Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement?

What is a thesis statement?  The thesis is your answer to the prompt, that also includes how you plan to support the answer in your essay.  The thesis is not a statement of fact, but a statement that tells the reader why you believe your answer is the best answer.  It is usually the last sentence of your introductory paragraph.  Your thesis should serve as a basic guide to the rest of your essay.



A thesis statement is the most important part of an essay. It must:
  1. answer the question or prompt to which the essay responds
  2. clearly state your argument: makes a claim that others might dispute.
  3. be the main idea of you essay: in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. It is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.
DO
- focus and direct the essay
– include the topic and your opinion about it
– include a statement (not a question)
– appear at the end of the introduction (usually, but may be anywhere within the introduction)
DO NOT 
- announce: "I'm going to talk about …"
personalizes: "I think …"  or " I believe…"
– ask questions   "Is English hard to learn?"

What makes a strong thesis?

  • Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question.
  • Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
  • Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”
  • Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is, “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
  • Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
  • Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Works consulted