Building a �Thesis Statement

Elizabeth Pineo

Characteristics

What should your thesis do?

Three Cs

• Concise
• Confident
• Controvertible

Wording a Strong Thesis

• Put X in tension with Y
• “Although X, Y…”
• “In spite of X, Y…”
• Make the verbs active
• “There are many similarities and differences between X and Y.” 🡪 “The differences between X and Y outweigh their similarities.”
• Make the nouns specific
• “The policies of the company are bad.” 🡪 “Policy #42b of Bob’s Company jeopardizes their involvement with after-school activities.”

Common Traps

• Makes no claims/is a fact
• “In this paper, I will discuss The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.” 🡪 “In John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Augustus’s ‘smoking habit’ is portrayed in a positive literary light, which romanticizes the idea of smoking.”
• Makes an overly broad claim
• “Revolutions had various effects on Rome.” 🡪 “By revolting against George the Roman, the women of George’s Roman Town were able to achieve equality under town law.”
• Bases claim on personal conviction (not fact)
• “The whales should be saved because they’re pretty.” 🡪 “Whale conservation efforts are essential because whales are an indispensable part of the ocean’s food chain.”
• Is Missing…?

Check the conclusion!

To find the missing thesis, you’ll likely need to…

You try!

Moving Forward

Thank you!

Works Cited

• Hart, Laura. “Writing a Strong Thesis.” PowerPoint Presentation.
• Ocran, Joojo. “Thesis Writing.” PowerPoint Presentation.
• Rosenwasser, David and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically. 7^th ed., Cengage Learning, 2009.