thesis statement for primary source analysis

How to Write a Primary Source Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

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If you've been assigned a primary source analysis for your coursework, it can seem like a daunting task. However, with the right approach and some guidelines, analyzing a primary source can be a rewarding and enriching experience. Here is a step-by-step guide for how to write a primary source analysis that will help you tackle this assignment with confidence.

Understanding Primary Sources

Before you begin analyzing a primary source, it is essential to understand what a primary source actually is. A primary source is a document or artifact that was created during the historical period you are studying. It could be a written document, such as a letter or diary entry, or a non-written document, like a painting or photograph.

Definition of a Primary Source

Primary sources provide firsthand accounts or direct evidence about an event or phenomenon. They are the raw materials of history, providing us with a glimpse into the past that cannot be found anywhere else.

Importance of Primary Source Analysis

Studying primary sources is an essential part of historical research. By analyzing primary sources, you can gain a better understanding of the past and the people who lived through it. You can also develop critical thinking skills and learn how to evaluate sources for their reliability and bias.

One of the most important aspects of primary source analysis is understanding the context in which the source was created. This means considering the historical, social, and cultural factors that influenced the author or creator of the source. For example, a letter written during the Civil War may have a different tone and perspective than a letter written during peacetime.

Another important aspect of primary source analysis is evaluating the credibility of the source. This means considering factors such as the author's bias, the accuracy of the information presented, and the purpose of the source. For example, a government report may be biased towards a particular political agenda, while a personal diary may be more subjective in nature.

Examples of Primary Sources

Primary sources can take many different forms. Some examples include:

• Letters and diaries - These personal documents provide firsthand accounts of events and can offer insight into the thoughts and feelings of the author.
• Official documents, such as treaties and government reports - These documents provide information about the policies and actions of governments and other organizations.
• Photographs and videos - These visual sources can offer a glimpse into the daily lives of people in the past and can provide evidence of historical events.
• Newspaper articles and advertisements - These sources can offer insight into the attitudes and opinions of people during a particular time period.
• Artifacts, such as tools and clothing - These physical objects can provide information about the daily lives and material culture of people in the past.

Overall, primary sources are a vital tool for historians and researchers who seek to gain a deeper understanding of the past. By analyzing these sources, we can gain insight into the thoughts, feelings, and actions of people in the past and learn how historical events have shaped our world today.

Preparing for the Analysis

Once you have selected a primary source, there are several steps you should take to prepare for your analysis.

Selecting a Primary Source

Choosing the right primary source is essential for a successful analysis. Look for sources that are relevant to your research question and that provide enough information to support your analysis. You should also consider the context in which the source was created and the audience it was intended for.

Gathering Background Information

Before you begin analyzing your primary source, you should conduct research to gather background information about the historical period and events it relates to. This will provide you with a better understanding of the context in which the source was created and the issues it addresses.

Identifying the Purpose and Audience

It's important to consider the purpose and intended audience of the primary source you are analyzing. Understanding the author's goals, motivations, and intended audience can give you insights into the source's biases and reliability.

Analyzing the Primary Source

Now that you have selected and prepared your primary source, it's time to begin analyzing it in detail.

Examining the Content

The first step in analyzing a primary source is to examine its content carefully. Read the document or look at the artifact closely and try to identify any significant themes or details. Look for patterns or trends that can provide insight into the author's perspective and the context in which the source was created.

Assessing the Author's Perspective

Next, consider the author's perspective. Think about their motivations and biases and how these might have influenced the source's content. Consider the author's background, political beliefs, and social status, and how these factors might have shaped their perspective.

Evaluating the Source's Reliability and Bias

One of the most critical aspects of analyzing a primary source is evaluating its reliability and bias. Look for any inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the source's content. Consider the author's bias and how it might have influenced the content of the source. Also, consider any external factors that might have influenced the source, such as censorship or pressure to conform to certain views.

Analyzing the Language and Tone

Finally, consider the language and tone used in the primary source. Look for any rhetorical devices, such as metaphor or symbolism, that the author uses to convey their message. Consider the tone of the source and how it might reflect the author's perspective and intended audience.

Organizing Your Analysis

Once you have completed your analysis of the primary source, you will need to organize your findings into a coherent and persuasive argument.

Creating an Outline

Creating an outline is essential for organizing your thoughts and arguments. Start by identifying the key themes and perspectives you have identified in your analysis. Then, arrange your findings into an outline that presents your argument in a clear and logical way.

Developing a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should reflect the main argument you are making based on your analysis of the primary source. It should be clear and concise and reflect the key themes and perspectives you have identified in your analysis.

Identifying Supporting Evidence

Finally, make sure to include supporting evidence from the primary source in your analysis. This will help to make your argument more persuasive and demonstrate your understanding of the source.

ChatGPT Prompt for Writing a Primary Source Analysis

Use the following prompt in an AI chatbot . Below each prompt, be sure to provide additional details about your situation. These could be scratch notes, what you'd like to say or anything else that guides the AI model to write a certain way.

Compose a comprehensive and in-depth examination of a primary source.

[ADD ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. CAN USE BULLET POINTS.]

Writing a primary source analysis can be a challenging but rewarding experience. By following these guidelines, you can develop critical thinking skills and gain a deeper understanding of the past. Remember to select your primary source carefully, prepare thoroughly, and analyze the source's content, perspective, and reliability before organizing your analysis into a clear and persuasive argument.

