Skip to Main Content

ENG3221: Grammars of English: Thesis Statements

Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is your main claim that you are trying to prove.

Qualities of a Good Thesis Statement:

  • Provable: Back up your thesis statement with evidence to prove your claim. Before settling on a topic or a specific claim, it might be worth looking at the literature and seeing if you'll have enough evidence to research and write about.
  • Difficult to Refute: Your claim should be difficult to prove wrong. The more general a thesis statement is, the easier it typically is to refute; while the narrower the scope, the harder it is to refute (but make sure it's not too narrow that you won't get enough evidence)
  • Address Competing Claims: Acknowledging competing claims that someone could use to counter your claim (if applicable)
  • Educate Readers: Readers should get a clear sense of what your paper is about to cover and how you intent to organize your argument.

 

Further Tips:

  • Your thesis statement should be one sentences.
  • If you are having trouble condensing your idea down, you're probably not clear on what you are arguing. If that happens, look over your evidence, make an outline, and/or talk your idea out with someone
  • It's not unusual to make changes or move elements around in your thesis statement as your continue in the writing process.
  • A thesis statement will help guide you on determining if evidence or information you've found is relevant to your argument or not.

Choosing a Topic

Tips on Choosing a Topic:

  • Find a topic you're curious about. It's easier to do research around a topic you are personally interested in as it means you'll want to learn more about the topic and be more engaged in the research and writing process.
  • Be cautious of strong opinions. If you have too strong of an opinion about a topic, you may overlook evidence that could contradict your opinion and only seek out evidence that validates it. Be sure you aren't ignoring evidence just because it's no in line with your opinion.
  • Ask questions. Research questions will help transform a general topic of interest into a specific topic that you can write about. Be sure not to ask yes/no answers but open-ended ones that can let you discover different approaches to take towards your topic.

Example Thesis Statements for Essay 2

Thesis Statements from Past Classes:

1.  The assertive language of the Black Lives Matter movement confronts police brutality.

2.  Derogatory language in 2 Live Crew’s music demeans women.

3.  The aggressive language in N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton” promotes violent gang behavior.

More Resources Around Thesis Statements