Thesis statement

The thesis statement, usually found at the end of the first paragraph of an essay or similar document, summarizes the main points and arguments of the author. Usually no more than three or four sentences long, the function of a thesis statement is to introduce the reader to the purpose of the document and outline the major topics that will be covered to achieve that purpose. Authors typically present any set-up or necessary introductory information in the sentences preceding the thesis statement.
A thesis statement:

tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not

the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.

makes a claim that others might dispute. 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. If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.) How Do I Get A Thesis? A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a "working thesis," a basic or main idea, an argument that you think you can support with evidence but that may need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming. How Do I Know If My Thesis Is Strong? If there's time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following:

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 o.k. 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. Examples Suppose you are taking a course on 19th-century America, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: Compare and contrast the reasons why the North and South fought the Civil War. You turn on the computer and type out the following: The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different. This weak thesis restates the question without providing any additional information. You will expand on this new information in the body of the essay, but it is important that the reader know where you are heading. A reader of this weak thesis might think, "What reasons? How are they the same? How are they different?" Ask yourself these same questions and begin to compare Northern and Southern attitudes (perhaps you first think, "The South believed slavery was right, and the North thought slavery was wrong"). Now, push your comparison toward an interpretationwhy did one side think slavery was right and the other side think it was wrong? You look again at the evidence, and you decide that you are going to argue that the North believed slavery was immoral while the South believed it upheld the Southern way of life. You write: While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions. Now you have a working thesis! Included in this working thesis is a reason for the war and some idea of how the two sides disagreed over this reason. As you write the essay, you will probably begin to characterize these differences more precisely, and your working thesis may start to seem too vague. Maybe you decide that both

sides fought for moral reasons, and that they just focused on different moral issues. You end up revising the working thesis into a final thesis that really captures the argument in your paper: While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government. Compare this to the original weak thesis. This final thesis presents a way of interpreting evidence that illuminates the significance of the question. Keep in mind that this is one of many possible interpretations of the Civil Warit is not the one and only right answer to the question. There isn't one right answer; there are only strong and weak thesis statements and strong and weak uses of evidence. Let's look at another example. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn. "This will be easy," you think. "I loved Huckleberry Finn!" You grab a pad of paper and write: Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel. Why is this thesis weak? Think about what the reader would expect from the essay that follows: you will most likely provide a general, appreciative summary of Twain's novel. The question did not ask you to summarize; it asked you to analyze. Your professor is probably not interested in your opinion of the novel; instead, she wants you to think about whyit's such a great novelwhat do Huck's adventures tell us about life, about America, about coming of age, about race relations, etc.? First, the question asks you to pick an aspect of the novel that you think is important to its structure or meaningfor example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write: In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore. Here's a working thesis with potential: you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation; however, it's still not clear what your analysis will reveal. Your reader is intrigued, but is still thinking, "So what? What's the point of this contrast? What does it signify?" Perhaps you are not sure yet, either. That's finebegin to work on comparing scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck's actions and reactions. Eventually you will be able to clarify for yourself, and then for the reader, why this contrast matters. After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write: Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society and go back to nature. This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

What a Thesis Is Not a Title A title can often give the reader some notion of what the thesis is going to be, but it is not the thesis itself. The thesis itself, as presented in the thesis statement, does not suggest the main idea-it is the main idea. Remember, too, that a thesis statement will always be a complex sentence; there is no other way to make a statement. TITLE: NOT A THESIS Home and Schools THESIS STATEMENT Parents ought to participate more in the

education of their children. James Cagney: Hollywood Great Inflation and Old Age James Cagney was one of the greatest actors ever to appear in movies. Continuing inflation makes it almost impossible to plan intelligently for one's retirement. My first visit to the zoo was a shattering experience. Too many people get divorced for trivial reasons.

A Shattering Experience The Fad of Divorce

Not an Announcement of the Subject A thesis takes a stand. It expresses an attitude toward the subject. It is not the subject itself. ANNOUNCEMENT: NOT A THESIS THESIS STATEMENT

I want to share some thoughts with you about Our space program is a waste of money. our space program. The many unforeseen problems I encountered when I went camping are the topic of this theme. I encountered many unforeseen problems when I went camping.

This paper will attempt to tell you something The Grand Canyon was even more about the emotions I felt on viewing the magnificent that I had imagined. Grand Canyon. The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of solving our environmental problems. Not a Statement of Absolute Fact A thesis makes a judgment of interpretation. There's no way to spend a whole paper supporting a statement that needs to support. FACT: NOT A THESIS Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than many environmentalists believe.

