The word “thesis” can seem confusing or hard to understand, so let’s look at some other terms that mean the same thing: “the main idea,” “the argument,” and “ the point.” 

It is a sentence that consists of the topic of the essay and the writer's claim about the topic that will be proven throughout the essay. A good thesis statement will direct the structure of your essay and will allow your reader to understand the ideas or major points you will discuss within your paper.

My favorite way to think about a thesis is to think of it as THE ARGUMENT. When we argue with someone, it is because we disagree on something. One person may believe the bus is the fastest way to get home from school, while another might believe that taking their bikes would be the quickest. They each have a point, and they are trying to get someone else to agree with them. 

Now, you might think that getting someone else to agree with you is a good way to figure out if a statement is a thesis statement. And you’re not wrong! However, what can be even more helpful is to ask yourself if someone could DISAGREE with you/ your statement. 

Let’s look at a very simple and silly example of how we can build and test a thesis. 

Here is a statement: 

“Pants have two legs.”

• Ask yourself: Can someone other than the person who wrote this statement agree with it? YES! I certainly do. This statement tells us a fact. 
• Ask yourself: Can someone DISAGREE with this statement? NO. And so it cannot be an argument, aka a thesis. 

Here’s another statement:

“Pants are better than skirts.”

• Can someone disagree with this statement? YES. Some people might agree with the writer, but some people might say: “Skirts are better than pants!” or even “Shorts are better than any other bottoms.”
• So this is an ARGUMENT! Is it a very good, complex, or helpful one for a paper? Not really. 

How could we make this argument into a better thesis? (Assuming your teacher wanted you to write an argumentative essay on pants…)

“Pants are better than skirts because they offer freedom of movement, they can be worn in multiple climates, and their pockets help you carry things.”

• This argument has a topic (clothing/pants), a claim (are better than skirts), and main points (pants offer freedom of movement, pants can be worn in multiple climates, and pants have pockets that let you carry things). Further, now we know what to expect in the rest of the paper – we can even tell how the rest of the paper will be structured. 

This thesis includes three main points, but not all thesis statements need to have points listed like this. Here’s an example of how we could revise the pants thesis differently and for a higher level:

“As even clothing can be a reflection of society, pants are more versatile than skirts because they were designed to be worn by men, who were more physically and socially mobile than women.”

Now, it's your turn! Try using some of these sentence starters to get going:

_________________________because/therefore/as_________________________

_________________________because/therefore/as ________, ________, and _________

_________________________is right/wrong/problematic/worrisome/helpful because ________________________

Even though ___________________________, it is actually good/bad/right/wrong because __________________________

Still feeling stuck? Contact us for more help.