Writing a Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

The term thesis comes from the Greek word for putting or position. It gives
your position on whatever issue you are discussing.

Thesis statement rules:
Clearly state your opinion and why you hold this opinion.
Directly address the writing prompt.
Maintain a specific focus (suggesting a relationship between all the points you will cover)
Say something worthwhile
Use authoritative language
The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper and is
usually one sentence in length

Formulating a thesis statement:
1. State the topic under consideration.
(ex. cell phones)

2. State the specific issue in the form of an opinion (give your position):
(ex. Cell phones should be allowed in the classroom)

3. Give three intelligent reasons to support your thesis statement (your rationale):
(ex. Reason #1: Cell phones can help students take notes.
Reason #2: Using cell phones in class will keep students interested in lessons.
Reason #3: Cell phones can be used to look up relevant information to the class.)

4. State your opinion (position) with your reasons (rationale) to create a thesis:
(ex. Cell phones should be allowed in the classroom because they can help students
take notes, they keep students interested in class lessons, and cell phones can be
used to look up relevant information to the class.)

5. Revise your thesis statement to make it easier for the reader to understand:
(ex. Cell phones should be allowed in the classroom because they help students stay
interested in teacher lesson plans by enabling students to research information
relevant to the class.)




An argumentative thesis statement 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.

Example: High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before
entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.

The essay that follows the above thesis statement should present and argument and give evidence to support the
claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college.