Thesis Statements

What is a Thesis Statement?

A road map for the paper; in other words, it’s a sentence or two that tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. 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

College students typically feel they understand how to create a thesis. However, the theses they compose are typically vague, overly broad, contain several unconnected parts, or define a topic rather than a thesis.

Criteria for a strong thesis

Make a claim!

Arguable (not simply a fact) – Reasonable people could disagree

Supportable – Can be backed up with evidence, reasons

Specific – Not vague, not too general, not too broad

“Maps out” the paper – Gives the reader a guide to the organization of the argument

It isn’t an opinion, or personal convention

Third person – No “I” or “me” in the paper

Sugar consumption.

Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school

children.

More attention should be paid to the food and beverage

choices available to elementary school children.

Experts estimate that half of elementary school children

consume nine times the recommended daily allowance

of sugar.

Because half of all American elementary school children

consume nine times the recommended daily allowance

of sugar, schools should be required to replace the

beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.

Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.

Notice how the thesis answers the questions, “What is the problem? Why is it a problem? Who should fix it and How? Maybe 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.

Example Thesis Statements

Topic: Nuclear Energy and Iran

Thesis: Even though international treaties allow nuclear programs for energy purposes, many people in the United States and Israel believe that Iran might be on the cusp of having a nuclear weapon. While many of these same people have taken the stance that a more aggressive approach is needed and that diplomacy and sanctions are failing, others believe that an aggressive military response and threats of violence would only worsen the situations.

Example Thesis Statements

Topic: Video Games and Diversity

Thesis: Because over half of video games focus on white men, developers are missing out on a potential market geared towards a more culturally diverse audience; furthermore, when games are created using diverse characters, they tend to be stereotypically offensive. Developers need to strive to create positive characters of different races, genders, and sexualities to broaden the market and give individual gamers personal empowerment.

Example Thesis Statements

Topic: Employee Privacy

Thesis: Because allowing employers to ask for employee and applicant’s social media passwords is an invasion of privacy, since many times employees are not fore-warned and may have private information within their accounts, lawmakers need to make employers asking for employees social media passwords federally illegal.