What is a thesis?

 A thesis is a complete sentence that demonstrates the
“take away value” of your writing.
 It answers the question readers may be asking
themselves: “So what?”
Answers to these questions will lead you to
the thesis or the main idea.

 Why will your readers care about your topic and
your writing?
 What do you want your readers to take away from
your writing?
 Why are you the best person to write about this topic
in this way at this time?
An effective thesis statement demands
proof or demonstration.

 It is never a question, but it is often the answer to a
question.
 “How does [x] work?”
 “What are the effects of [y]?”
 “How can my audience utilize [z]?”
A thesis statement . . .

 Uses specific, objective language
 Identifies the topic
 States your purpose, intention, or attitude toward the
topic
 May suggest the arrangement or organization of the
ideas to come
For an expository essay:

 Your purpose is almost certainly some variation on
“to inform.”
 Consider *specifically* what you plan to inform your
audience of.
 Consider who your ideal audience is.
 Consider why this information would be useful to
that audience.
For an expository essay:

 A good place to start is the formula below:
 “In this essay, I will explain [x] so that [y] can [z].”
Writers commonly revise their
thesis statements.

 Don’t expect to think of a perfect thesis at the
beginning.
 Plan to create a “working thesis” that you can use as
you revise your sloppy copy into a draft.
 A working thesis need not be elegant or formal; it
just needs to get you started.
Some examples of poor thesis
statements and revision:

 My instructor has an attendance policy.
 Today we will examine the attendance policy for English 2152
so that students in the course can avoid losing points on their
final grade.
 Some children show violent behavior.
 Conflict-resolution courses are intended to help prevent
violence in America’s schools, and here are some of the effects
researchers have identified in order to help teachers decide
whether or not this is a viable approach.
 Social networking sites such as Facebook can cause problems.
 In this essay we’ll look at the some of the effects caused by
Facebook so college students can decide how much of their lives
to put online.
Some strategies that can help you
create a working thesis:

 Reword the topic question into a statement.
 Use “I” statements. Writing from your own
viewpoint can help you figure out what you are
trying to say. If first person is not appropriate for
your audience, you can edit the wording later.
More Strategies

 Choose a sentence from the last paragraph of your
sloppy copy. Writers often figure out what they want
to say as they are writing.
 Choose any sentence from your sloppy copy that
meets the criteria. You just need something to get
you started; you can change your working thesis as
you write.
Remember that a thesis statement
helps to shape the rest of your paper.

 Different thesis statements lead to different papers.
 If you find that your paper does not match your
working thesis, you will need to change one to fit the
other.