Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement
An argumentative
paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific
evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an
evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the
argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on
the evidence provided.
2. Your
thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss
in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.
3. The
thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.
4. Your topic may change as
you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly
what you have discussed in the paper.
Example of
an argumentative thesis statement:
High school graduates
should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects
before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global
awareness.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY THESIS IS STRONG?
If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the
Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice
elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your
first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following:
Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt
after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses
the focus of the question.
Have I taken a position that others
might challenge or oppose?If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or
even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a
summary, rather than making an argument.
Is my thesis statement specific
enough? Thesis
statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your
thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more
specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes
something “successful”?
Does my thesis pass the “So what?”
test? If a reader’s
first response is, “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a
relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
Does my essay support my thesis
specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to
go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis
to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper.
Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
Does my thesis pass the “how and why?”
test? If a reader’s
first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack
guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take
on your position right from the beginning.
Thesis Statements for the
Argumentative Paper
The thesis
statement for an argumentative paper clearly states your side of the argument
and why you hold that position. The thesis statement should fulfill the
following tasks:
Clarify a narrow
topic, express the opinion on that topic, and have an objective, academic tone.
Sometimes qualify
major ideas, clarify major elements, and acknowledge the readers’ knowledge of
the topic.
Make sure that the
statement or objective is focused, concise, and well-worded.
Example:
1. The
government needs to limit farm subsidies to farmers who make less than $100,000
a year profit.
2. The NCAA
academic requirements need to be changed to accommodate students whose focus
has been athletics and not academics.
3.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations need to be enforced
more strictly on farms to keep employees, employers, and children safe.
4. Without
private school vouchers for taxpayers, some of America’s finest schools may be
closed.
5. Liberal
arts requirements are outdated in a world where technology determines human
success.
6. Term
limitations in Congress will force members of Congress to meet their
constituents’ demands.
7.
Passage of the Equal Rights Amendment will give women the chance to serve in
combat.
8. The
amendment to ban the destruction of the United States flag in protest
demonstrations is a sacrifice of the First Amendment.
9. Unless
people vote in favor of the levy referendum, Thief River Falls Public Schools
will have to cut programs, such as art, music, and athletics, that are valuable
to its students and, therefore, to the community.
10. To live
in a secure nation, Americans must be willing to sacrifice basic freedoms
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
We use
the present perfect continuous when the focus is on an
activity that is unfinished.
