Guide to Writing an Outstanding Thesis Statement

Thesis statement: What is it?

A statement that tells the purpose of the paper, or states what the writer intends to
prove or defend, or states the main idea of the paper.

…… Okay—so what is a THEME?

“The central idea in a piece of writing (lengthy writing may have several themes)”.
This is better known as the TOPIC.

Example topic: Freedom

I. Poor example of a thesis statement:

*thesis—“Freedom is necessary to live.”

The thesis statement is poor because:

1. It is too general – there is no specific purpose
2. It is too limited – thesis statement leaves no room for discussion
3. There is nowhere to go – it has no direction
4. You can’t make it a foundation to use in developing your ideas further.
5. It doesn’t define your views about the what, who, why, how, where, when

II. Better example of a thesis statement:

*thesis—“Freedom is necessary to the survival of mankind.”

The statement is better because:

1. It has a direction to go – it speaks to the specific idea of survival of mankind
BUT…..
2. It is still too general – it does not define what the writer believes freedom to be
3. It is still too limited in scope – it does not define what survival is
4. The writer has a limited foundation – can only talk about the survival of mankind

III. Best example of a thesis statement:

*Thesis—“The freedom to dream, and the freedom to pursue a dream is vital if a
person is to live a life that is complete and full in every dimension of that life.”

The statement is best because:

1. It has a specific direction – it can go somewhere
2. It has specific ideas to defend or explain
3. Things you’ve read will have specific comments about the specific ides you’ve
promoted
4. You have a question to answer: ie: what does complete mean – or what is a full life?
What make up the dimensions of life?