Thesis Statement
A FEW MORE TOPICS & THESIS EXAMPLES
TOPIC: body piercing
BAD: Body piercing is popular among kids nowadays.
BETTER: Body piercing among contemporary youth represents the latest form of rebelling against authority that previous generations manifested in smoking, getting tattoos, and wearing mini-skirts.
TOPIC: female musicians
BAD: Female musicians are getting more popular.
BETTER: During the past five years, musical artists like Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morisette, and Jewel have solidified a place for women's music on the top ten charts.
TOPIC: news coverage of military action
BAD: News coverage of military actions undermines their seriousness.
BETTER: By featuring highlights of air strikes and peace-keeping missions on the news, television producers reduce them to the status of popular entertainment and undermine the audience's appreciation of the seriousness of military actions.
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One
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 strong 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
TOPIC: body piercing
BAD: Body piercing is popular among kids nowadays.
BETTER: Body piercing among contemporary youth represents the latest form of rebelling against authority that previous generations manifested in smoking, getting tattoos, and wearing mini-skirts.
TOPIC: female musicians
BAD: Female musicians are getting more popular.
BETTER: During the past five years, musical artists like Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morisette, and Jewel have solidified a place for women's music on the top ten charts.
TOPIC: news coverage of military action
BAD: News coverage of military actions undermines their seriousness.
BETTER: By featuring highlights of air strikes and peace-keeping missions on the news, television producers reduce them to the status of popular entertainment and undermine the audience's appreciation of the seriousness of military actions.
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One
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 strong 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