How to State a Thesis
Once you have a notion of a topic and main point, use these pointers to state or improve a thesis to guide your planning and drafting.
- State the thesis sentence exactly. Replace vague or general wording with concise, detailed, and down-to-earth language.
| TOO GENERAL | There are a lot of troubles with chemical wastes. |
| Are you going to deal with all chemical wastes, throughout all of history, all over the world? Will you list all the troubles they can cause? | |
| MORE SPECIFIC | Careless dumping of leftover paint is to blame for a recent outbreak of skin rashes in Atlanta. |
| For an argument, you need to take a stand on a debatable issue that would allow others to take different positions. State yours exactly. | |
| SPECIFIC STAND | The recent health consequences of carelessly dumping leftover paint require Atlanta officials both to regulate and to educate. |
- Statejust one central idea in the thesis sentence. If your paper is to focus on one point, your thesis should state only one main idea.
TOO MANY IDEAS Careless dumping of leftover paint has caused a serious problem in Atlanta, and a new kind of biodegradable paint has been developed, and it offers a promising solution to one chemical waste dilemma. ONE CENTRAL IDEA Careless dumping of leftover paint has caused a serious problem in Atlanta. OR A new kind of biodegradable paint offers a promising solution to one chemical waste dilemma. - State your thesis positively. You can usually find evidence to support a positive statement, but you’d have to rule out every possible exception in order to prove a negative one. Negative statements also may sound half-hearted and seem to lead nowhere.
NEGATIVE Researchers do not know what causes breast cancer. POSITIVE The causes of breast cancer still challenge researchers. Presenting the topic positively as a “challenge” might lead to a paper about an exciting quest. Besides, to show that researchers are working on the problem would be relatively easy, given an hour of online research.
- Limit your thesis to a statement that you can demonstrate. A workable thesis is limited so that you can support it with sufficient convincing evidence. It should stake out just the territory that you can cover thoroughly within the length assigned and the time available, and no more. The shorter the essay, the less development your thesis should promise or require. Likewise, the longer the essay, the more development and complexity your thesis should suggest.
DIFFICULT TO SHOW For centuries, popular music has announced vital trends in Western society. DIFFICULT TO SHOW My favorite piece of music is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The first thesis above could inform a whole encyclopedia of music; the second would require that you explain why that symphony is your favorite, contrasting it with all the other musical compositions you know. The following thesis sounds far more workable for a brief essay.
POSSIBLE TO SHOW In the past two years, a rise in the number of preteenagers has resulted in a comeback for heavy metal on the local concert scene. Unlike a vague statement or a broad, unrestricted claim, a limited thesis narrows and refines a topic, restricting your essay to a reasonable scope.
TOO VAGUE Native American blankets are very beautiful. TOO BROAD Native Americans have adapted to cultural shifts. POSSIBLE TO SHOW For some members of the Apache tribe, working in high-rise construction has allowed both economic stability and cultural integrity.
See more on revising a thesis.
If the suggestions in this chapter have helped you draft a working thesis — even an awkward or feeble one — you’ll find plenty of advice about improving it in the next few pages and more later about revising it. But what if you’re freezing up because your thesis simply won’t take shape? First, relax. Your thesis will emerge later on — as your thinking matures and you figure out your paper’s true direction, as peer readers spot the idea in your paper you’re too close to see, as you talk with your instructor and suddenly grasp how to take your paper where you want it to go. In the meantime, plan and write so that you create a rich environment that will encourage your thesis to emerge.