How Can I Create a Strong Thesis
Overview
Formostcollegeessays,youneedathesisstatementthatcapturestheargument,orcentral
claim,oftheessay.Itwillusuallyappearattheendofthefirstorsecondparagraphoftheessay
andwillincludethebasicargumentanditsimplications.Yourthesiswilloftenchangefromearly
thinking(toaccommodateyourevolutioninthinkingasyouwrite)onceyou’vegotawhole
draft,andastrongworkingthesiswilladaptintoawell-considered,well-supportedarticulation
ofyourultimateargument.Thetakeaway?Creatingastrongthesisgoeshand-in-handwith
creatingastrongargumentintheoverallessay.
General Considerations
Astrongthesisshoulddothefollowingthings:
1. Gobeyondannouncingasubject–joinanongoingconversationbytakingastandonan
issueorofferinganinterpretationofsomething(atext,apolicy,anewscientific
discovery,etc.)
2. Getspecific–ruleoutmostofthebroadmaterialpertinenttoyourtopicandzeroinon
aclearclaimthatfocusesmorenarrowlyonsomespecificaspectofyourtopic.
3. Indicatethe“what,why,andhow”ofyourargument–whatareyouclaiming,whyyou
believethistobetrue,important,etc.,andhowyouwillapproachyourtopic.
Astrongthesiswillapplytoyourissue/textandonlytoyourissue/text
Thesisstatementsthataretoobroadoftencouldbetransplantedfromonepaper(evenone
subject!)tothenextwithoutanyonenoticing.Ifwhatyouclaiminyourthesiscouldwork
equallywellforanessayonMrs.Dallowayandanessayonthevirtuesofcapitalism,youhave
morefocusingandtighteningtodo.
In Practice
StartWithaWorkingThesis(ReviseitLater)
Aworkingthesisisoftendifferentfromafinalthesis.Aworkingthesiswillhelpyougetstarted
writingbykeepingyoufocusedonthegeneralsenseofwhatyouwishtoargue,evenifyou
don’thaveallthedetailsinplace;thosedetailswillusuallyworkthemselvesoutinthewriting.
Oftenafteryou’vefinishedwritingacompletedraft,youwillrealizethatyou’veactuallyargued
somethingmoreinterestingandcomplexthanyourworkingthesiscouldexpress.Atthatpoint,
youshouldreviseyourworkingthesisintoafinalthesisthataccuratelyexpressesyour
argument.
Thefirststeptowardwritingastrongthesisistakingastandorofferinganinterpretationofan
issuerelatedtoyourtopic.Sometimesanessayassignmentmightaskyouaquestionthatwill
promptanargument,andothertimesyouwillneedtocomeupwithanargumentonyourown.
Eitherway,yourpositioncanbesimpleatfirst,astheprocessofwritingtheessaywillmost
likelyleadyoutodevelopamorecomplexthesis.Thefollowingaresamplesofpossibleworking
theses:
• Americanpoliticsreliestooheavilyonthetwo-partysystem.
• JaneEyredoesnotalignwithfeminism.
• Thepotentialuseofstemcellresearchshouldbeexplored.
• Thecontinuousstreamofnewscoverageunderminesthequalityofthenews.
Ineachofthesestatements,thewriterhastakenapositionthatwillallowthemtostartwriting,
eventhoughthesestatementscouldbeseenastoosimpletotrulymakeastrongthesis.These
statementscouldbereferredtoasthebasicargument(the“what”).Astrongthesiswillalso
requirejustifications(the“why,”sometimesreferredtoasimplications)and/ora
method/framework(the“how”),whichcanbeexploredlateroncethebasicargumentisin
place.
LookforSignsthatYourThesisisWeak
Onoccasion,writerswillbehinderedearlyonbystatementsthatseemliketheywillmakea
goodbasisforarguments,whileinactualitytheypreventanargumentfrombeingstrong.For
thatreason,it’sgoodtoknowwhatseparatesastrongthesisfromaweakone.
AstrongthesisisNOT:
• justanobservation(Example:JaneEyrerelatestoideasaboutfeminism.)Thismaybe
true,butthisstatementissimplyanobservationaboutthebook—itdoesn’ttakea
standonhowfeminismistreatedinthetext.
