Thesis Statements
The central focus of any essay
What is a Thesis Statement?
 A single, focused sentence that reveals
the argument or subject of your essay.
 Is usually somewhere in your first
paragraph, and presents your
argument to the reader. The rest of the
paper, the body of the essay, gathers
and organizes evidence that will
persuade the reader of the logic of
your interpretation.
 Your thesis statement should be
specific—it should cover only what
you will discuss in your paper and
should be supported with specific
evidence.
 Directly answers the question asked
of you. A thesis is an interpretation
of a question or subject, not the
subject itself. The subject, or topic,
of an essay might be World War II
or Moby Dick; a thesis must then
offer a way to understand the war
or the novel.
 Makes a claim that others might
dispute.
What is a Thesis Statement?
 A thesis acts as a rudder for your
essay. If the thesis is not clearly
developed or constantly
monitored, your essay will wander
off course.
 The thesis is as helpful to you (the
author) as it is to your audience. If
you have a clearly developed thesis,
your essay won’t get away from
you.
How do I create a thesis?
A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not
the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop
an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for
possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or
similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you
do this thinking, you will probably have a "working thesis," a basic or main
idea, an argument that you think you can support with evidence but that may
need adjustment along the way.
Steps toward Generating a Thesis
 Research, read, and think.
 Examine the essay prompt or assignment and begin formulating
thoughts based on that.
 Gather information from a variety of resources.
 Talk to others about your subject.
 Simply begin the thinking process and try to come to conclusions.
Steps toward Generating a Thesis
Determine what kind of paper you are writing:
 An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its
component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this
breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
 An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the
audience.
 An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies
this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a
policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an
interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince
the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
Analytical Essays:
Break down an issue or an idea into its component
parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
Example of an analytical thesis
statement:
The paper that follows
should:
 An analysis of the college
 Explain and evaluate the
admission process reveals one
challenge facing counselors:
accepting students with high test
scores or students with strong
extracurricular backgrounds.
college admission process
 Discuss the challenge facing
admissions counselors
Expository Essays:
Explains something to the audience.
Example of an expository
(explanatory) thesis statement:
The paper that follows
should:
 The life of the typical college
 explain how students spend
student is characterized by time
spent studying, attending class,
and socializing with peers.
their time studying,
attending class, and
socializing with peers
Argumentative Essays:
makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim
with specific evidence. The goal is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
Example of an argumentative
thesis statement:
The paper that follows
should:
 High school graduates should be
 Present an argument and
required to take a year off to
pursue community service
projects before entering college
in order to increase their
maturity and global awareness.
give evidence to support the
claim that students should
pursue community projects
before entering college
Other Tips for Creating A Thesis
If the essay topic is assigned, try this:
 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.
Other Tips for Creating A Thesis
Or try this:
 Write out the main idea from your paper (the point you want the
reader to get) in 25 or fewer words:
 Now answer these questions:
1.
What question is my assignment asking? How can I answer that question AND focus
on a small area of investigation?
2.
Can I sum up the main idea of my paper in a nutshell? Reduce to a sentence or two
the main idea that you wrote in 25 words.
3.
What "code words" (such as "relative freedom" or "lifestyles") does the draft of my
thesis statement contain? Are these words adequately explained? Sharpen your
language.
• After writing a draft, ask yourself: Have I supported the thesis, or
digressed? Where? How?
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
When reviewing your first draft and its working
thesis, ask yourself the following:
 Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after
constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that
misses the focus of the question.
 Does my thesis pass the "how and why?" test? If a reader's first response
is "how?" or "why?" your thesis may be too open-ended and lack
guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a
better take on your position right from the beginning.
 Do I anticipate counter-arguments and prepare for them?
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
 Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your
thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of
them has to change. It's okay to change your working thesis to reflect
things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper.
Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
 A thesis statement has one main point rather than several
main points. More than one point may be too difficult for
the reader to understand and the writer to support.
 More than one main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability
has not prevented him from becoming a world-renowned physicist,
and his book is the subject of a movie.
 One Main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not
prevented him from becoming a world renowned physicist.
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
Does my thesis take a definitive stand on an issue? The idea here is that your
thesis must clearly promote your conclusions about something, and it
should be debatable.
 A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a subject.
 Announcement:The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of solving
our environmental problems.
 Thesis: Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than
many environmentalists believe.
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis
simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with,
it's possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than
making an argument.
 A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or
an observation.
 Fact or observation: People use many lawn chemicals.
 Thesis: People are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely
to keep their lawns clean.
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
Is my thesis statement specific enough? Specificity will allow you to corral
your ideas into a framework. It will help you hone your topics to
very clear parameters, rather than trying to tackle a very large or
vague topic.
 A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general.
 Vague: Hemingway's war stories are very good.
 Specific: Hemingway's stories helped create a new prose style by
employing extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong AngloSaxon words.
How do I know if my thesis is strong?
