Creating A Strong Thesis

Constructing a strong thesis can be the trickiest task to master when creating a well-written paper. A thesis is the central focus and main argument of a paper developed from your research, analysis, and observations of an issue. A thesis is not a summary of your topic. In other words, you must make an assertion or contestable claim with which a reasonable person might disagree.

How To Create a Thesis

Once you have chosen the topic of your paper and completed the necessary research, start thinking about the underlying themes and connections between your observations and larger issues at stake. If you’re having trouble establishing an argument, here are some common approaches to help you build your thesis:

• Make a Connection: Compare your subject with something else you've learned in your class or something else you know about, or write a paper that asks the reader to look at a subject in light of something else (s)he wouldn't necessarily have connected to it.
• Refute an Accepted Idea: This can be an interesting approach if you either have new evidence or can interpret existing evidence in a new way.
• Consider Different Angles: Look at a subject from a new perspective, or find an aspect of the subject that's been overlooked.
• Define: Offer a definition of a key term that will get readers to see a controversial issue in a new way.
• Evaluate: Make an assessment about something's quality or utility.
• Argue Cause and Effect: You can argue that X will happen if we do Y, or X happened because we did Y. Remember, it has to be a statement of causation and not merely a correlation. Just because X happens prior to Y, does not mean that X is the cause of Y.
• Propose a Change: Suggest that something new be done to improve or resolve a specific problem.

How To Make Your Thesis Strong

How do you know if your thesis is effective? Here are some components and questions to think about when revising your thesis statement:

• The Claim: Your thesis must be more than a summary of your findings regarding a specific topic. To make sure your thesis is making a contestable claim, answer the questions how and/or why? Why are your observations and analyses significant? How does your argument cover new ground or move the conversation forward within your discipline? Does it compel the reader to think differently or act?
• The Scope: Is it focused enough? Are you tackling the history of western civilization in a 3-page paper? Focus on a sufficiently narrow aspect of your subject area so that you can make a complete argument. Consider whether your research will support your argument, and adjust your thesis accordingly.
• The Tone: Be aware that you are writing for an academic setting so adjust your tone and style accordingly. Avoid using overly informal or discriminatory language, both of which are inappropriate for academic writing. Will the reader believe your thesis? More importantly, do you believe your thesis? Avoid hedging phrases and words like "I think," "I believe," "might," "maybe," and "possibly." Be sure of yourself and take a clear stance.
• The Focus: Your thesis should map out your argument. The major sections of your paper should correspond to the logical progression you plan to use to support the argument. Explain those steps to the reader in the introduction so that he or she can find them easily in the paper. This will help you to maintain focus throughout the paper as well clarify your argument for the reader.
• The Myths: First, A thesis does not have to be confined to one sentence. You want to keep your thesis statement as concise as possible, but sometimes you need more than one sentence to do that. Second, your thesis is not set in stone. Don’t be afraid to change your thesis. If while writing your paper you realize you have started arguing something different than what your thesis says, and you think it is better than what you had originally planned on doing, stick with it and revise the thesis. Get rid of what doesn’t work, and find a way of expressing what you really want to talk about.

Adapted from UWC Virgil website

Additional Online Resources

Purdue OWL
Creating a Thesis Statement

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