Political Science/JSIS/LSJ Writing Center Guide to Writing Thesis Statements Back to Helpful Handouts o Writing Center Home Page Show
Your thesis statement is the central argument of your essay. It must be concise and well-written.
The key difference between an opinion statement and thesis statement is that a thesis conveys to the reader that the claim being offered has been thoroughly explored and is defendable by evidence. It answers the "what" question (what is the argument?) and it gives the reader a clue as to the "why" question (why is this argument the most persuasive?). Examples of good thesis statements:
1. Thesis statements must make a claim or argument. They are not statements of fact. Statement of fact: "A candidates ability to afford television advertising can have an impact on the outcome of Congressional elections." This is essentially an indisputable point and therefore, not a thesis statement.Similarly, the claim "The United Nations was established to promote diplomacy between major powers." is not likely to inspire much debate. 2. Thesis statements are not merely opinion statements. Statement of opinion:"Congressional elections are simply the result of who has the most money." This statement does make a claim, but in this format it is too much of an opinion and not enough of an argument.Similarly, "The United Nations is incapable of preventing war" is closer to a thesis statement than the factual statement above because it raises a point that is debatable. But in this format, it doesn't offer the reader much information; it sounds like the author is simply stating a viewpoint that may or may not be substantiated by evidence. In conclusion, your thesis should make clear what your argument is; it should also provide the reader with some indication of why your argument is persuasive. For example: In the congressional elections example, why is money important (and whose money? The candidates'? Corporations'? Special interests'?), are other factors irrelevant (the candidates' views on the issues?) and for which types of elections is this true (is your argument equally true for Senatorial elections and elections for the House of Representatives? Why or why not?)? In the other example, you will need to think about why the United Nations is not capable of preventing war. Your thesis should indicate that you have an understanding of the relevant historical circumstances and that you are aware of alternative explanations. Of course, one can re-work a thesis statement indefinitely and one can almost always find something at fault with it. The point is that you must be sure that your thesis statement is indicating to your reader that you have an argument to make. Back to handouts How to Write a Thesis StatementWhat is a Thesis Statement?Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement. Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?
In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores. How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement?Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic. How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is AssignedAlmost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. For example, if your assignment is, “Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class,” turn the request into a question like, “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” After you’ve chosen the question your essay will answer, compose one or two complete sentences answering that question.
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The answer to the question is the thesis statement for the essay. [Back to top] How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not AssignedEven if your assignment doesn’t ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue you’d like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question you’d like to write about. A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:
Let’s see how to generate a thesis statement for a social policy paper. Brainstorm the topic. You start out with a thesis statement like this:
This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you want to say about sugar consumption. Narrow the topic. You change your thesis to look like this:
This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one segment of the population: elementary school children. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree, because while most people might agree that children consume more sugar than they used to, not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. You should note that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions on the topic. Take a position on the topic. You revise your thesis statement to look like this:
This statement asserts your position, but the terms more attention and food and beverage choices are vague. Use specific language.
This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. It merely reports a statistic instead of making an assertion. Make an assertion based
on clearly stated support.
Notice how the thesis answers the question, “What should be done to reduce sugar consumption by children, and who should do it?” When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights. [Back to top] How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:
This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague.
This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific. 2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements:
This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.
This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point. 3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:
This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages. To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:
This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like because, since, so, although, unless, and however. 4. A strong thesis statement is specific.A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say:
This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages. Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:
This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger. Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN What is the claim in a thesis statement?A claim is a generalization-an assertion about the text-requiring proof or further development. It combines topic with point of view. The claim presents the controlling idea of the paper. An effective claim is sharply focused and limited enough to be covered in the prescribed length of the essay.
Should a thesis statement be a claim?A thesis statement is a claim that sets up your argument. Your thesis should situate your argument within a broader discussion, which will likely involve addressing possible objections, or counter-claims.
What is a claim statement in research?What is a claim? • A claim is the main argument of an essay. It is the most important part of an academic paper. • A claim defines the paper's goals, direction, and scope. It is supported by evidence.
What is the difference between a claim and a thesis statement?Therefore, the author has to convince you that the statement is correct. Claims are statements that support the thesis statement, but like the thesis statement, are not facts. Because a claim is not a fact, it requires supporting evidence. Evidence is factual information that shows a claim is true.
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