A good thesis statement packs a lot of punch into a relatively short sentence. If you’ve done your job, the reader should be able to get your topic, claim, argument, and main points, all from one clear statement. There are a few key components to watch out for when evaluating whether or not you’ve written a strong thesis.

A Strong Thesis Statement ADDS UP:

Assertive

You should be confident in your argument. Don’t use phrases like “I feel” or “I believe” – these will weaken your argument and convey to the reader that you are the only person who feels the way you do. You should take an authoritative stance to persuade your readers to accept your argument and open their minds to what you have to say. There’s no room to be wishy-washy when it comes to a thesis, especially not in an argumentative paper. You need to come in with a firm stance and assert your conviction. After all, if you don’t stand behind your argument, why should the reader?

• Weak Thesis: There are many pros and cons to adopting a zero-waste lifestyle.
  • This statement leaves a lot of wiggle room and doesn’t really sound like even you are totally sold on this concept. A pros and cons approach ends up feeling more informative than it is persuasive.

• Stronger Thesis: While living a zero-waste lifestyle can be challenging, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
  • Every good persuasive paper should acknowledge the opposition, but the trick is to demonstrate to the reader that your claim is still the best option. The above statement establish a firm but realistic stance.

Descriptive

Many writers are afraid of “giving it all away” in their introduction and thesis. After all, why would the reader keep going if they know what’s going to happen? Perhaps this is a result of watching too many M. Night Shyamalan movies. When it comes to academic writing, it’s important to lay it all out for your audience so they have clear expectations of what you’re going to cover in your essay.  This is not to say that you need to go in-depth with your intended points, but you do want to show your readers what your paper is about and why it’s important.

• Weak Thesis: Reading is the key to student success.
  • While this thesis makes a strong assertion, can likely be proven through research, and has a strong focus, it’s unclear how reading can actually benefit students. Including a brief mention of the paper’s main points gives the reader a much better idea of what to expect and shows foresight and planning on the part of the writer.

• Stronger Thesis: Recreational reading helps students perform better in school by encouraging imaginative thinking and independent learning.
  • In this revised thesis we have the same core argument — reading is good for kids — with the addition of how it’s good for them. This gives the reader an idea of how you’re going to prove this argument and the general structure of the rest of the paper.

Debatable

To determine whether your thesis statement is debatable, ask yourself: could someone disagree with this statement from a position other than “because I say so”? If not, then your thesis probably isn’t debatable.

• Weak Thesis: Action movies are exciting and fun to watch.
  • Although a reader could disagree with this statement from their own point of view, the argument wouldn’t get any further than “no they’re not… yes they are…”.
• Stronger Thesis: By comparing the camera movements in older action movies to more recent blockbusters, we can see the influence of a generation of viewers trained on the visual language of video games.
  • Someone could look at the same set of evidence (the analysis of camera movements) and find a different cause or explanation.

Substantiated

For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion. In some cases (such as a personal essay), you can rely on personal observations to support your claims, but for most research papers you’ll be consulting outside sources. In most academic fields, you should primarily rely on peer-reviewed sources.

• Weak Thesis: Human beings are inherently good.
  • You may believe a claim like this strongly, but there’s no way to prove it within the logical context of a research paper.
• Stronger Thesis: Even though Octavia Butler’s Parable books depict humanity at its worst, the series’ philosophical core is an unshakeable belief that human beings are inherently good and worth saving.
  • This claim can be substantiated by passages from the books.

Unified

A strong thesis statement needs to express one main idea. Even if there are several sub-points, the main idea should be singular and unified.

• Weak Thesis: Multi-level marketing is not the same thing as a pyramid scheme, and companies need to see the benefits of multi-level marketing strategies.
  • This thesis takes us in two directions: an argument about MLM and pyramid schemes, and an argument about the potential benefits of MLM.

• Stronger Thesis: Due to excessive concern about being labeled a pyramid scheme, many companies fail to see the potential benefits of multi-level marketing strategies.
  • This thesis connects both pieces into one main idea. The difference between MLM and pyramid schemes becomes a sub-point of the claim that many companies fail to see the potential benefits of MLM strategies.

Precise

A thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and to remain focused on the topic. Don’t make a potentially complex idea even more confusing by trying to cover too many topics. It can be easy to get off track in an effort to be as thorough as possible, and if your thesis is unfocused, the rest of your paper will be, too. Similarly, if your thesis is too broad, it’s going to be difficult to develop a solid argument throughout your essay.

• Weak Thesis: Animals should be treated ethically.
  • This thesis covers too much ground and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. What kind of animals? What constitutes “ethical”? According to whom? This statement is too unfocused to give the reader an idea of what the paper is actually about.

• Stronger Thesis: Testing cosmetics on animals is a cruel, unnecessary, and antiquated practice that the beauty industry should abandon in favor of more ethical and reliable methods.
  • This statement provides enough detail to make the terms and boundaries of the argument clear.

Pitfalls To Avoid with Thesis Statements