Have I clarified my topic into measurable terms? Thesis statements that are
too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains
words like "good" or "successful," see if you could be more specific:
why is something "good"; what specifically makes something
"successful"? Does my thesis pass the "So what?" test? If a reader's first
response is, "So what?" then you need to clarify, to forge a
relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
 A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad. If the
thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully
supported.
 Broad: The American steel industry has many problems.
 Narrow: The primary problem if the American steel industry is the
lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.
Some sample thesis statements
Recognizing strong thesis statements will help you as you write
essays.
Sample Thesis #1
 Suppose you are taking a course on 19th-century America,
and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment:
Compare and contrast the reasons why the North and South
fought the Civil War.You turn on the computer and type out
the following:
 The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of
which were the same and some different.
Discuss the above thesis statement. What works? What doesn’t?
Sample Thesis #1
The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.
 The above thesis restates the question without providing any additional
information, making it a pretty weak statement. You will expand on this new
information in the body of the essay, but it is important that the reader
know where you are heading.
 A reader of this weak thesis might think, "What reasons? How are they the
same? How are they different?" Ask yourself these same questions and begin to
compare Northern and Southern attitudes (perhaps you first think, "The South
believed slavery was right, and the North thought slavery was wrong"). Now,
push your comparison toward an interpretation—why did one side think
slavery was right and the other side think it was wrong? You look again at the
evidence, and you decide that you are going to argue that the North believed
slavery was immoral while the South believed it upheld the Southern way of
life.You write:
 While both sides fought the CivilWar over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral
reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.
Discuss this new thesis. What makes it stronger than the previous one?
Sample Thesis #1
While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South
fought to preserve its own institutions.
 Now you have a working thesis! Included in this working thesis is a
reason for the war and some idea of how the two sides disagreed over
this reason. As you write the essay, you will probably begin to
characterize these differences more precisely, and your
working thesis may start to seem too vague. Maybe you decide
that both sides fought for moral reasons, and that they just focused on
different moral issues.You end up revising the working thesis into a final
thesis that really captures the argument in your paper:
 While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny
and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners
defended their own right to self-government.
 Compare this to the original weak thesis. This final thesis presents a way
of interpreting evidence that illuminates the significance of the question.
Discuss this final thesis. What makes it stronger than the previous one?
Sample Thesis #2
 Suppose your literature professor hands out the following
assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an
analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry
Finn. "This will be easy," you think. "I loved Huckleberry
Finn!" You grab a pad of paper and write:
 Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
Discuss this first thesis. What can be done to improve it?
Sample Thesis #2
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
 Why is this thesis weak? Think about what the reader would expect from
the essay that follows: you will most likely provide a general,
appreciative summary of Twain's novel. The question did not ask you to
summarize; it asked you to analyze.Your professor is probably not
interested in your opinion of the novel; instead, she wants you to think
about why it's such a great novel—what do Huck's adventures tell us
about life, about America, about coming of age, about race relations,
etc.? First, the question asks you to pick an aspect of the novel that you
think is important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of
storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or
the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:
 In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and
life on the shore.
Discuss this newer thesis. What makes it better than the first one?
Sample Thesis #2
In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.
 Here's a working thesis with potential: you have highlighted an important aspect
of the novel for investigation; however, it's still not clear what your analysis will
reveal.Your reader is intrigued, but is still thinking, "So what? What's the point
of this contrast? What does it signify?" Perhaps you are not sure yet, either.
That's fine—begin to work on comparing scenes from the book and see what
you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck's actions and reactions.
Eventually you will be able to clarify for yourself, and then for the reader, why
this contrast matters. After examining the evidence and considering your own
insights, you write:
 Through its contrasting river and shore scenes,Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to
find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society
and go back to nature.
 This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on
an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful,
you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince
the reader of your interpretation.
Discuss this newer thesis. What makes it better than the first one?
Sample Thesis #3
 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.
Discuss this thesis. How can it be improved?
Sample Thesis #3
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.
Discuss this thesis. What makes it stronger than the first draft?
Sample Thesis #3
Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.
 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.
 It gives you something to discuss, argue, and support.
Just for Kicks: Try an Online Thesis
Building Program
While they aren’t foolproof, they will help you see the process of generating a working thesis, which
you can hone and shape into something that is quite effective.
1.
Thesis Builder: http://www.ozline.com/electraguide/
Question E
 Reflection of society at the time.
The 1960’s was a decade riddled with a younger generation
trying create a new path for itself—a path that did not
include a typical family unit. In “Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been?” the reasons for the younger
generation’s rebellious behavior is clearly revealed through
Connie, who criticizes her entire family, desperately seeks
attention from others, and mimics stereotypical female
roles.
Question A
 How does literature reflect life?
 What common societal issues are presented in this story?
 What can be learned about human emotion when these issues
are presented?
 What can be learned about human interaction when these
issues are presented?
Question C
 Identity Struggle
 How does Connie struggle with her identity?
 Where do you see this struggle?
 What effects does this struggle have on her decisions?
Question D
 Stereotypes of women during the 1960s
 What are they?
 How does Connie fit into to those?
 Or does she fully fit into the stereotype?