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History: Primary Source Research: Step 2: Developing a Thesis Statement

• Step 1: Identifying Primary Sources
• Digital Collections for Primary Sources
• Step 2: Developing a Thesis Statement
• Step 3: Gathering Secondary Sources
• Database Researching Tips: Boolean Operators
• Step 4: Creating a Bibliography

Forming a Thesis Statement

If you have identified your research topic, and you have gathered primary source materials, it's time to formulate a thesis statement. Remember, a thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  It's not a question, a list of points, a hypothetical "what-if" argument, or restatement of someone else's ideas. It's YOUR argument for or against something. 

I like to think of it as a math problem:  A + B = C.  You probably have two ideas (A+B) that, when filtered through the lens of your primary source research, creates a final argument or new interpretation (C). The equation could also be stated this way:  Point A, because of point B, lead to argument C.

If you would like further assistance with thesis statements or writing papers in general, the Writing Center is available on the second floor of the Library.  The tutors are more than happy to help you and are available anytime from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. 

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Assessment Forum

Creating and Administering a Primary Source Analysis

John Buchkoski, Mikal B. Eckstrom, Holly Kizewski, and Courtney Pixler | Jan 1, 2015

H undreds of students pass through the introductory history courses of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln each semester with various backgrounds and skill levels. Although some of them have faced a primary source assessment, perhaps in the Advanced Placement Document Based Question Exam, our department had no universal assessment tool to evaluate student learning and skill development. In January 2014, William G. Thomas, our chair, and Margaret Jacobs, the chancellor’s professor of history, asked us to write and administer an exam for all introductory American history courses. Our goal was to construct new pedagogical tools that integrated more primary source analysis into our survey courses.

Collaboration was key to our success, and our different backgrounds and teaching experiences were vitally important in identifying the most significant components of history writing. We agreed that these components were a clear thesis statement, the number of sources used, organization, and analysis. We worked together to ensure that primary sources were similar for the pre- and post-1877 US exams in that they presented issues dealing with race, class, and gender. For example, we incorporated the Utmost Good Faith Clause from the Northwest Ordinance on the pre-1877 test and the Burton-Wheeler Act on the post-1877 test to demonstrate legal decisions regarding Native Americans and land. We chose sources that students were unlikely to have seen before and worked with the instructors to make sure the students would know the context in which the source had been created.

It is impossible to design a “one size fits all” exam that caters to the learning style of each student, but our mix of textual and visual sources helped make our exam more accessible. In order to prepare the students for the exam, the team led a workshop in each of the eight classrooms that focused on how to use primary sources. By working through a sample question and documents in the classroom, we modeled the best strategies for succeeding on the exam. We focused on how to write an effective essay, with a strong thesis statement and a cohesive structure guided by topic sentences. To ensure that online or absent students could review the information covered, the project team used Camtasia, a digital audio-recording tool, to record a podcast of the workshop, which we provided online along with a PowerPoint presentation.

The primary source assessment (PSA) team realized that the students’ teachers used a wide variety of teaching styles and presented very different course content. Each team member served as a liaison between two US history instructors and the PSA team. Faculty reaction to the PSA was varied; some instructors were enthusiastic, while others were initially skeptical. Two factors—clearly discussing the goals of the project and being available for further discussions—helped allay many of the faculty’s concerns. The instructors often found ways to adapt our lecture to fit the themes of the class and their teaching styles. Feedback from the instructors was particularly essential to the success of our workshops, as we were able to incorporate their suggestions over the course of eight lectures. This flexibility on our part helped us to adapt to the challenges that come with stepping into someone else’s classroom.

Because the members of the PSA team had varied historical interests and specializations, each contributed a different perspective to the exam. After choosing the American Revolution and the New Deal as the exam topics for each half of the survey, we eventually selected seven or eight sources. We decided to keep our questions somewhat simple in order to encourage argumentative thesis writing and broad use of evidence. For the first half of the survey, we asked, “Did all Americans benefit equally from the American Revolution?” and used sources covering women, Native Americans, and African Americans to provide a wide range of evidence. Likewise, for the second half of the survey, we asked, “Did all Americans benefit equally from the New Deal of the 1930s?”; we provided sources on African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and working-class individuals. In order to remain objective in grading, we designed a rubric. We graded some of the exams together and frequently communicated about the grading process to ensure consistency.

The PSA team assessed the exams using four categories—thesis, sources, analysis, and organization—and tracked the results on a rubric (see sidebar). We then extrapolated various data sets from over four hundred exams. The HIST 110 (American history to 1877) classes averaged 83% for every category except the analysis category (77%). HIST 111 courses averaged higher (82%) in three categories (thesis, sources, and organization), but the analysis was still lower (79%). The averages for both American survey courses were as follows: thesis (83.4%), sources (83%), analysis (79%), and organization (82.2%).

We were pleased to discover that students taking the courses online scored comparably to those in traditional classrooms, leading us to believe that the PSA is effective in both environments. We were also pleased that the students focused on creating precise, argumentative theses and that almost every student provided a thesis statement. Additionally, most used at least six or seven of the documents we provided as evidence in support of their arguments. In the category of organization, a majority of students used a five-paragraph structure with topic sentences, which showed ability to effectively group evidence within a fluent argument. The PSA also indicated to our department the areas in which students could most improve. The analysis portion resulted in the lowest scores. We found that students referred to the sources in their essays but struggled to connect the context of the documents to their argument.

