How to Write a
Thesis Statement
Guidelines for the Thesis
Challenged
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The Map

A thesis statement (TS) is a
guide map to your entire paper.
 It
provides a mini-summary of the
paper’s content.
 It allows the reader to know in
advance how the paper is
organized.
 It lets the reader know why he/she
should care. (The “So What?”)
Express Yourself

The thesis statement expresses the
main ideas of your paper and
previews the answer to the question
or questions posed by your paper.
What Can A TS Do For You?
Helps you start drafting.
 Helps keep you focused.
 Helps to narrow your subject to a
single, central idea.
 Serves as a point of reference if
changes occur.

Two Main Parts

A Thesis Statement generally
consists of two main parts
 Your
topic, and then the analysis,
explanation, or assertion, that you’re
making about the topic.
Two Main Parts

Topic
Part 1

Analysis

Explanation

Assertion
Part 2
To Do List
Make a concise assertion about your
topic.
 Limit the statement to only one idea.
 Make the assertion specific and
significant.

To Do List
At least imply your purpose.
 Unify the statement so that the parts
relate to each other.

A Thesis Statement
Gone Wrong
A Thesis Statement Gone Wrong
This new product brought in over
$30,000 last year.
This is a statement of fact without an
assertion.
 What’s the significance of the
product’s success. (The “So What?”)

A Thesis Statement Gone Wrong
Before: This new product brought in
over $30,000 last year.
 After: This product succeeded
because of its innovative marketing
campaign, including widespread
press coverage, in-store
entertainment, and a consumer
newsletter.

General
Examples
of Award
Winning
Thesis
Statements
General Examples
Show that essay’s purpose is to
explain.
 Show essay’s organization.
 Show that essay’s purpose is to
persuade.

Purpose to Explain

The following examples of thesis
statements announce that the essays’
purposes are mainly to explain about
their subjects.
Pecking Order in an Office

Two months working in a large
government agency taught me that an
office’s pecking order should be
respected.
Topic: Office’s
pecking order
Assertion:
Should be
respected
Web Distribution of Music

Because artists can now publish their
music directly via the Web,
consumers have many more choices
than traditional distribution allows.
Topic:
Consumers
Assertion: Have
many more
choices
What Public Relations Does

Although most of us are unaware of
the public relations campaigns
directed at us, they can significantly
affect the way we think and live.
Topic: Public
relations
campaigns
Assertion: Affect
the way we think
and live
Organization

The following example on preventing
juvenile crime clearly predicts the
organization of the essay.
Preventing Juvenile Crime

Juveniles can be diverted from crime
by active learning programs, full-time
sports, and intervention by mentors
and role models.
Topic: Juveniles
Assertion: Can
be diverted from
crime in three
ways
Persuasion

The following example on federal aid
to college students announces that
the essay’s main purpose is to
convince the reader of something.
Federal Aid to College Students

To compete well in the global
economy, the United States must
make higher education affordable for
any student who qualifies
academically.
Topic: Affordable
education
Assertion: Must be
made available to
any qualified student
in the U.S.
Checklist Questions
Checklist Questions
Does the statement make a concise
assertion about your topic?
 Is the assertion limited to only one
idea?
 Is the assertion specific and
significant?

Checklist Questions
Does the statement at least imply
your purpose?
 Is the statement unified so that the
parts relate to each other?

Specific
Examples
of Thesis
Statement
Types
Three Specific Types of Thesis
Statements
Analytical
 Expository (Explanatory)
 Argumentative

Three Specific Types of Thesis
Statements

Analytical
 Compare/Contrast
essays
Analysis Essay

In an analytical paper, you are
breaking down an issue or an idea
into its component parts, evaluating
the issue or idea, and presenting this
breakdown and evaluation to your
reader.
Analysis Essay

An analytical thesis statement will
explain:
 What
you are analyzing.
 The parts of your analysis.
 The order in which you will be
presenting your analysis.
Analysis Questions
What did I analyze?
 What did I discover in my analysis?
 How can I categorize my discoveries?
 In what order should I present my
discoveries?

Analysis-Example

An analysis of barn owl flight behavior
reveals two kinds of flight patterns:
patterns related to hunting prey and
patterns related to courtship.
Analysis-Example

A reader could expect that the paper
will provide an explanation of the
analysis of barn owl flight behavior,
and then an explanation of the two
kinds of flight patterns.
Three Specific Types of Thesis
Statements

Expository (Explanatory)
 Illustrative
essays
 Explicative essays
 Descriptive essays
Explanation Essay

In an expository paper, you are
explaining something to your reader.
Explanation Essay

An expository (explanatory) thesis
statement will tell your audience:
 What
you are going to explain to them.
 The categories your are using to
organize your explanation.
 The order in which you will be
presenting your categories.
Explanation Questions
What am I trying to explain?
 How can I categorize my explanation
into different parts?
 In what order should I present the
different parts of my explanation?

Explanation-Example

The lifestyles of barn owls include
hunting for insects and animals,
building nests, and raising their
young.
Explanation-Example

A reader could expect that the paper
will explain how owls hunt for insects
and animals, build nests, and raise
their young.
Three Specific Types of Thesis
Statements

Argumentative
 Persuasive
essays
 Argumentative essays
 Cause/Effect essays
Argumentation Essay

In an argumentative paper, you are
making a claim about a topic and
justifying this claim with reasons and
evidence.
Argumentation Essay

This claim could be an opinion, a
policy proposal, an evaluation, a
cause-and-effect statement, or an
interpretation.
Argumentation Essay

This claim must be one that someone
could possibly disagree with because
the goal of the paper is to convince
the reader that your claim is true
based on your presentation of your
reasons and evidence.
Argumentation Questions
What is my claim or assertion?
 What are the reasons I have to
support my claim or assertion?
 In what order should I present my
reasons?

Argumentation—Example

Barn owls’ nests should not be
eliminated from barns because barn
owls help farmers by eliminating
insect and rodent pests.
Argumentation—Example

A reader could expect that the paper
will present an argument and
evidence that farmers should not get
rid of barn owls when they find them
nesting in their barns.
Review Checklist
Checklist Questions
Does the statement make a concise
assertion about your topic?
 Is the assertion limited to only one
idea?
 Is the assertion specific and
significant?

Checklist Questions
Does the statement at least imply
your purpose?
 Is the statement unified so that the
parts relate to each other?

Works Cited
Works Cited
Most of the information provided in these
slides was plucked (either word-for-word
or paraphrased) from Purdue
University’s Online Writing Lab.
 Visit the website for more information:

 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print
Works Cited
Most of the information provided in these
slides was plucked (either word-for-word
or paraphrased) from The Little Brown
Handbook, 8th ed. Instructor’s Annotated
Edition.
 Author’s: H. Ramsey Fowler, Jane E.
Aaron, and Janice Okoomian
 Visit the website for more information:

 http://www.awl.com/littlebrown