• astatementoffact(Example:Manypeopleareopposedtostemcellresearch.)Factbasedstatementscanbeeasilycheckedbyaskingyourselfifanyonecouldreasonably
disagreewithyou.Ifeveryonewouldagreethatyourstatementistrue,thenyour
statementisonlyafact,notanargument.
• abroadgeneralization(Example:Politicsareworkingforthepeople.)Itmayseemasif
usingbroadtermsallowsformorepossibilitiesforthingstoincludeinyouressay,but
broadissuesbecausecontaintoomanyspecificargumentswithinthem,andmakinga
broadclaimwillmeanmakingashallowargument.Inthisexample,“politics”and
“people”arebothtoobroad.The“Americantwo-partysystem”isamorespecific
categorythatwillallowyoutofocusononeargumentanddiscussthecomplexities
withinit.
• alistofexamples(Example:Thecontinuousstreamofnewscoveragecauseslackof
depth,focusesonsuperficialissues,andresultsininformationoverload.)Whileyour
essaymayincludeexamplesofalloftheseissues,usingalistforathesisdoesn’tallow
fordeepinvestigationofonetopicnordoesitshowtherelationshipbetweenideas.The
itemsinthelistmaybepointsofevidenceyoucanuseinyouressaywithoutnaming
them.
MakeItComplex
Astrongthesisneedstomakeacomplexargument,meaningitneedstoshowthatthe
complicationsorcontradictionsoftheissuehavebeentakenintoaccountintheessayandthat
theargumentmatters—orthatthereareimplicationstotheargument.Thecomplexityofthe
argument,andthereforethethesis,canbeexploredinvariouswaysthatcanhelpevolvethe
workingthesisintoacomplexthesis.
Explorecounterarguments
Whatreasonableclaimshaveothersmadethatcontradictyourargument,andhow
mighttakingthoseintoconsiderationhelpyoujustifyorstrengthenyourown?Ifyou
weretolaunchyourownrebuttaltoyourargument,whatwouldthatlooklike?How
doesthathelpyoucomplicateyourideas?
Consideravarietyofangles
Therearemorethantwosides—oftenfarmore—toanyargument.Forinstance,people
mightarguethesamethingfordifferentreasons,mightagreeonacommonproblem
butfeeldifferentlyabouthowtosolveit,mightseethesameproblemasbeingcaused
bydifferentthings,etc.Ifyouseekoutasmanystancesonyourtopicaspossible,you
mightbeabletoshapeyourargumentinawaythatfillsavoidintheconversation.
Askyourselfwhytheargumentmatters
Ok,youmaybewritingabouttheTwo-ThirdsCompromisebecauseyourinstructortold
youto.Butbeyondthat,findawaytoconsiderwhyyou(andwe)shouldcareaboutit.
Whatisimportantaboutyourtopic(whetherhistoricalorcontemporary,outofthe
STEMfieldsormusicanddance)hereandnow?Whoarethestakeholdersinyour
argument?Isthereanyonewhosevoicehasn’tbeenheardonthisthatyoucouldbring
tolight?Inotherwords,“sowhat?”Ifyoucanfindalegitimatereasonwhythe
argumentmatters,youcanargueitfromastronger,morecomplicatedplace.
Considerstartingwiththe“magicalthesis”template,atleastasaworkingthesis.
“Bylookingat______________,wecansee_________________,whichmost[readers,
scientists,politicians,actors,etc.]don’tsee;thisisimportantbecause
____________________.”Thisthesistemplateasksyoutoarticulateyourobjectof
study,whatyoucanrevealaboutit,andwhyyourrevelationisimportant.
Exercise
Thinkabouttheprojectyou’reworkingon,andanswerthefollowingquestions:
• Whatisyourtopic?
• Whatisyourstanceonthetopic?Statethisasacompletesentence.
• Whydoyoubelievethis?Stateyourreasonsina“because”clause.
• Whywouldsomeonedisagreewiththis?Statetheopposingopinioninan“although”
clause.
Nowputittogethertoformaworkingthesis:“Although”clause+Stanceontopic+“Because”
clause=Complete(working)thesisstatement