On the question about the American Revolution, in particular, we noted that students’ arguments often did not match the sources. Some students were reluctant to state that the Revolution did not result in total equality, incorrectly arguing that slaves and women became full members of the new Republic. Although students were more willing to be critical of the New Deal policies, we nevertheless encountered essays that argued for the fairness of repatriation and Indian removal. Many students relied on a predetermined narrative that was some variation of American exceptionalism and that clouded their ability to judiciously examine the sources we provided.

The exam also unexpectedly revealed that some students lacked a historical context for understanding race in American history. Documents and questions provided to students highlighted the entanglement of race with US history. During the workshops, the team discussed the interplay of race, class, and gender as a primary analytical tool for assessing the sources. Still, some students wrote that when African Americans are unable to receive Social Security, it is due to laziness, rather than to the historical legacy of the Jim Crow South and the institutional discrimination of the New Deal. When describing Native Americans in the New Deal Era, students adopted the “lazy Indian” trope. Others argued that the government should have taken Indian lands to boost the struggling economy. A few students also grafted current racialized debates onto the documents. For example, when analyzing documents on 1930s Mexican repatriados, one student wrote, “I think the New Deal was a little too fair for Mexicans wishing to return back [sic] to Mexico and take all their goods back. I don’t think illegal immigrants deserve this.” By couching their arguments in current issues of citizenship and migration, this student disregarded historical context. Finally, some students used problematic language found within the documents, such as the word negro .

As troubling as this was, the team agreed that the problematic essays were clearly not malicious. Rather, they seemed to be based on current political issues and a reluctance to criticize celebrated American policies. Although these problems were few in number, the department developed strategies to help students think about race as a construction, in and out of the classroom. One faculty member had advised against using the term negro in his syllabus and in class, and students from his class consistently used culturally appropriate language for African Americans in their essays. In spring 2014, the department discussed teaching about race in a previously planned workshop for faculty and graduate students. We were able to use our findings at this workshop to demonstrate the continuing need for critical race analysis in our classrooms.

Our department-wide efforts to bring a primary source assessment to our introductory classes produced mostly positive results. We were excited to discover that our survey-level students effectively produced structured, argumentative responses to primary sources. We also learned that, going forward, our focus should be on promoting critical analysis. The PSA team learned how to navigate the complexities of large-scale assessments and set the groundwork within our department for similar examinations in the future. Based on our results, the department is considering extending this assessment to other introductory surveys in the future.

The authors are graduate students in history at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Grading the Primary Source Assessment

Thesis: 25%

Number of Sources: 25%

Analysis of Evidence: 25%

Organization: 25%

The American Historical Association welcomes comments in the discussion area below, at AHA Communities , and in letters to the editor . Please read our commenting and letters policy before submitting.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Primary Source Analysis

Primary source analysis is what it sounds like: an analysis of a primary source. It’s beneficial to understand how to do primary source analysis correctly.

PESTLEanalysis Team

Primary source analysis is exactly what it sounds like: an analysis of a primary source.

You probably heard the term “primary source” often in school. It’s referred to as a first-hand experience or account of an event, person, or object.

An audio recording of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech where he’s famously quoted saying “I have a dream” is a first-hand account. It’s his words recorded from his mouth . Someone else who quotes it would be a secondary source.

Primary sources are critical to research . It’s beneficial to understand how to do primary source analysis and justify the source correctly.

1. Start simple

Begin by answering a few basic questions.

What type of source is it? Primary sources can be letters, diary entries, data entries, interviews, or even photographs.

Next, who created it? Self-explanatory: put down the name of the author or person who provided the primary source.

When was it created? Again, quite simple. Write down the date the primary source was created. It may be difficult to know the exact date depending on the source.

2. The context

What led the author to develop this primary source? It might be a significant event in history. Or it could be a series of circumstances. It could even be because of a coincidence. Whichever the reason write it down.

Think of it like this: the person created the content because X event was taking place and he needed to contact Y with Z information.

3. Who is it for?

You may have already done so in the previous step, making this part easier to do. But it’s relatively straightforward. Who was the piece created for?

Letters are often addressed to one person. Diary entries are often directed to no one in particular. If it’s not directly obvious, consider who it could’ve been for.

4. A quick summary

Now address what the key points of the source were.

If it’s a longer entry, try to pick out critical pieces of information that sum up the piece. Try to answer what someone, who knows nothing about the source, needs to know to understand its significance.

Keep that in mind while you dissect the article.

5. Reliability

A primary source must be reliable. But it’s not enough to say that it is.

State how it is reliable (what makes it a primary source) and then explain why it’s significant. Such as: It’s a reliable source as it was created by X during a critical time and has been verified by Y group. It’s significant because…

Consider how it helps to understand the topic at hand. If it doesn’t address anything key within the topic, it may be reliable but not significant. If this is the case, rethink the primary source.

The significance part can be determined from step 3.

6. Question everything

While you answer the above questions, stop and think. Does any of it not make sense?

This can help with reflection or bring an extra level of research to the analysis. Write down your thoughts as you read through the primary source as well. They may come in handy later.

