy
tales and early childhood.
 Revised thesis: Not just empty stories for kids, fairy tales shed light on
the psychology of young children.
 Avoid making universal or pro/con judgments that oversimplify complex issues.
 Original thesis: We must save the whales.
 Revised thesis: Because our planet's health may depend upon biological
diversity, we should save the whales.
 When you make a (subjective) judgment call, specify and justify your reasoning. “Just
because” is not a good reason for an argument.
 Original thesis: Socialism is the best form of government for Kenya.
 Revised thesis: If the government takes over industry in Kenya, the
industry will become more efficient.
 Avoid merely reporting a fact. Say more than what is already proven fact. Go further with
your ideas. Otherwise… why would your point matter?
 Original thesis: Hoover's administration was rocked by scandal.
 Revised thesis: The many scandals of Hoover's administration revealed
basic problems with the Republican Party's nominating process.

Do not expect to come up with a fully formulated thesis statement before you have finished
writing the paper. The thesis will inevitably change as you revise and develop your ideas—and
that is ok! Start with a tentative thesis and revise as your paper develops.

Is your thesis statement original?

Avoid, avoid, avoid generic arguments and formula statements. They work well to get a rough
draft started, but will easily bore a reader. Keep revising until the thesis reflects your real ideas.

Tip: The point you make in the paper should matter:

 Be prepared to answer “So what?” about your thesis statement.
 Be prepared to explain why the point you are making is worthy of a paper. Why should
the reader read it?
Compare the following:

 Original thesis:
 There are advantages and disadvantages to using statistics. (a fill-in-the-
blank formula)
 Revised theses:
 Careful manipulation of data allows a researcher to use statistics to
support any claim she desires.
 In order to ensure accurate reporting, journalists must understand the real
significance of the statistics they report.
 Because advertisers consciously and unconsciously manipulate data, every
consumer should learn how to evaluate statistical claims.

Avoid formula and generic words. Search for concrete subjects and active verbs, revising as
many "to be" verbs as possible. A few suggestions below show how specific word choice
sharpens and clarifies your meaning.

 Original: “Society is...” [who is this "society" and what exactly is it doing?]
 Revised: "Men and women will learn how to...," "writers can generate...,"
"television addicts may chip away at...," "American educators must decide...,"
"taxpayers and legislators alike can help fix..."
 Original: "the media"
 Revised: "the new breed of television reporters," "advertisers," "hard-hitting
print journalists," "horror flicks," "TV movies of the week," "sitcoms," "national
public radio," "Top 40 bop-til-you-drop..."
 Original: "is, are, was, to be" or "to do, to make"
 Revised: any great action verb you can concoct: "to generate," "to demolish," "to
batter," "to revolt," "to discover," "to flip," "to signify," "to endure..."

Use your own words in thesis statements; avoid quoting. Crafting an original, insightful, and
memorable thesis makes a distinct impression on a reader. You will lose credibility as a writer if
you become only a mouthpiece or a copyist; you will gain credibility by grabbing the reader with
your own ideas and words.

A well-crafted thesis statement reflects well-crafted ideas. It signals a writer who has
intelligence, commitment, and enthusiasm.

Thesis Statement Examples

High SchoolCollege

A thesis statement is one sentence that expresses the main idea of a research paper or essay, such as
an expository essay or argumentative essay. It makes a claim, directly answering a question.
As you can see in the thesis statement examples below, you must be very specific, summarizing
points that are about to be made in your paper, and supported by specific evidence. Generally, your
thesis statement can be the last line of the first paragraph in your research paper or essay.