Jane Austin is the author if Pride and Prejudice. The capitol of California is Sacramento. Suicide is the deliberate taking of one's own life. President Lincoln's first name was Abraham. The planet closest to the sun is Mercury. What a Good Thesis Is

It's possible to have a one-sentence statement of an idea and still not have a thesis that can be supported effectively. What characterizes a good thesis? A good thesis is restricted. In certain respects, devising a thesis statement as you plan your paper can sometimes be a way in itself of limiting, or restricting, your subject even further. A paper supporting the thesis that Professor X is incompetent, besides taking a stand on its subject, has far less territory to cover than a paper on Professor X in general. Thesis statements themselves, however, may not always have been sufficiently narrowed down. A good thesis deals with restricted, bite-size issues rather than issues that would require a lifetime to discuss intelligently. The more restricted the thesis, the better the chances are for supporting it fully. POOR The world is in a terrible mess. BETTER Trade barriers contribute to international

tensions. People are too selfish. The American steel industry has problems. Human selfishness is seen at its worst during rush hour. The worst problem of the American steel industry is lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment. Our courts should hand out tougher sentences.

Crime must be stopped.

A good thesis is unified. The thesis expresses one major idea about its subject. The tight structural strength of your paper depends on its working to support that one idea. A good thesis may sometimes include a secondary idea if it is strictly subordinated to the major one, but without that subordination the writer will have too many important ideas to handle, and the structure of the paper will suffer. POOR Detective stories are not a high form of literature, but people have always been fascinated by them, and many fine writers have experimented with them. BETTER Detective stories appeal to the basic human desire for thrills.

The new health program is excellent, but it The new health program should be run only has several drawbacks, and it should be run on experimental basis for two or three years. only on experimental basis for two or three years. OR Despite its general excellence, the new health program should be run only on an experimental basis for two or three years. The Columbus Cavaliers have trouble at the The Columbus Cavaliers should be able to defensive end and linebacker positions, and make the play-offs. front- office tensions don't help, but the team should be able to make the play-offs. OR Even granting a few troubles, the Columbus Cavaliers should be able to make the playoffs. A good thesis is specific. A satisfactorily restricted and unified thesis may be useless if the idea it commits you to is too vague. "The new World Trade Center is impressive," for example, could mean anything from impressively beautiful to impressively ugly. With a thesis statement like "Hemingway's war stories are very good," you would probably have to spend so many words defining what on earth "good" means that there would be no room for anything else. Even when there's no likelihood of conclusion, vague ideas normally come through as so familiar or dull or universally accepted that the reader sees no point in paying attention to them. POOR The World Trade Center is impressive. Hemingway's war stories are very good. Drug addiction is a big problem. BETTER The World Trade Center is a monument to human folly. Hemingway's war stories helped create a new prose style. Drug addiction has caused a dramatic increase in crimes of violence.

Our vacation was a tremendous experience. Our vacation enabled us to learn the true meaning of sharing. My parents are wonderful people. Everything my parents do is based on their loving concern for the welfare of the family.

Thesis Statement Exercises

Complete the following exercise to practice drafting effective thesis statements / governing claims: Part One: Analysis of problematic thesis statements 1) What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective? In this essay I will try to prove that drugs such as Prozac and Paxil are unnecessary and probably dangerous."

Show Answer?

2) What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective? "In his novel The Long Walk, it seems as if Stephen King is attempting to make a statement about the evils of laissez-faire capitalism, and in my opinion the characters and settings reflected this well."

Show Answer? This thesis has two main problems: lack of specific evidence and too much hedging. The author should reference specific aspects of the book which suggest this interpretation in order to make a stronger and more acceptable claim. Additionally, the use of it seems and in my opinion weaken the claim by showing that the author may not believe his or her own words on this subject. A better thesis might be Stephen Kings The Long Walk exemplifies the evils of laissez-faire capitalism through its depiction of the main characters competition amongst themselves, alienation from each other, and exploitation by commercial media. 3) What is wrong with this thesis? How could you revise it? "The Great Gatsby is inarguably the best-written novel of the last 100 years, leaving millions of readers with either a renewed or disenchanted view of the American Dream.

Show Answer? While The Great Gatsby does thematically allude to the American Dream, this is a swashbuckling thesis which makes too grand of a statement to be effectively supported in simply one essay, or even in one book. The author should specify under what context he or she is judging The Great Gatsbyu> (American novels? 20th-century novels across the world? 20th-century Western novels?) and refer to the main reasoning behind this assertion (Is it the strength of the thematic elements? The descriptive prose? The witty dialogue?). In other words, the author has not established the HOW (context) and WHY (reasoning) of the thesis. A better version of this thesis might state The Great Gatsby is widely regarded one of the best 20th-century American novels due to its rich symbolism: success, knowledge, corruption and alienation are but a few of the themes explored in Fitzgeralds novel, but together they form a meaningful commentary on living the American Dream. 4) What is wrong with this thesis? How would you revise it?

The cost of a college education is rising sharply.

Show Answer? This is statement cannot act as a thesis because it does not answer a question or make an arguable claim. It cannot be disputed that college education is generally becoming more expensive, but the reader will ask so what? This statement can act as evidence to support a governing claim, but the governing claim should address a larger question which requires multiple pieces of evidence to support it. A more expansive thesis might something like: While a college education is meant to be a gateway for any citizen to achieve success through hard work, the rising cost of college tuition along with more difficult loan-application processes have made attending college more and more a socioeconomic class-based activity. 5) Should you always perfect your thesis before writing the rest of your paper?