At this point, the primary source analysis has completed. It can be as extensive as you deem fit. So long as you have followed the above steps and answered them to prove reliability and significance, your work here is done.

Each step should be repeated for every additional primary source you have.

Image: Baimieng/ Shutterstock.com

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• Person first narratives
• Finding relevant scholarship
• Primary source documents
• Analyzing primary sources
• Suggested sources
• Citing your sources

Analyzing Primary Sources

Resources for analysis:.

There are a variety of tools available to assist you with organizing and evaluating the primary sources you have access for your research. the tool that is best for you will depend on the type of research, and the type of sources you are analyzing. Select the one that works best for you, or create your using the elements that work best from several tools. 

TMU Library Material Analysis Sheet

National Archives Document Analysis Worksheets (by media)

Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tools

EJ Pratt Library - University of Toronto

Always Be Critical of Your Sources

All sources must be considered critically, and any attitudes, understanding, experience, intentions, and prejudices of the creator should be taken into consideration. Primary sources often reflect one person's perspective, and their individual context should be taken into account when analyzing sources. 

How to analyze primary sources

Doing research using primary sources is a bit different from secondary source research. This type of inquiry can be challenging but allows you to conduct your own analysis of the evidence of a topic or event to draw your own theories and conclusions, rather than relying on interpretations provided. by others. Analyzing primary sources can also help you understand how complex and interconnected the events of the past can be, and help to develop your critical thinking and analysis skills.

The method you use, and the questions you ask, may differ from other researchers, based on the type of material and the topic in question, but will be related both to understanding the object itself, as well as the context in which it was created. 

Questions to Ask

Questions to ask when analyzing a primary source, sample questions: .

Some questions you might ask while analyzing primary sources are as follows, though this is not a comprehensive list:

• What is the document?
• Who created it?
• When and where was it created? 
• What was the original purpose?
• What kind of information or evidence does it contain?
• What does the format, or materials used in its construction, say about the document?
• Why and how was the document preserved? By who? For who?
• What other documents, data, or other information might give this further context?
• How does the information this document provides align with or contradict other documents or secondary sources? 
• What conclusions can be drawn based on the document?
• What further research is necessary to confirm your conclusions?

For more questions to consider as you analyze a source, have a look at the Carleton College Department of History guide on  How to Analyze a Primary Source.

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• Single-Source Analysis

What It Is and Why It's Useful

Single-source essays tend to involve some level of analysis of one (main) source, and they tend to be shorter than long. Those parameters leave a lot of room for variation, but in general these kinds of assignments are moving beyond summary, don't have comparative analysis as their focus, and aren't drawing on a lot of research. They're staying focused on one source (or even a part of a source), and this can be a useful way to allow students themselves to focus on:

• Elaborating on or digging into the complexities or confusing aspects of an argument
• Applying theoretical models or interpretive skills that have been introduced in a course
• Critiquing an argument's claim or its use of evidence
• Identifying underlying assumptions in a source or its possible implications

All of these approaches are more complex than summary, which remains primarily descriptive and stops short of the normative moves a singe-source analysis might get into. Limiting these moves to a single source has two immediate pedagogical advantages: It means that students are using a more straightforward genre to provide evidence of their ability to engage analytically with a given source, rather than providing evidence that they can (also) navigate a more complex form (such as comparative analysis or a research essay); it also means that instructors can offer more targeted feedback when the goal is to measure student's mastery of content and/or elements such as thesis, evidence, or counterargument, rather than also measuring mastery of form per se. Put another way: Is your main objective for students to learn the form itself, or for them to use the form as a vehicle for learning other things?

Typical learning objectives for single-sources essays: formulate analytical questions and an arguable thesis, establish stakes of an argument, summarize sources accurately, choose evidence effectively, analyze evidence effectively, define key terms, organize argument logically, acknowledge and respond to counterargument, cite sources properly, and present ideas in clear prose.

Common types of single-sources essays and related types: literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, primary source analysis (in History), critical assessment of an argument, etc.

How to Teach It: Framing + Practice

A single-source analysis suddenly has a lot more moving parts than a standalone summary, but any of your students who've taken Expos (or the equivalent) will be familiar with the moves that make up a typical version of this genre of assignment.

In terms of framing what doing a single-source analysis will look like, it's of course ideal to start with the prompt itself and talk about the other kinds of lower-stakes writing that will scaffold up to it (See the " Formative Writing Assignments " page in this section"). What this scaffolded sequence looks like will vary with context, but for a single-source analysis it might build on reading assignments and class discussions that lead to a full draft through lower-stakes writing exercises, such as summary, thesis proposals, introductions or outlines, and sample body paragraphs (that allow for practice with topic sentences, introducing and citing evidence, and providing analysis). In terms of framing the purpose of single-source analysis, it can be helpful to draw on the reasons why it's useful (see above), both as an end-unto-itself and as a means to other, more complex genres (such as research essays).  

