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Helpful Hints

APHORISMS ON THESIS STATEMENTS
by Roy Kasten

Every essay needs a thesis statement. In English Composition courses, it's often (but not always) the last sentence of the first paragraph. It's a concise statement of what the essay is going to try to prove to its audience.

A good thesis statement is focused. It doesn't attempt to cover too much ground or include too many ideas.

A good thesis statement draws lines of contention and battle. It takes a stand. It says to the reader, "I have a point of view that is singular and interesting. I want you to consider looking at the issue from my point of view for a change."

It is the argument of the essay in a nutshell.

A good thesis is specific and free from imprecise language. It isn't too abstract, general or clichéd: "Democracy is the form of government that allows for the most freedom in a society." Besides being trite, this thesis has too many vague, slippery terms to be supportable.

A good thesis is elegant and economical. Only the words that truly count towards expressing the intention of the argument are included.

It is generally, but not always, expressed in one complete sentence.

A good thesis statement counts, matters, has some idea at stake. It is an attitude, an angle, a perspective, an insight. It should say, "Without me the world would be a less interesting place."

A good thesis statement does not try to prove the obvious or the unprovable: "Unemployment injures society because it destroys morale." "Unemployment is the worst fate known to men and women." The first sentence is too obvious to argue and the second is too extreme.

A good thesis statement is not a statement of fact. "Unemployment is a major problem in our society today." Rather it is an interpretation of the facts or of a subject: "Although some argue that unemployment is result of laziness, it is actually rooted in the fluctuations of a market economy governed by the law of supply and demand."

A good thesis always provides direction and can often structure your essay: "Orwell's obsession with clarity blinds him to the ideological power and aesthetic flaws of everyday language."

A good thesis statement makes or breaks the essay.

Think up your own aphorisms.

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