It’s rare for a writer to develop a perfect thesis statement early in the writing process and then to write an effective essay that fits it exactly. What you should aim for is a working thesis — a statement that can guide you but that you will ultimately refine. Ideas for a working thesis are probably all around you.

Your topic identifies the area you want to explore. To convert a topic to a thesis, you need to add your own slant, attitude, or point. A useful thesis contains not only the key words that identify your topic but also the point you want to make or the attitude you intend to express.

Topic + Slant or Attitude or Point = Working Thesis

Suppose you want to identify and write about a specific societal change.

Now you experiment, testing ideas to make the topic your own.

Although your trial sentence emphasizes change, it’s still circular, repeating rather than advancing a workable point. It doesn’t say anything new about old-fashioned formal courtesy; it simply defines old-fashioned. You still need to state your own slant — maybe why things have changed.

With this working thesis, you could focus on how changing societal attitudes toward gender roles have caused changes in courtesy. Later, when you revise, you may refine your thesis further — perhaps restricting it to courtesy toward the elderly, toward women, or, despite stereotypes, toward men. This chart suggests ways to develop a working thesis.

Once you have a working thesis, be sure its point accomplishes the purpose of your assignment. Suppose your assignment asks you to compare and contrast two local newspapers’ coverage of a Senate election. Ask yourself what the point of that comparison and contrast is. Simply noting a difference won’t be enough to satisfy most readers.