Because single-source analyses have more moving parts, it's important that students get practice with as many of the parts as possible—practice that's sequenced effectively and that allows each practice step itself clearly to be part of "writing the paper." One version of a class-by-class process for a single-source essay might look something like this (Formative writing exercises are in bolded italics , and you can find examples of all of them at the " Formative Writing Assignments " page):

• In class:  Introduce prompt and analytical questions At home: Students read half of a text and come to class with analytical questions
• In class: Workshop analytical questions , class discussion, introduce summary At home: Students finish text and come to class with analytical questions and a draft summary
• In class: Workshop summary , class discussion, introduce thesis statements (as answers to analytical questions) At home: Students draft possible thesis statements (along with what the stakes of each one might be and what evidence from the source supports or complicates it)
• In class: Workshop thesis statements and look at models of introductions and/or analytical paragraphs ; a review of citation practices in the style students are writing in At home: Students draft possible intro or essay outline
• In class:  Workshop intros and outlines ; look at a model essay together with some focus on topic sentences or transitions and perhaps an element of prose style At home: Students work on full drafts of their essays.

This isn't a minimalist approach to a single-source assignment, nor is it a maximalist version either. What it's meant to show is that the process of a single-source analysis can be broken down into meaningful, manageable steps—and that it will typically take anywhere from 1+ to ~3 weeks, on average, to make it a learning experience that authentically measures students' progress in relation to the typical learning objectives for this genre of writing.

Sample Exercises and Links to Other Resources

• Common Pitfalls
• Advice on Timing
• Try to steer students away from thinking of a proposed thesis as a commitment. Instead, help them see it as more of a hypothesis a) that has emerged out of readings and discussion and analytical questions, and b) that they'll now test through an experiment, namely, drafting. When students see drafting and revision as part of the process of inquiry—rather than as the before and after of inquiry—and are committed to acknowledging and adapting their claims to as much available evidence as possible, it makes writing assignments more scientific, more ethical, and more authentic. 
• Make sure students have a sense of the kinds of evidence and analysis they should be engaging with in their essay. Should they be using certain kinds of evidence from the source or a certain number of examples?
• As with other kinds of essays, be explicit about who the audience is. That is, should students assume the reader needs background summary and orientation of examples? Or should they dispense with that information because the imagined audience is presumed to be made up of "experts?"
• Starting with analytical questions keeps the focus on trying to answer a question that isn't "one-sided," and that means that one's thesis will by definition be a claim that can be reasonably answered in more than one way—and that makes counterargument (and, with it, a less static relationship to one's thesis) something that's always an active part of the writing process
• Remind students that writing is part of the process of inquiry, rather than the result or mechanical output.
• Make "acknowledging and addressing counterargument" one of the required elements of the assignment (i.e., part of the rubric).
• Many students, even after meeting their expository writing requirement, will have a greater comfort level with certain approaches to evidence and analysis as well as form. For example, you might see students focusing (without any mention of it in the prompt) on an author's rhetorical features or the effectiveness of an argument based on the popular ethos/logos/pathos model of teaching writing in secondary schools. And you might see rigid 5-paragraph approaches to structure. There's nothing inherently wrong with these approaches, of course—especially given their utility in the context of timed in-class writing or standardized testing/AP exams. The tip for this pitfall is this: know that you'll see a lot more of these unexpected (and perhaps undesired) approaches if you don't get out in front of them and make it clear to students what kinds of approaches are best suited to the current assignment—and why.
• Prior to college writing, a lot of the academic writing your students will have done was for their day-in-day-out teachers and for anonymous readers of AP exams or various applications. Neither of those scenarios is the mental model of "audience" we're asking students to adopt for many of their writing assignments in college, where we're more often asking them to write for something more generalizable, e.g., peers or colleagues or something more public-facing. Being clear with students about who their imagined audience should be is a great way to help students avoid making assumptions about several aspects of their writing, e.g., how much background summary to include, whether the reader (= the grader) "knows" the "right" answer to the prompt, etc. In many cases, what we want students to do with analytical essays is teach the reader something, and it's easier for students to take on that role as writers when "audience" (and the kind of authority the audience has) is explicitly addressed in the prompt or in class.

What It Can Build Up To

Single-source analyses can build up to other kinds of writing in a number of ways. For example:

• They can build toward subsequent single-source analyses of other (possibly more difficult) sources
• They can scaffold up to comparative analysis, where multiple sources are being analyzed in relation to each other
• In a course where students will take a "deep dive" into a source or topic for their capstone, they can allow students to "try on" a source or topic to see if it's indeed something they want to research more fully.
• DIY Guides for Analytical Writing Assignments

• Types of Assignments
• Unpacking the Elements of Writing Prompts
• Formative Writing Assignments
• Comparative Analysis
• Research Essays
• Multi-Modal or Creative Projects
• Giving Feedback to Students

Assignment Decoder

Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

• Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
• Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
• Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
• Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
• Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

• Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
• Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.

• The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
• The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

• This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
• I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

• nature = peaceful
• war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
• need for time and space to mourn the dead
• war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

• although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
• _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
• phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

• Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
• Question each part of your draft thesis
• Clarify vague phrases and assertions
• Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

• Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.

Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.

Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

• Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
• As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
• Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
• Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

Writing Process and Structure

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Getting Started with Your Paper

Interpreting Writing Assignments from Your Courses

Generating Ideas for

Creating an Argument

Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

Working with Sources

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

Using Literary Quotations

Citing Sources in Your Paper

Drafting Your Paper

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introductions

Paragraphing

Developing Strategic Transitions

Conclusions

Revising Your Paper

Peer Reviews

Reverse Outlines

Revising an Argumentative Paper

Revision Strategies for Longer Projects

Finishing Your Paper

Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

How to Proofread your Paper

Writing Collaboratively

Collaborative and Group Writing

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

Learning objectives.

