Writing an Effective 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

 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)

 Thesis 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 factual statement  A topic sentence  Ex: Burma is a country in Southeast Asia.

 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”)

 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

 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.

 Answer a specific question  Take a distinct position on the topic  Are debatable  Allow the reader to anticipate the organization of the essay

 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.

 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… 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