Thesis Statements
What is a thesis statement?
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It is an organizing sentence that plans or forecasts the major topics to be treated in
the essay.
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It expresses and clarifies the writer’s point of view or perspective on a narrowly
defined topic.
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It is a statement of an essay’s central theme that makes clear the main idea, the
writer’s purpose, the focus of the topic, and perhaps the organized pattern.
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Is arguable; proves itself with specific, detailed evidence from the text.
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Is fact + idea
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Answers the question: What is the point of the essay?
How do I construct an effective thesis statement?
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Narrow the focus of your main ideas
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Look at your research. Is there enough research to support your narrowed topic?
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Each of your topic sentences should support your thesis.
--If any of your body paragraphs do not relate to your thesis, then you either
need to take it out, change it, or add that idea to your thesis statement.

Keep your thesis to one sentence.
--This ensures that your thesis is easy to understand, clear, and concise. This
ensures that your reader will not get confused about what your essay is about.

Make sure you have a fact plus an original idea.
--Your thesis should arguable. Your reader should be able to agree or disagree
with your statement. However, your thesis statement cannot be an
unsupportable personal opinion.

Have someone read your thesis statement and repeat to you, in their own words,
what your paper is about.
--If what the reader repeats back to you is not what you intended to write about,
then you have not stated you thesis clearly.
What does a good thesis statement look like?
Virginia Woolf creates a link between two seemingly unlike characters by subtly
revealing a common spirit, once alive and free, but now deadened and suppressed by
society’s demands.
In “Sonnet 42,” Shakespeare creates a paradox in which the usual roles of light and
darkness, wakefulness and sleep, and day and night are reversed in a surprising way to
convey the beauty of the person being described.
Exercise 1
Directions: In each thesis statement underline the part which is a fact and circle
the part that is the writer’s idea.
1. Although John Proctor is generally held to be the “hero” of
The Crucible, the town of Salem is actually the play’s protagonist.
2. Abigail Williams and John Proctor are well-matched antagonists because they are
emotional, rebellious, and stubborn; however, they are drastically different in how
they are affected by guilt.
3. Through John Proctor, Miller shows how hidden sin can not only destroy an
individual but also cause the downfall of a community.
4. The Crucible uses the Salem witchcraft trials to explore the conflict between
conscience and conformity.
5. John Proctor and Elizabeth Procter, while both affected by John’s guilt, react to the
guilt differently: John allows it to destroy his view of himself while taking his shame
and anger out on Elizabeth, but Elizabeth lies to the court in order to save John’s
name, ultimately showing her forgiveness and love for her husband.
Exercise 2
Directions: What is missing in each thesis statement? Determine whether the
thesis statement is missing a fact, an idea, or whether it is unsupportable.
1. John Proctor’s hidden sin caused the destruction of his community.
2. The Crucible is a great play.
3. The Crucible takes place during the Salem witchcraft trials.
4. McCarthyism influenced The Crucible.