• Develop a strong, clear thesis statement with the proper elements.
• Revise your thesis statement.

Have you ever known a person who was not very good at telling stories? You probably had trouble following his train of thought as he jumped around from point to point, either being too brief in places that needed further explanation or providing too many details on a meaningless element. Maybe he told the end of the story first, then moved to the beginning and later added details to the middle. His ideas were probably scattered, and the story did not flow very well. When the story was over, you probably had many questions.

Just as a personal anecdote can be a disorganized mess, an essay can fall into the same trap of being out of order and confusing. That is why writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they are about to discuss in the body.

Just like a topic sentence summarizes a single paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes an entire essay. It tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, while the essay itself supports that point. It is like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.

Elements of a Thesis Statement

For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea. This idea stems from a topic you have chosen or been assigned or from a question your teacher has asked. It is not enough merely to discuss a general topic or simply answer a question with a yes or no. You have to form a specific opinion, and then articulate that into a controlling idea —the main idea upon which you build your thesis.

Remember that a thesis is not the topic itself, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic your professor gives you, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful and confident.

A thesis is one sentence long and appears toward the end of your introduction. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that are able to be demonstrated in the body. It forecasts the content of the essay and suggests how you will organize your information. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize an issue but rather dissects it.

A Strong Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities.

Specificity. A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic. For example, health care is a broad topic, but a proper thesis statement would focus on a specific area of that topic, such as options for individuals without health care coverage.

Precision. A strong thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and to remain focused on the topic. If the specific topic is options for individuals without health care coverage, then your precise thesis statement must make an exact claim about it, such as that limited options exist for those who are uninsured by their employers. You must further pinpoint what you are going to discuss regarding these limited effects, such as whom they affect and what the cause is.

Ability to be argued. A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.

Ability to be demonstrated. For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion. You can rely on personal observations in order to do this, or you can consult outside sources to demonstrate that what you assert is valid. A worthy argument is backed by examples and details.

Forcefulness. A thesis statement that is forceful shows readers that you are, in fact, making an argument. The tone is assertive and takes a stance that others might oppose.

Confidence. In addition to using force in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as I feel or I believe actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing. Taking an authoritative stance on the matter persuades your readers to have faith in your argument and open their minds to what you have to say.

Even in a personal essay that allows the use of first person, your thesis should not contain phrases such as in my opinion or I believe . These statements reduce your credibility and weaken your argument. Your opinion is more convincing when you use a firm attitude.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a thesis statement for each of the following topics. Remember to make each statement specific, precise, demonstrable, forceful and confident.

• Texting while driving
• The legal drinking age in the United States
• Steroid use among professional athletes

Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements

Each of the following thesis statements meets several of the following requirements:

• Specificity
• Ability to be argued
• Ability to be demonstrated
• Forcefulness
• The societal and personal struggles of Troy Maxon in the play Fences symbolize the challenge of black males who lived through segregation and integration in the United States.
• Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.
• Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet spoils the outcome for the audience and weakens the plot.
• J. D. Salinger’s character in Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caulfield, is a confused rebel who voices his disgust with phonies, yet in an effort to protect himself, he acts like a phony on many occasions.
• Compared to an absolute divorce, no-fault divorce is less expensive, promotes fairer settlements, and reflects a more realistic view of the causes for marital breakdown.
• Exposing children from an early age to the dangers of drug abuse is a sure method of preventing future drug addicts.
• In today’s crumbling job market, a high school diploma is not significant enough education to land a stable, lucrative job.

You can find thesis statements in many places, such as in the news; in the opinions of friends, coworkers or teachers; and even in songs you hear on the radio. Become aware of thesis statements in everyday life by paying attention to people’s opinions and their reasons for those opinions. Pay attention to your own everyday thesis statements as well, as these can become material for future essays.

Now that you have read about the contents of a good thesis statement and have seen examples, take a look at the pitfalls to avoid when composing your own thesis:

A thesis is weak when it is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay.

Weak thesis statement: My paper will explain why imagination is more important than knowledge.

A thesis is weak when it makes an unreasonable or outrageous claim or insults the opposing side.

Weak thesis statement: Religious radicals across America are trying to legislate their Puritanical beliefs by banning required high school books.

A thesis is weak when it contains an obvious fact or something that no one can disagree with or provides a dead end.

Weak thesis statement: Advertising companies use sex to sell their products.

A thesis is weak when the statement is too broad.

Weak thesis statement: The life of Abraham Lincoln was long and challenging.

Read the following thesis statements. On a separate piece of paper, identify each as weak or strong. For those that are weak, list the reasons why. Then revise the weak statements so that they conform to the requirements of a strong thesis.

• The subject of this paper is my experience with ferrets as pets.
• The government must expand its funding for research on renewable energy resources in order to prepare for the impending end of oil.
• Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who lived in Baltimore during the nineteenth century.
• In this essay, I will give you lots of reasons why slot machines should not be legalized in Baltimore.
• Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation.
• Because many children’s toys have potential safety hazards that could lead to injury, it is clear that not all children’s toys are safe.
• My experience with young children has taught me that I want to be a disciplinary parent because I believe that a child without discipline can be a parent’s worst nightmare.

