The Thesis
Statement
What is it?
The “main idea”?
• Then how is it different from a title? An announcement? A
statement of fact?
Not a title, right?
• “Kenya’s many challenges” is not a thesis.
Not an announcement
• “My paper is about the many challenges facing Kenya today”
wouldn’t be a very good thesis.
Not a statement of fact, right?
• “Kenya’s capital is Nairobi” wouldn’t be a good thesis sentence
either.
• So if it’s not a statement of fact, a title, or an announcement,
what is it?
Thesis Definition
• One or two sentence distillation of the entire paper that is
argumentative (i.e., has a point of view), provides the main
idea of the paper, hints at the audience and the structure.
• (yes, that should be in your notes!)
That’s a lot!
• Indeed it is a lot for one sentence to do. That’s why many
thesis statements are long and complicated
compound/complex sentences with dependent clauses.
Rarely will you be able to write a thesis as a simple sentence.
Labor Intensive
• That’s also why the thesis is the most fussed-over, written and
re-written (and re-re-written) sentence of the whole paper.
It’s carrying a lot of baggage.
Break it down!
• Let’s break down our definition of a thesis and look at its
component parts (often known as analyzing).
“…distillation of the entire
paper…”
• Think Mark’s Mom’s gravy.
“…argumentative (i.e., has a point of
view),…”
• Hardest part of this to get. Even if the paper is not an
argument, the thesis does take a point of view. A long
established fact doesn’t NEED a thesis.
• In fact, let’s get rid of that troublesome term and just say that
it “has a point of view”
• Think about the “Duh Test”
“hook”
• This argumentative nature is sometimes called a “hook” or an
“organizing principle” It’s a way of looking at the information
you’ve collected.
• Gun control is an issue today. (not argumentative—my niece
would say “a-duh!”)
• Gun control is the single most divisive issue in American
politics today. (argumentative; has a point of view. A
reasonable person could disagree with me and say that it was
Obamacare, not gun control.)
• “People have different views about abortion.” (DOESN’T
have a point of view; my niece would say, “A-duh, Unckie
Mark”
• “Viewpoints regarding abortion tend to line up along
religious lines” (HAS a point of view; a reasonable person
could disagree with this thesis…they could state that views
line up along gender lines, or even region)
• “The abortion debate is heated.” (No POV. Kaitlyn says, “Aduh, Unkie Mark”)
• “The abortion debate in the United States is so passionate
because it involves a clash of our two most basic beliefs—
respect for life and self-determination” (HAS a POV…a
reasonable person could disagree and say that other aspects
of it—women’s right to control their own bodies is what
makes the debate so passionate.)
“….hints at the audience….”
• Think shorthand term. Don’t put your whole audience profile
in the thesis. That’ll make the thesis twenty pages long!
“…hints at . . .the structure…”
Sample Thesis Statements
• Look at the following and tell me whether or not they make
strong thesis statements. If they don’t make a strong thesis,
which one of our “rules” do they violate?
• My paper is about the Chicago Cubs.
• “The Chicago Cubs’ chances this year”
• The Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908.
• The Cubs are loved by many baseball fans, despite not having
won a championship in over one hundred years.
• The Cubs will be better this year.
• Long suffering Chicago baseball fans will be pleased to learn
that the Cubs will be better this year.
• Long suffering Chicago baseball fans will be pleased to learn
that the Cubs will be better this year because of the
maturation of key young players, some intriguing free agent
acquisitions, and because Rick Renteria will be more
comfortable as the team’s manager than was his predecessor,
Dale Sevum.
This is a lot of work!
• Isn’t there a way to make this easier?
What, like “Thesis Lite”?
• Maybe.
• Take out a pen and a clean sheet of paper.
1
• Write down a short hand expression for the every day, run of
the mill, not too bright people who know a LITTLE about
you’re the controversy over your topic (but not what you
know)
2
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pick one of the following terms
Think
Believe
Assert
Posit
Maintain
3
• Think of the common way #1 thinks about the controversy
surrounding your topic (not what you’ve come to think about
it since you’ve done all this research).
• Remember: stick to talking about controversy, not what to do
about it.
4
• Shorthand way of referring to those REALLY in the know about
your controversy.
5
• The controversy that you’re working on.
6
• Your slant on the controversy. Your hook, organizing principle
or POV
• Again, it’s important to remember: not what to do about it,
but about the nature of the controversy itself.
7
• Sub topic one
8
• Sub topic two
9
• Subtopic three.
10
• Apply Thesis-O-Matic
• Although most(1) (2) (3), (4) know that (5) is actually (6)
because of (7), (8), and (9).
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
Let’s break it down
Normal, everyday, run of the
mill knuckleheads
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
• (normal, everyday run of the mill knuckleheads)
What those knuckleheads
think
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
Shorthand expression for your
audience
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
Topic
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
• Topic
POV on Topic (argumentative)
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
• POV
Subtopic One
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
• Subtopic one
Subtopic Two
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
Subtopic Three
• Although most casual baseball fans believe the home run is
the best part of the game, true students of America’s
pastime know that the low scoring pitchers duel is actually
the most exciting contest in all of sports because of the
importance of the bullpen, the significance of team speed
and defense, and central role of managerial strategy plays in
determining the outcome.
• Although most (shorthand for every day, run of the mill
knuckleheads) (pick one:
think/believe/posit/maintain/assert) (common way of
thinking about your focused topic), (short hand and
complimentary way of referring to your audience) know that
(Focused Topic) is actually (your slant on things; your point of
view toward your topic argumentative attitude) because of
(sub topic one), (subtopic two), and (subtopic three).
Closer to our subject?
• Now, let’s try the same exercise, but this time we’ll use a
current events issue. Let’s use the HOPE Scholarship in
Georgia.
1. Shorthand….
• …expression for average, run-of-the-mill uninitiated folks
• We’ll use “Georgia voters”
2. Pick one of the following:
• Think, believe, posit, maintain, assert
• We’ll choose “assert” (I like assert—it’s positive)
3. Common way of thinking
about controversy
• We’ll choose, “more political hot air from the Golden Dome in
Atlanta…”
4. Complimentary way….
• …of referring to those in the know.
• We’ll use “savvy observers”
5. Focused topic
• That’s easy….
• We’re using “debate over changes in the HOPE scholarship”
6. Writer’s slant or POV
• Careful here! Don’t argue! Don’t tell us what to do about it;
just tell us about the controversy…
• We’ll use “is a collecting pool for everything that’s wrong with
education today”
• Notice I’m not saying “fully fund HOPE” or “don’t fully fund
HOPE” --that would be arguing. I’m just talking about the
controversy.
7-10 The three or four
subtopics….
7. Grade inflation in the high school system
8. Unequal educations across the state’s disparate educational
districts.
9. Race, wealth, and income.
10. Shrinking monetary support for public education.
Abracadabra, Alakazam!
• Apply thesis-o-matic and get….
• Although most Georgia voters assert the controversy over the
HOPE scholarship is simply more hot air from the Golden
Dome in Atlanta, savvy observers know that the controversy
forms a collecting pool of everything that’s wrong with
education today including: grade inflation, unequal access to
education, funding cuts, and even questions of race, wealth,
and income.
• Notice that this thesis talks about the nature of the
controversy itself, not what to do about it. That’s the
difference between arguing in the paper (which you’re not
supposed to do) and having a thesis with a POV (which you
are supposed to do).