A thesis is the main claim you are making in an argument, similar to the hypothesis in a scientific experiment. It is what you are trying to prove or persuade your audience to believe or do. It’s helpful to develop a working thesis to guide your composition process. “Working” is the operative word here; your ideas are likely to change during research and the composing process, but beginning with a plan will help you stay focused.
In an informative essay or speech, you may not need a thesis statement, per se, because you’re not trying to prove anything. You will, however, still need to have a clearly articulated main, or controlling, idea. That idea is the primary message you’re trying to convey to your audience.
You will be refining your working thesis as you think about or research your topic. Most likely, you will be adding detail and making it more specific. It should mention two things: the topic and your comment about the topic. You can make the statement more specific later, but at the beginning just get the basics down.
Ex. Working Thesis Public school vouchers should not only be allowed but encouraged by the federal government.
Ex. Working Main Idea Public school vouchers are growing in popularity among parents but are still opposed by teacher unions.
Unless your assignment says otherwise, it’s not necessary to have a specific number of supporting reasons. This example has three, but you may have more or less depending on your argument.
As you work on your paper and build an introduction, the thesis or main idea can be reworded or refined.
Ex. While the use of school vouchers is currently decided by the states with no interaction or interference from the federal government, the country would be better served if the government would not only recommend but encourage the use of vouchers.
Notice the lines of argument are not articulated in that version of the thesis statement. If you want to map out the lines of argument you’ll be pursuing in the rest of the paper, you might prefer a thesis statement like this:
Ex. While the use of school vouchers is currently decided by the states with no interaction or interference from the federal government, the country would be better served if the government would not only recommend but encourage the use of vouchers. If more people used vouchers, public schools would be forced to improve to compete for students, taxpayers would ultimately save money, and more students would have access to a quality education.
Although you might want to express your thesis or main idea in a single sentence, it is not always necessary. You may define lines of reasoning earlier in the introduction, or break the thesis statement up into component parts. For longer papers, a thesis paragraph may even be appropriate.
There are many types of effective thesis statements.
Ex. (advocate a course of action) The University should require incoming freshmen to take a physical education course.
Ex. (make comparisons and evaluate) Hitchcock was a more revolutionary filmmaker than Truffaut.
Ex. (attribute a cause) Much childhood obesity results from inferior cafeteria food.
Some thesis statements clearly map out the reasons supporting the thesis.
Ex. The United States should return to developing nuclear power because it is cheap, would reduce dependence on foreign sources of fuel, and is safer than other forms of energy.
Some thesis statements begin with an “although” clause, which establishes a contradiction that is then explored in the rest of the paper. An “although” thesis is especially helpful for building rapport with a hostile or skeptical audience because it allows you to find common ground.
Ex. Although the proposed health care reform legislation would improve access to health care for some select groups, it would ultimately fail to provide universal health care for all Americans.
In academic discourse, the thesis is typically presented at the end of the introduction. In some instances, however, you may find it more effective to withhold your thesis until the conclusion, which allows you to present evidence to soften potential resistance from your audience. You may also want to delay revealing your thesis in an informative speech to create suspense or build to a dramatic conclusion. If you choose to present your thesis at the end of an argument, be sure your audience is able to follow your line of reasoning.