Writing at Work

Often in your career, you will need to ask your boss for something through an e-mail. Just as a thesis statement organizes an essay, it can also organize your e-mail request. While your e-mail will be shorter than an essay, using a thesis statement in your first paragraph quickly lets your boss know what you are asking for, why it is necessary, and what the benefits are. In short body paragraphs, you can provide the essential information needed to expand upon your request.

Thesis Statement Revision

Your thesis will probably change as you write, so you will need to modify it to reflect exactly what you have discussed in your essay. Remember from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that your thesis statement begins as a working thesis statement , an indefinite statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process for the purpose of planning and guiding your writing.

Working thesis statements often become stronger as you gather information and form new opinions and reasons for those opinions. Revision helps you strengthen your thesis so that it matches what you have expressed in the body of the paper.

The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.

Ways to Revise Your Thesis

You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps:

1. Pinpoint and replace all nonspecific words, such as people , everything , society , or life , with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.

Working thesis: Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

Revised thesis: Recent college graduates must have discipline and persistence in order to find and maintain a stable job in which they can use and be appreciated for their talents.

The revised thesis makes a more specific statement about success and what it means to work hard. The original includes too broad a range of people and does not define exactly what success entails. By replacing those general words like people and work hard , the writer can better focus his or her research and gain more direction in his or her writing.

2. Clarify ideas that need explanation by asking yourself questions that narrow your thesis.

Working thesis: The welfare system is a joke.

Revised thesis: The welfare system keeps a socioeconomic class from gaining employment by alluring members of that class with unearned income, instead of programs to improve their education and skill sets.

A joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience. By asking questions, the writer can devise a more precise and appropriate explanation for joke . The writer should ask himself or herself questions similar to the 5WH questions. (See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information on the 5WH questions.) By incorporating the answers to these questions into a thesis statement, the writer more accurately defines his or her stance, which will better guide the writing of the essay.

3. Replace any linking verbs with action verbs. Linking verbs are forms of the verb to be , a verb that simply states that a situation exists.

Working thesis: Kansas City schoolteachers are not paid enough.

Revised thesis: The Kansas City legislature cannot afford to pay its educators, resulting in job cuts and resignations in a district that sorely needs highly qualified and dedicated teachers.

The linking verb in this working thesis statement is the word are . Linking verbs often make thesis statements weak because they do not express action. Rather, they connect words and phrases to the second half of the sentence. Readers might wonder, “Why are they not paid enough?” But this statement does not compel them to ask many more questions. The writer should ask himself or herself questions in order to replace the linking verb with an action verb, thus forming a stronger thesis statement, one that takes a more definitive stance on the issue:

• Who is not paying the teachers enough?
• What is considered “enough”?
• What is the problem?
• What are the results

4. Omit any general claims that are hard to support.

Working thesis: Today’s teenage girls are too sexualized.

Revised thesis: Teenage girls who are captivated by the sexual images on MTV are conditioned to believe that a woman’s worth depends on her sensuality, a feeling that harms their self-esteem and behavior.

It is true that some young women in today’s society are more sexualized than in the past, but that is not true for all girls. Many girls have strict parents, dress appropriately, and do not engage in sexual activity while in middle school and high school. The writer of this thesis should ask the following questions:

• Which teenage girls?
• What constitutes “too” sexualized?
• Why are they behaving that way?
• Where does this behavior show up?
• What are the repercussions?

In the first section of Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , you determined your purpose for writing and your audience. You then completed a freewriting exercise about an event you recently experienced and chose a general topic to write about. Using that general topic, you then narrowed it down by answering the 5WH questions. After you answered these questions, you chose one of the three methods of prewriting and gathered possible supporting points for your working thesis statement.

Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write down your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

In your career you may have to write a project proposal that focuses on a particular problem in your company, such as reinforcing the tardiness policy. The proposal would aim to fix the problem; using a thesis statement would clearly state the boundaries of the problem and tell the goals of the project. After writing the proposal, you may find that the thesis needs revision to reflect exactly what is expressed in the body. Using the techniques from this chapter would apply to revising that thesis.

Key Takeaways

• Proper essays require a thesis statement to provide a specific focus and suggest how the essay will be organized.
• A thesis statement is your interpretation of the subject, not the topic itself.
• A strong thesis is specific, precise, forceful, confident, and is able to be demonstrated.
• A strong thesis challenges readers with a point of view that can be debated and can be supported with evidence.
• A weak thesis is simply a declaration of your topic or contains an obvious fact that cannot be argued.
• Depending on your topic, it may or may not be appropriate to use first person point of view.
• Revise your thesis by ensuring all words are specific, all ideas are exact, and all verbs express action.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

Reference management. Clean and simple.

How to write a thesis statement + examples

What is a thesis statement?

Is a thesis statement a question, how do you write a good thesis statement, how do i know if my thesis statement is good, examples of thesis statements, helpful resources on how to write a thesis statement, frequently asked questions about writing a thesis statement, related articles.

A thesis statement is the main argument of your paper or thesis.

The thesis statement is one of the most important elements of any piece of academic writing . It is a brief statement of your paper’s main argument. Essentially, you are stating what you will be writing about.

You can see your thesis statement as an answer to a question. While it also contains the question, it should really give an answer to the question with new information and not just restate or reiterate it.