Show Answer? Not necessarily; in fact, you should have a fair amount of research and perhaps some analytical writing completed before attempting to refine your thesis. Because the thesis also acts as a governing claim to your paper, mapping out the main points of your argument, you will want to have a thorough concept of what your entire argument will be before condensing it into a thesis statement. Additionally, trying to create a thesis simply from a question or preconceptions about a topic may tempt you to overlook any evidence which refutes that thesis while in the writing process. For step-by-step instructions on how to form a thesis after writing the body of your paper, see The Thesis Statement: Where to End, Not Begin. Part II: Practice Revising Thesis Statements 6) Revise this thesis to make the language more precise. "The two films are different. One focuses on two women who are close friends and the other focuses on two male friends who are really just buddies."

Show Answer? The two films differ greatly, because one focuses on close friendship between two women whereas the other focuses on a more casual friendship between two men. 7) Revise this thesis statement to make the claim more specific: In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson symbolizes English upper and lower-class society.

Show Answer? In T

Thesis Statement Exercises

Complete the following exercise to practice drafting effective thesis statements / governing claims:

Part One: Analysis of problematic thesis statements 1) What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective? In this essay I will try to prove that drugs such as Prozac and Paxil are unnecessary and probably dangerous."

Show Answer? Writing in this essay I will prove x does not express how or why you are making your argument, so it should be avoided whenever possible. A better form of this thesis would refer to the main reasoning behind the claim, allowing the reader to predict how the paper will unfold. For example, Because of the inconclusive evidence for the usefulness of drugs such as Prozac or Paxil to treat depression, their widespread usage should be more carefully scrutinized would be a more specific thesis which better outlines the papers argument. 2) What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective? "In his novel The Long Walk, it seems as if Stephen King is attempting to make a statement about the evils of laissez-faire capitalism, and in my opinion the characters and settings reflected this well."

Show Answer? This thesis has two main problems: lack of specific evidence and too much hedging. The author should reference specific aspects of the book which suggest this interpretation in order to make a stronger and more acceptable claim. Additionally, the use of it seems and in my opinion weaken the claim by showing that the author may not believe his or her own words on this subject. A better thesis might be Stephen Kings The Long Walk exemplifies the evils of laissez-faire capitalism through its depiction of the main characters competition amongst themselves, alienation from each other, and exploitation by commercial media. 3) What is wrong with this thesis? How could you revise it? "The Great Gatsby is inarguably the best-written novel of the last 100 years, leaving millions of readers with either a renewed or disenchanted view of the American Dream.

Show Answer? While The Great Gatsby does thematically allude to the American Dream, this is a swashbuckling thesis which makes too grand of a statement to be effectively supported in simply one essay, or even in one book. The author should specify under what context he or she is judging The Great Gatsby (American novels? 20th-century novels across the world? 20th-century Western novels?) and refer to the main reasoning behind this assertion (Is it the strength of the thematic elements? The descriptive prose? The witty dialogue?). In other words, the author has not established the HOW (context) and WHY (reasoning) of the thesis. A better version of this thesis might state The Great Gatsby is widely regarded one of the best 20th-century American novels due to its rich symbolism: success, knowledge, corruption and alienation are but a few of the themes explored in Fitzgeralds novel, but together they form a meaningful commentary on living the American Dream. 4) What is wrong with this thesis? How would you revise it? The cost of a college education is rising sharply.

Show Answer? This is statement cannot act as a thesis because it does not answer a question or make an arguable claim. It cannot be disputed that college education is generally becoming more expensive, but the reader will ask so what? This statement can act as evidence to support a governing claim, but the governing claim should address a larger question which requires multiple pieces of evidence to support it. A more expansive thesis might something like: While a college education is meant to be a gateway for any citizen to achieve success through hard work, the rising cost of college tuition along with more difficult loan-application processes have made attending college more and more a socioeconomic class-based activity. 5) Should you always perfect your thesis before writing the rest of your paper?

Show Answer? Not necessarily; in fact, you should have a fair amount of research and perhaps some analytical writing completed before attempting to refine your thesis. Because the thesis also acts as a governing claim to your paper, mapping out the main points of your argument, you will want to have a thorough concept of what your entire argument will be before condensing it into a thesis statement. Additionally, trying to create a thesis simply from a question or preconceptions about a topic may tempt you to overlook any evidence which refutes that thesis while in the writing process. For step-by-step instructions on how to form a thesis after writing the body of your paper, see The Thesis Statement: Where to End, Not Begin. Part II: Practice Revising Thesis Statements 6) Revise this thesis to make the language more precise. "The two films are different. One focuses on two women who are close friends and the other focuses on two male friends who are really just buddies."

Show Answer? The two films differ greatly, because one focuses on close friendship between two women wheras the other focuses on a more casual friendship between two men. 7) Revise this thesis statement to make the claim more specific: In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson symbolizes English upper and lower-class society.

Show Answer? In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson symbolizes the disparity between upper and lower-class society through the opposing physical and psychological characteristics of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.