WHAT IS A THESIS STATEMENT?

A thesis statement is NOT a topic sentence. “Cortez conquered Mexico in 1509” is a fine topic
sentence for an informative paper. However, it is NOT a thesis statement for an argumentative,
analytical, or expository paper.

A thesis statement:

 states your POSITION on a topic...an arguable, provable claim.

 is the point that the writer will attempt to prove in the paper.
 states the conclusions the writer has reached.
 will need to be supported & explained with evidence.
 makes a claim & offers an explanation or a reason.
 should be as specific as possible.