Your thesis statement is part of your introduction. Learn more about how to write a good thesis introduction in our introduction guide .

A thesis statement is not a question. A statement must be arguable and provable through evidence and analysis. While your thesis might stem from a research question, it should be in the form of a statement.

Tip: A thesis statement is typically 1-2 sentences. For a longer project like a thesis, the statement may be several sentences or a paragraph.

A good thesis statement needs to do the following:

• Condense the main idea of your thesis into one or two sentences.
• Answer your project’s main research question.
• Clearly state your position in relation to the topic .
• Make an argument that requires support or evidence.

Once you have written down a thesis statement, check if it fulfills the following criteria:

• Your statement needs to be provable by evidence. As an argument, a thesis statement needs to be debatable.
• Your statement needs to be precise. Do not give away too much information in the thesis statement and do not load it with unnecessary information.
• Your statement cannot say that one solution is simply right or simply wrong as a matter of fact. You should draw upon verified facts to persuade the reader of your solution, but you cannot just declare something as right or wrong.

As previously mentioned, your thesis statement should answer a question.

If the question is:

What do you think the City of New York should do to reduce traffic congestion?

A good thesis statement restates the question and answers it:

In this paper, I will argue that the City of New York should focus on providing exclusive lanes for public transport and adaptive traffic signals to reduce traffic congestion by the year 2035.

Here is another example. If the question is:

How can we end poverty?

A good thesis statement should give more than one solution to the problem in question:

In this paper, I will argue that introducing universal basic income can help reduce poverty and positively impact the way we work.

• The Writing Center of the University of North Carolina has a list of questions to ask to see if your thesis is strong .

A thesis statement is part of the introduction of your paper. It is usually found in the first or second paragraph to let the reader know your research purpose from the beginning.

In general, a thesis statement should have one or two sentences. But the length really depends on the overall length of your project. Take a look at our guide about the length of thesis statements for more insight on this topic.

Here is a list of Thesis Statement Examples that will help you understand better how to write them.

Every good essay should include a thesis statement as part of its introduction, no matter the academic level. Of course, if you are a high school student you are not expected to have the same type of thesis as a PhD student.

Here is a great YouTube tutorial showing How To Write An Essay: Thesis Statements .

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Video Transcripts: Analyzing & Synthesizing Sources: Analysis in Paragraphs

Analyzing & synthesizing sources: analysis in paragraphs.

Last updated 11/8/2016

Video Length: 2:10

Visual: The screen shows the Walden University Writing Center logo along with a pencil and notebook. “Walden University Writing Center.” “Your writing, grammar, and APA experts” appears in center of screen. The background changes to the title of the video with open books in the background.

Audio: Guitar music plays.

Visual: Slide changes to the title “The MEAL Plan” and the following:

Elements or components needed in an academic paragraph

M ain Idea: Topic sentence

E vidence: Paraphrase or quote

Analysis: Explanation, interpretation, or adding to the evidence

L ead Out: Summarizing and concluding the paragraph

Audio : So analysis and evidence both occur, not, you know, in a vacuum, right? They both occur within paragraphs. Now, the MEAL plan is a way to conceptualize paragraphs. It's just meant to conceptualize the elements that need to be present in an academic paragraph.

So the MEAL plan is four parts--M, E, A, L. And it stands for the four components that have to be present in a paragraph. Now, I don't mean sentences, but components. So bear with me here if this is new to you. So a paragraph should always start with the main idea or topic sentence. It should always include both evidence and analysis--evidence and analysis are paired together. Because if we have a paragraph that's all evidence, then we're missing that analysis, right? We don't have the author's voice, it's just summary. If we have a paragraph that's all analysis, without any evidence, that's where we get into opinion. Because in academic writing, we always want to support our ideas with evidence. And that's what makes it analysis is when we pair our ideas with evidence. If we just have our ideas, then it's just opinion, right? So we always have to pair evidence and analysis. And then we also need to summarize or conclude the paragraph with some sort of lead out sentence.

Now, I have to say, sometimes a main idea has a little bit of analysis or evidence in it, or sometimes a lead out or concluding sentence has a little bit of analysis in it, and that's okay. Those kinds of lines can be a little bit blurry, depending on the paragraph. So that's okay, too. But you always need to have some sort of element of each of these in a paragraph.

Visual: The following sample order of the MEAL plan elements is added to the slide:

Sample paragraph construction:

Audio: And that's why I said that it's not each sentence because we don't have paragraphs in academic writing that are always one sentence of each of these, right? That's not what we're advocating for here at the Writing Center.

But instead, you're always going to start a paragraph with some sort of main idea or topic sentence. And then you might switch out different numbers or combinations of evidence and analysis. So you can see in this sample paragraph, we start with the main idea, and then we might have evidence, then we might have analysis, then back to evidence, two more sentences of analysis, and then our lead out sentence. Right?

So that's just one way we might construct a paragraph. We might have another paragraph that has a main idea, then analysis, and then three sentences of evidence, and another analysis, and then a lead out. So you can see how we just need to have each part of these.

Visual: “Walden University Writing Center. Questions? E-mail [email protected] ” appears in center of screen.

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• Next Page: Analyzing & Synthesizing Sources: Synthesis: Definition and Examples
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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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