The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement may be one or more sentences that summarize the main idea or ideas that you are going to discuss in your paper. It may go on to offer a summary answer to the questions that you are going to pose. That summary answer is your argument. The paper itself is a formal argument that convinces the reader of the merits of your thesis.

You must have an argument. I often compare writing a paper to arguing a case in court. Think of yourself as a lawyer, who has to convince a jury that your argument is right.

Characteristics of a Thesis:

1. Topic - a topic, by itself, is not a thesis.



2. Argument - you are giving an interpretation or an opinion of the text/subject in question. The argument convinces the reader of the merits of the thesis. Thus:



1. A thesis is often phrased as an opinion, either explicitly ("I believe Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson is a detective novel, not a novel about slavery") or implicitly ("Although many people may think Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson is a novel about slavery, it is actually a detective novel"). First person voice (“I believe, I think, I will prove") is acceptable to me, but may not be with other professors. When in doubt, either ask a professor if first person is acceptable, or play it safe by avoiding first person.



2. A thesis is often phrased as a statement with which someone could disagree (see both samples above).



3. Through your thesis you are going to argue your own unique, personal, or perhaps unexpected viewpoint. I've already read the text in question; teach me something new about it. Show me something I may not have seen before, or show me a new way of looking at the text.



4. Draw a conclusion (state a conclusion) from your basic ideas, and make that conclusion into an argument you can use as your thesis. Often students work their way through their papers, and end up coming up with an argument in the last paragraph. It may be helpful to write your paper without worrying about an introductory paragraph, and rework the conclusion into an introduction.

When You Don't Have a Thesis:

1. Distinguish between a topic, an observation, and a thesis.



1. A topic is too general. Students will often come to me and say, "Um, I want to write about women in Twain's novel." I say, "Great. That's a topic. What are you going to say about women in Twain's novel?" If you can't answer that question, you don't have a thesis yet.



2. An observation isn't an argument. Students often write long sentences that are basically true about the topic. Nobody would disagree with these statements, and they often just make common sense. Example: "Slavery is an important issue in Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson."



2. SO WHAT?!? When you think you have a thesis, look at the sentence you have written and ask yourself, "so what?" If you can't answer that question, it means that you probably don't have a larger purpose to your paper. Why should I read your paper? How are you going to make it worth my while to read your paper? How will you enlighten me about your topic? If you can answer the "so what" question, you probably do have a thesis: "Well, I'm not just writing about women in general in Twain's novel. Women are crucial in Twain's novel. The whole novel turns on Roxy's switching the two babies as infants." So what? "Well, that means that Roxy, as a slave mother, has more power over life--her child's, if not her own--than one might expect from a slave." Okay, now you're working toward a thesis. Turn your answer to the "so what" question into part of your thesis.
   
   "In Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, Roxy takes control over her situation by switching her baby with her master's baby. Thus Twain suggests that slaves have some power over their lives. Ultimately, this makes us rethink the master-slave relationship."



3. If you are writing a comparison to two texts, you must draw a conclusion from them and state it as a thesis (see #3 above). Students often write papers that basically compare apples to oranges, and at the end of the paper all you have is a list of apples and oranges. You should show how your comparison of apples and oranges shows us something about fruit in general, or how apples are different than oranges.

Approaches to Formulation of a Thesis:

Adapted from Stephen Reid, The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers

Thesis: Your topic must be arguable; it must have at least two relatively viable sides. Different approaches may include one or more of the following:

• Claim of Fact - ("Grades do not measure intelligence or achievement"; "Women face serious discrimination in the job market.")



• Claim of Cause and Effect - ("Capital punishment does not deter violent crime"; "Pornography encourages misogyny")



• Claim About Value - ("Toni Morrison is a great American novelist"; "Pornography does not count as art")



• Claim About Solutions or Policies - ("The penalty for drunk driving should be a mandatory jail sentence and loss of driver's license"; "To reduce exploitation and sensationalism, the news media should not be allowed to interview victims of crime or disaster")

Approaches to Develop Your Argument (Argue Your Claim):

• Appeal to Reason - (Inductive Logic: draws a general conclusion from specific facts or personal observation/experience)



• Appeal to Character - ("Ethical" approach; you show your audience you are a person who abides by moral standards that your audience shares)



• Appeal to Emotion - ("The unbridled run-up of the Federal deficit will mean that future generations of Americans will have a lower standard of living")