Develop a thesis statement that answers a question.

What’s a good thesis statement? Well, it depends on your assignment. But a good thesis statement always answers a question. Usually you can find the question inside your writing prompt. (What if you don’t have a prompt?)

Let’s say you have an English paper due that asks you to “Discuss ways Shakespeare uses imagery in Hamlet.” You could answer that in many ways. You might believe that, “Shakespeare uses imagery of death and decay in Hamlet to show Denmark’s state of corruption.” This is a focused thesis statement because:

• It answers a question. (It even uses words right from the prompt – zing! "How does Shakespeare uses imagery?" Your thesis statement answers, "Shakespeare uses imagery like this ..." More examples are listed below.)


• It is debatable. (You say Shakespeare uses imagery of death and decay in Hamlet to show Denmark’s state of corruption, but someone else might say, “No, Shakespeare uses imagery of death and decay to expose incest in English monarchy.” Your job is to make a better argument than that person.)


• It takes a stance. (Your thesis should clearly show what side of the debate you are on. As you write your paper, everything you say should support your stance.)


• It is not too broad. (You didn’t just say, “Shakespeare uses imagery of death and decay” and leave it at that. You gave your paper a direction.)


• It is not too narrow. (Can you think of at least three places in Hamlet where you can prove your point? Always ask yourself how many examples you can give to back up your argument. If you can’t come up with many, your focus might be too narrow.)

Check out some thesis statement examples from actual college essays. You’ll see which ones are strong, and why.

"Some people say it is the janitor's job, but cleaning up after yourself in a public restroom is not only hygienic, it is the courteous thing to do."	This thesis statement may seem strange, but depending on the assignment, it could be good! Let's say the professor asked for you to write a persuasive essay about a topic you are passionate about. This could qualify.  It's strong because it: takes a stance (cleaning up after yourself is common decency as opposed to someone else's job) is debatable (some people say it's janitor's work) is not too broad or narrow (I can think of four or five reasons why cleaning up after yourself is the right thing to do.)
"Animal experimentation is sometimes necessary, but it's also wrong to many people."	OK, so animal experimentation is sometimes cool, but some people say it's not cool. There is no debate here. The thesis statement is weak because it's on both sides of the table, and is not taking a stance. How would it be better? Maybe, "Animal experimentation is wrong because it offers no reliable data, but mutilates living beings and causes them to suffer." Or maybe something else. But take a stance.   Even if you are comparing and contrasting, you'll offer a stance. Such as, "Animal experimentation is viewed as morally wrong by animal rights groups like PETA, but most scientists agree that it is the best way to gather data."
"Though people argue that examinations cause stress and tension in students, they are important in evaluating the student's knowledge."	This is another strong example. It follows the criteria at the top of this page, and it's a topic that you will find plenty of outside resources to back up.
"Wars fought on U.S. soil were not that bad compared to World Wars."	Not only is this thesis statement too broad (which wars are we talking about?), it's not debatable. We can't say any war is "not that bad" because that is meaningless.  Wars affect people, industries, entire countries - we could never prove that a war "wasn't that bad."   This is a weak statement because it cannot be debated. We could make it debatable by getting more specific and taking a stance. Perhaps you could argue that, "Although it may seem like World War I was more economically devastating than any battle fought on U.S. soil, it the Civil War took a larger toll on our country's economy because of the greater number of  casualties and the many cities left in ruins."
"Organic foods in Illinois get a bad rap because farmers are not able to pay for certification without raising the price beyond what average people can afford."	This thesis statement is on the weak side. Yes, it takes a stance and is probably debatable, but it gets into so many details that it may be hard to develop into a full paper. In other words, the focus is too narrow. You could broaden it by breaking it down like this: What's the main argument? "Organic foods in Illinois get a bad rap." Why? One reason is because they are expensive. Let's say another is because they are not certified. And another is because of the lack of variety (I made that part up. There's a lot of good organic food in Illinois.) So, you're taking the specific/narrow part of the statement and turning it into one of your points. A stronger version might read: "Organic foods in Illinois get a bad rap because they are expensive, uncertified, and boring."  You could still include the fact that average people can't afford the food under the "expensive" point.

YOUR TURN: 

Write down a draft thesis statement if you don’t already have one. Then go back to the list at the top of this page and ask yourself: Does it answer a question? Is it debatable? Make sure you’re statement meets each of these criteria before you move on, and you’ll know you’re working with a strong thesis.