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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.