Writing Center
Workshop Handout: Thesis Statements
A thesis statement has two parts: a limited subject and a controlling idea. The limited subject
tells your reader what you will write about, while your controlling idea is what you will say
about it.
Limiting Your Subject
Having a subject that is too big will lead to general statements that do not satisfy your reader.
Ask yourself, “What is important? What is not important?” When you ask, “What will I write
about the general subject?” your answer should be a specific topic called the limited subject.
General Subject
Limited Subject
Environment
The effects of global warming
Fashion
Dressing professionally for work
Television
Advertisements for children
Crafting Your Controlling Idea
Once you have a limited subject, you need to tell the reader your opinion on that limited subject.
Your opinion on the limited subject is your controlling idea. Your job when writing a controlling
idea is to persuade the reader that your point is valid and/or reasonable. Everything else you
write in your paper will defend your controlling idea.
Limited Subject
Controlling Idea
Thesis Statement
The effects of global warming
The effects of global warming
will impact the foods people
eat
Although global warming has
many negative effects, the
impact on food availability
will be the most severe.
Dressing professionally for
work
Dressing professionally for
work is important to getting
respect
Dressing professionally at
work means appearing clean
and neat, being organized,
and having a non-distracting
hairstyle.
Advertisements for children
Advertisements unfairly
influence children
Advertisements convince
children to want toys, food,
and other items that could be
dangerous for their health.
Your thesis statement is a one sentence declaration of the argument you will present about
your limited subject.
Thesis statement = Limited subject + Controlling idea
Identify the limited subject and controlling idea in each of these thesis statements:
1. Track maintenance on the CTA Brown Line should be done in the middle of the night instead
of during the day.
2. Spending more money on protecting the environment will decrease the country’s health care
costs in the long term.
3. People who throw cigarette butts on the ground should be fined for littering.
Dos and Don’ts of Thesis Statements
What a Thesis Statement Isn’t
● A title
○ Title: Divorce over Nothing
○ Thesis: Too many people divorce for no good reason.
● An announcement of the subject
○ Announcement: In this paper I will write about why people get divorced.
○ Thesis: Of all the reasons why people get divorced, substance abuse is the most
preventable.
● A fact
○ Fact: Fifty percent of people get divorced.
○ Thesis: Our divorce rates are so high because people get married when they aren’t
ready for commitment.
What a Thesis Statement Is
● Expresses a clear opinion about the limited topic
○ Poor: Divorce can be dangerous.
○ Stronger: Divorce is dangerous for children because they will not understand
healthy romantic relationships.
● Discusses one major idea
○ Poor: Divorce is popular because people like to quit when things are difficult and
people don’t take the time to understand each other.
○ Stronger: Divorce is popular because it is too easy to obtain a divorce in many
states.
● Discusses the major idea specifically (your thesis must be defensible in a multi-paragraph
essay)
○ Poor: Divorce is negative.
○ Stronger: Divorce is harmful to us all because the family is the building block of
society.
