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How to Create a Strong Thesis Statement
Many writing assignments ask you to create a thesis-driven argument. Your thesis statement should
explicitly lay out the specific argument you will support in the body of your paper.
1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.
Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are
writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to
evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:
There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.
This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative and positive
aspects is vague.
Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of
muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.
This is a stronger thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific.
2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.
Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship
systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis
statements:
My family is an extended family.
This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point
of the statement, and will probably stop reading.
While most American families would view consanguineal marriage, or marriage between people
from a common ancestor, as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like
my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.
This is a stronger thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A
good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be
interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point.
Created by the Virginia Wesleyan University Learning
Center Clarke Hall, Room 223
Need help from a tutor? Visit http://vwc.mywconline.com
3. A strong thesis statement is specific.
A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your
paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you
might say:
World hunger has many causes and effects.
This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly
in seven to ten pages. Second, many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify specific
causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:
Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely
profitable.
This is a stronger thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable
topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger.
4. A strong thesis answers a HOW or WHY question about your topic through
specific language.
Here is a broad formula to think of the components of a weak thesis statement compared to a stronger
thesis statement.
Broad Noun + Weak Verb + Vague, Evaluative Adjective
The economic situation is bad.
Specific Noun + Action Verb + Assertive Predicate
The tax policies of threaten to reduce by sacrificing education and
the current administration the tax burden on the health-care programs for
middle class everyone.
