About Thesis Statements A good thesis statement starts your paper out right because it defines your focus for the reader. If you are experiencing thesis statement difficulties, use the questions below to check what you’ve done. The three examples of thesis statements at the end might help you nail down the wording of yours. Checklist. Ask yourself: 1. Does the thesis statement do more than restate the topic or question? The thesis statement should present the results of the research. It is not a statement of fact, as in “Canada is a multicultural nation.” It is not a statement of intent: “This essay will examine the correlation between political instability and the occurrence of witch hunts in Early Modern Europe.” 2. Does the thesis statement reflect the restrictions that the essay will impose on the subject? This thesis statement does not tell the reader the restrictions imposed on the main point: “Work exploits people instead of freeing them.” Use the journalists’ questions (what, who, when, where, why, how) to put your topic into a context that you can discuss with some depth. For example, “The prosperity of investors in twentieth-­‐century Britain depended on the social conditions that maintained a large pool of labour willing to work for minimum wage.” 3. Is the thesis statement written clearly, so that it states the central idea of the essay? This thesis statement is imprecise and unclear: “It is hard to say what ever became of Quebec’s spirit; the issue has remained unresolved after years of debate.” This thesis statement indicates the writer’s agreement: “Quebec nationalism is not dead, it is merely dormant.” 4. Is the thesis statement brief, preferably in one and no more than two sentences? 5. Does the thesis statement present a proposition that can be supported with evidence? Avoid statements that are narrowly factual, overly subjective, illogical or sensational. For instance, this statement is too much to be proven in a single essay: “Einstein was the greatest physicist of all time. All of his theories were, and continue to be, foolproof.” It would be better to evaluate carefully one of Einstein’s theories, stressing its merits and indicating how it has stood the test of time. 6. Ask yourself “so what?” If you ask this of the thesis statement and nothing comes to mind, your thesis statement reveals nothing of significance, or its truth is too rapidly apparent. You want the reader to be intellectually responsive to the material that is covered and the meaning created. Things to Remember 1. A thesis statement is not a statement of fact. A successful thesis statement is one with which a reasonable person can disagree and even construct a counterargument to the thesis statement. That is, the statement is debatable. 2. The successful thesis statement reflects the scope and conditions of the assignment. A good thesis statement will give the reader a preview of what the rest of the paper will discuss. The size of the claim forecasts the length of the paper, and the claim itself gives the direction that the paper will take. In short, a successful thesis statement is focused. 3. The successful thesis statement reflects throughout engagement with the topic and reader. In short, a successful thesis statement is insightful. Three types of thesis statements 1. Position statement: In The Songs of Innocence and Experience, William Blake’s use of simple language masks his biting criticisms of eighteenth-­‐century social conditions in Britain. 2. Statement with roadmap: In The Songs of Innocence and Experience, William Blake embeds his criticisms of eighteenth-­‐century social conditions in Britain in deceptively simple language, everyday scenes, and religious allusions. 3. Argument thesis statement: Although in The Songs of Innocence and Experience, William Blake seems to be exploring childhood innocence, he is also promoting his own critical view of eighteenth-­‐century social conditions in Britain by using deceptively simple language, settings and symbols.