What is a thesis statement?

A thesis is a one- or two-sentence condensation of the main argument of the overall paper. Often it appears somewhere near the end of your introduction.

What constitutes a good thesis statement?

Here’s what a few university web sites say makes a good thesis:

“A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:

  • takes on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree
  • deals with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the assignment
  • express one main idea
  • asserts your conclusions about a subject”

-- University of Indiana

“A successful working thesis has three characteristics:

  • it should be potentially interesting to your intended audience
  • in its language, it should be as specific as possible
  • it must limit and focus a topic enough to make it manageable.”

-- TexasTechUniversity

“A good thesis statement often answers the questions “How?” and/or “Why?” You may encounter a thesis statement that reads:

The lifestyle of a teenager in the Middle Ages was very different from the lifestyle of most

modern American teenagers.

How? In what ways are the lifestyles of the youngsters different? Better versions of this statement might be:

Because of the relative freedom enjoyed by youngsters today, the lifestyle of modern

American teenagers is very different from the lifestyles of teens in the Middle Ages.

or

Teenagers in the Middle Ages, who were considered young but responsible adults by the

age of sixteen, had very different lifestyles compared to modern American teenagers.

Both of the thesis statements above are improvements because they do not simply state the obvious; they give a reason why or how we can accept the thesis statement.

Now answer these questions:

  • What question is my assignment asking?
  • How can I answer that question AND focus on a small area of investigation?
  • Can I sum up the main idea of my paper in a nutshell? Try this: state or write down, in a sentence or two, the paper’s main idea. If you can do that, you’re close to having a workable thesis.
  • What “code words” (such as “relative freedom” or “lifestyles” above) does the draft of my thesis statement contain? Are these words adequately explained?
  • As I read my paper, have I supported the thesis, or digressed?

HOW TO TEST YOUR THESIS:

  • Ask, “Is it obvious?” “Having read my thesis, one someone want to read more?”
  • Ask, “Is it trivial?” Think of an anti-thesis to your planned thesis statement. Is your anti-thesis ridiculous? If so, your thesis has a good chance of being trivial. Choose worthy opponents when constructing a thesis.
  • Ask, “Does my thesis oversimplify a good argument?”

Weak thesis statements answer only “what?” A stronger thesis answers the question “how?” and “why?” BUT THE STRONGEST THESIS STATEMENTS POSSIBLE GO ON TO ANSWER THE QUESTION “SO WHAT?” That is, such thesis statements suggest why your argument is crucial in understanding some issue.”

-- CornellUniversity

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With these ideas in mind, let’s evaluate the following sample thesis statements, which I borrow from a web site at VanderbiltUniversity (

“In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming’s initial enthusiasm for a war quickly dissipates with his first battle experience.”

“In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane criticizes war.”

“In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry’s mother is reluctant for him to go off to war because it would leave her with unmanageable burdens at home.”

“The Red Badge of Courage is a great anti-war novel.”

A good thesis statement will:

  • Take a readily discernible and specific position on some theme or issue in the text
  • Show evidence of original thinking, rather than simply rehash ideas of another.
  • Make a reader think of the text in new and challenging ways.
  • Make the reader want to read the paper itself.