Thesis Statement: Bad vs. Good

It's worth reiterating that a strong thesis statement is specific. If you find yourself using general
words like "good," then you're not digging deep enough.
For example, saying "European travel is a good way to spend your summer," is not specific enough.
Why is European travel good? Further examine the heart of your topic and focus on very specific
areas of European travel that you can realistically cover and support with solid evidence.
"Solo European travel requires independence which, in the end, bolsters personal confidence." This
is much more specific and targeted. Now, you can hone in your research on solo travel through
Europe, the need for independence, and its positive effect on personal confidence.
Here are six more thesis statement examples for you to consider:
 Bad: Everyone should exercise.
- Why should I? What's in it for me?
Good: Americans should add exercise to their daily morning routine because it not only keeps
their bodies at a healthy weight but also reduces the risk of high blood pressure.
- Here, we've made several specifications i.e. Americans (not everyone), the morning routine
(not the evening), weight maintenance, and high blood pressure prevention. Your research
actually becomes easier when you have very specific objectives.
 Bad: High levels of alcohol consumption are bad for you.
- This is too broad. What are the specific detriments of alcohol consumption that you would like
to discuss?
Good: High levels of alcohol consumption have detrimental effects on your personal health,
such as weight gain, heart disease, and liver complications.
- Notice we got very specific in our reasons why. In your thesis statement, you don't need to
state every single detriment you're going to lay out (in fact, you shouldn't as it will risk
becoming a run-on sentence) but you can point to the main areas you will explore.
 Bad: Reading can develop a child's analytical mind.
- Words like "can," aren't strong enough. This thesis statement begs the question of how? If
you're about to write several paragraphs (or pages) about a topic make sure you can confidently
defend every point you make.
Good: Reading develops a child's mind by fostering comprehension skills, increasing
vocabulary, and exposing them to new worlds they might not otherwise encounter.
- Now, we've not just stated that reading is good, we've provided a sampling of all the benefits
we're about to bring to light in our paper.
 Bad: All retirees should relocate to Florida.
- Your research paper or essay will need to delve into numerous supporting claims. This broad
thesis statement runs the risk of allowing you to go off on several tangents.
Good: Retirees should relocate to Florida, where 75% of Americans choose to settle, because
you will afford yourself the opportunity to develop a wide array of friendships.
- From here, you can introduce a paragraph on the importance of friendship and then cite studies
or testimonials describing how people can discover these important new relationships.
 Bad: The internet has improved the lives of many.
- Again, while readers may agree with this and your statement may be true, how has the internet
improved people's lives? Also, you should run your thesis statement past the "What's in it for
me?" test. Why should readers care?
Good: The internet serves as a means of expediently connecting people across the globe,
fostering new friendships and an exchange of ideas that wouldn't have occurred prior to its
inception.
 - While the internet offers a host of benefits, we're choosing to hone in on its ability to foster
new friendships and exchange ideas. We'd also have to prove how this couldn't have happened
prior to the internet's inception - and that is good. The tighter your focus, the better your paper.
 Bad: Organ donors should be financially compensated.
- Why? What happens to them that causes you to take this stance?
Good: Given the grueling surgery and lifelong changes they endure, kidney donors should be
financially compensated for their act of self-sacrifice.
- There are many forms of living organ donation. As with any good thesis, you want to get as
specific as possible. Now, our stance is clear and the reader will understand that we're about to
describe the grueling process of kidney donation as well as any forthcoming lifestyle changes.

Finding Your Point of View

A good thesis statement is developed from the point of view of the reader. Be very careful you're not
developing a topic that is of interest to you alone. This is a harsh yet necessary question to ask
yourself: will my readers have any reason to care about what I'm writing?
In the example about European travel above, readers might be interested in travel around Europe but
will they be interested in solo travel, and greater independence and confidence? Hopefully, the
answer is yes. Just make sure you examine all viewpoints before investing your valuable time in a
well-written piece.
A thesis statement is powerful on two fronts. First, it allows the reader to get excited about what,
specifically, is coming their way. Second, it stands as the point of reference for your entire paper.
Think of it as a loving mother steering her children away from danger. Essay writers run the risk of
getting off track and wandering into thickly wooded forests of needless tangents. (This is also why
a well-planned outline is essential.) However, a solid thesis statement will help keep you in check.
Refer back to it and ask have you wandered off topic?

Always Be Specific
When searching for a new home, realtors will tell you there are three important factors: location,
location, and location. When developing your one-sentence thesis statement, it is important for you to
be: specific, specific, specific. Write your thesis statement once and then rewrite it again with greater
specificity.
Also, make sure your audience will want to learn these new facts and possibly embrace these new
opinions. Now, you have a compass for your entire paper, keeping you safely on course.