14c Examine your assumptions.

Once you have a working thesis, examine your assumptions to help test your reasoning and strengthen your argument. Begin by identifying underlying assumptions that support the working thesis.

WORKING THESIS Because they endanger the lives of farmworkers, pesticides should be banned.
ASSUMPTION 1 Workers have a right to a safe working environment.
ASSUMPTION 2 Substances that endanger the lives of workers deserve to be banned.

Once you have a working thesis, you may want to use qualifiers to make it more precise and thus less susceptible to criticism. The preceding thesis might be qualified in this way:

image Because they often endanger the lives of farmworkers, most pesticides should be banned.