Thesis Statements

1. A thesis statement expresses a scholarly argument,

not a fact or observation.

Fact: West Side Story premiered on Boradway in 1957.

Thesis: The themes of West Side Story echo many found in

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

2. A thesis statement states an opinion rather than

announcing a subject.

Announcement: The thesis of this paper is the introduction

of mandatory school uniforms.

Thesis: School uniforms should be made mandatory in

order to diminish peer pressure among pupils.

3. A thesis statement is the main idea of your paper, not

just a title. It must be a complete sentence that
explains in some detail what you expect to write
about.

Title: The social problems caused by Alzheimer’s

Thesis: As the European population ages, strategies must be

found for dealing with the large-scale effects of the disease
and other forms of dementia.

4. A thesis statement is narrowly focused, not general.

Make sure that you will be able to support it in the
body of your essay.
General: The American steel industry is faced with many
problems.

Thesis: The main problems of the American steel industry

are low-priced foreign products and insufficient financial
resources.

5. A thesis statement does not state the obvious.

Obvious: Unemployment harms the economy.

Thesis: Allowing companies more flexibility to make hiring

decisions would be an important step towards reducing
unemployment.

6. A thesis statement focuses on one main point.

More than one point: Britain’s education system is

characterized by the fact that pupils are separated at an
early age, and schools in many parts of Britain face
problems caused by the lack of recognition of their
qualifications.

One main point: In order to motivate pupils in British

schools, opportunities for training and employment after
leaving school must be offered.