THESIS STATEMENTWriting an Effective Thesis Statement

WHAT IS A THESIS STATEMENT? A thesis statement, or controlling idea, is the main point that a writer attempts to support in a piece of writing

It introduces the essay’s topic and provides a summary of its main points

A thesis statement gives direction to an essay An essay without a thesis statement is like a

car without a driver

EVERY THESIS NEEDS 3 THINGS…IDENTIFICATION – what is the topic you are talking about?

CLAIM – what do you believe about the topic?

DIRECTION – what are the 3 main reasons you can use to support your claim? (these 3 reasons will become the body paragraphs of your essay)

EXAMPLEThesis statement:

High school sports unquestionably have a positive influence on high school students because they teach social skills, reinforce

time-management skills, and provide exercise to students.

IDENTIFICATION – What is the topic? High school sports

CLAIM – What does the person believe about the topic? They have a positive influence

DIRECTION – What are the three reasons the person gives to support the claim? Teach social skills Reinforce time-management skills Provide exercise to students

A THESIS STATEMENT IS NOT…

A factual statement

A topic sentence

Ex: Burma is a country in Southeast Asia.

ELEMENTS OF A THESIS STATEMENT

A thesis statement…

addresses the prompt clearly

makes a claim or presents an argument

is arguable (an opinion)

is in the first & last paragraphs of essay

does not use first person (NO “I” “me” “my”)

WEAK THESIS STATEMENTS Are vague – raise an interesting topic or question but do not specify an argument

Offer a plot summary or obvious truths instead of an argument

Offer an opinion rather than an argument (opinions cannot be proven with text evidence)

Are too broad or too complex for the length of the paper

EXAMPLES OF WEAK THESIS STATEMENTS

High school is better than middle school. Explanation: This thesis statement is vague and is also an opinion. Why is

high school better? How can it be proven that high school is better than middle school?

There are too many chemicals in the world that are causing damage. Explanation: This is a broad thesis statement. It fails to explain what kind of

chemicals, where in the world it is referring to, and the damage being caused.

Hemmingway’s war stories are very good. Explanation: This is a weak thesis statement because it is a very brief

summary and only states the author’s opinion.

STRONG THESIS STATEMENTS

Answer a specific question

Take a distinct position on the topic

Are debatable

Allow the reader to anticipate the organization of the essay

EXAMPLE OF A STRONG THESIS STATEMENT

Because high school offers a more dynamic class choice, increased personal freedoms, and additional extracurricular activities, it is a better educational institution than middle school.

Explanation: This is a strong thesis because it lists specific factual reasons why high school is better than middle school and these reasons can be developed with examples throughout the essay.

ELEMENTS OF A THESIS STATEMENT

A thesis statement…

addresses the prompt clearly

makes a claim or presents an argument

is arguable (an opinion)

is in the first & last paragraphs of essay

does not use first person (NO “I” “me” “my”)

LET’S PRACTICE!Weak thesis statements… Strong thesis statements…

Are vague – raise an interesting topic or question but do not specify an argument

Offer a plot summary or obvious truths instead of an argument

Offer an opinion rather than an argument (opinions cannot be proven with text evidence)

Are too broad or too complex for the length of the paper

Answer a specific question

Take a distinct position on the topic

Are debatable

Allow the reader to anticipate the organization of the essay