Notes on Thesis Statements and Outlines 1
Notes on Thesis Statements and Outlines
Another strategy to develop your thesis statement
One approach to developing a thesis statement is to think of the thesis sentence as a subject and
a verb. Substitute the topic of your paper as the subject then use an action verb along with the
clarifying words to express your personal impression or opinion of the topic. Avoid using the
verb to be, am, is, are, was, were, unless used in conjunction with an action verb. Example to
avoid: is opposed.
Subject/Verb
Example 1:
School uniforms/ positively affect the learning climate of the school.
Topic-Subject
Personal impression or opinion-Verb
Example 2:
Genetically modified foods/ endanger humans and the environment.
Topic-Subject
Personal impression or opinion-Verb
Example 3:
Ernest Hemingway’s writings/ often mirror his infatuation with danger.
Topic-Subject
Personal impression or opinion-Verb
Be sure to complete your sentence with wording that expresses the viewpoint you are
taking. Action verbs that might be used in your thesis sentence include but are not limited to:
Advance
Advocate
Argue
Arise
Assert
Challenge
Change
Characterize
Claim
Clash
Confirm
Confront
Contend
Contest
Convince
Corroborate
Defend
Defy
Demonstrate
Denote
Develop
Dispute
Encourage
Endorse
Form
Indicate
Induce
Infer
Influence
Insist
Involve
Maintain
Make a case
Manipulate
Materialize
Oppose
Produce
Promote
Prove
Question
Rationalize
Reason
Reinforce
Result
Shape
Show
Signify
Substantiate
Suggest
Support
Sustain
Sway
Uphold
Use
Validate
Verify
Formulating a Thesis Statement
The thesis statement is a sophisticated, debatable opinion. It is one declarative sentence
that expresses a position on a limited topic. The writer’s task is to collect evidence
that proves and supports this statement. A good final thesis: should establish an
investigative, inventive argument and should point forward to the conclusion.
Note the following example for a research paper in a Literature class:
Topic: The scaffold as a structural and symbolic device in The Scarlet Letter
Thesis: The scaffold is a crucial symbol that develops structural and thematic elements of
The Scarlet Letter.
Notes on Thesis Statements and Outlines 2
Organizing and Outlining Research Papers
Organization will greatly improve your essay, and it is imperative that you are organized and
categorized as you do your research. Outlines can be very helpful.
# 1> Deciding categories to be discussed in your paper
You should have already begun to think about this step by making a list of categories or traits
that interest you about your topic. Now is the time to solidify this list- meaning decide on the
exact issues you will be looking at. As you research, each of your facts should fit into one of your
categories. As you “think in categories”, the process of researching will become far less
overwhelming.
#2> Informal Outlining
After you have gathered some ideas for a paper, it is a good idea to jot down an informal outline.
This will help you determine not only if you have enough information to write a paper but what
order you would like to use in writing the ideas into your paper.
Begin by writing the tentative point, or thesis statement, of your paper. Then, referring to any
notes you have made, list the ideas you plan to use in proving your thesis. You may not want to
include all your ideas in the paper, so your outline can help you determine which ideas to keep.
Look at the following as an example:
Tentative Thesis: Stricter gun control is a must in our society today.
 Guns too easy to obtain
 Handgun licensing needed
 Kids fear being shot
 Teens kill with guns 97% of the time
 Owning guns decrease safety
 Second Amendment refers to militia
Developing an informal outline takes very little time. Just remember that an informal outline is
a way to organize your writing in the earliest stage, but it should be viewed as a work in progress
and, therefore, subject to change.
#3> Formal Outlining
Formal outlines can help you organize a rough draft, and they are often used in business as well as
academic settings. For a formal outline, you will need to meet the following guidelines:
1. Begin with the thesis statement
2. Use parallel grammatical structure for each level (sentences, prepositional phrases, verbals,
etc…)
3. Use complete sentences
4. Each level must have 2 entries-if there is an A, there must be a B; if there is a 1, there must be
a 2.
See below for an example of a Formal Outline:
Thesis: The call for stricter gun control policies is a must in our society today.
I.
Guns are one of the leading causes of violence in the United States today.
A. Guns are too easily for any reason, by any person.
1. The United States is one of the easiest countries in which to purchase firearms.
a. In 24 states, anyone who is 18 or older can walk into a store, fill out a
form, and leave with a gun.
Notes on Thesis Statements and Outlines 3
b. The Brady Bill has not gone far enough.
2. The United States has an estimated 211 million firearms in circulation.
a. Of these, 70 million are handguns
b. One in every two households contains a gun.
B. Gun violence occurs in our streets, schoolyards, and workplaces.
II. Laws should be passed, requiring gun owners to be licensed in the same way car drivers are
licensed.
A. Obtaining a license would require a background check, fingerprinting, and passing a
firearms training course.
B. Gun purchases should be limited to one a month.
C. Stiff penalties should be enacted for stealing a gun.
D. Gun dealers should also be licensed.
1. They should be required to have background checks.
2. They should pay an annual fee of $3000 to operate a gun business.
III. Young children and teens are desensitized to our gun culture.
A. In some neighborhoods, many of the children expect to die violently, probably by
gunshot.
B. Even though we live in the world’s richest, strongest, freest nation, our children do
not have the freedom to believe that one day they will be adults.
IV. People are afraid that everyone else has a gun, so they buy one themselves, for protection.
A. Guns in the home are five times more likely to kill a resident of the home than an
intruder in the home.
B. Having a gun in the home makes the home less safe, not more safe.
V. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is used to support gun control
opponents.
A. This Amendment does not guarantee everyone the right to bear arms.
B. The Supreme Court has ruled that this Amendment guarantees that states have the
right to organize militias.
VI. The National Rifle Association is one f the richest, most powerful lobbies in the country.
A. The NRA asserts that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.”
B. The NRA claims that gun laws will take guns from law abiding citizens and leave guns
in the hands of criminals.
1. This is a scare tactic because no legislation has been proposed to take guns
from serious hunters.
2. Anyone who has a handgun in the home is a potential criminal because, if a
child gets the gun and hurts or even kills someone, the parent(s) should be held
responsible.
VII. Owning a gun is no longer a necessity for feeding and protecting citizens, and uncontrolled
gun sales have led us to even less safety, as a result. Therefore, stricter gun control laws are
essential to the development of a society less frustrated by the fear of gun violence.
Sample Formal Outline from Ken University
Writing Center-Handout #16
A formal outline must be typed.
Each Roman numeral represents a section of your paper, most likely one of the categories listed in #1. In
other words, each Roman numeral does not necessarily mean one paragraph. Some may develop to two
or even three paragraphs.