Thesis+Statement

Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, you are writing a paper for your history class. Let’s say you’ve been asked to answer the question: //Why did it take 11 months after the United States declared war on Japan and Germany for the United States troops to finally go into battle against the German Army in North Africa?//
 * How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One **
 * 1. **// A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand //** . **

Here are two thesis statements: This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase //several aspects// is vague.
 * There are several aspects to the US decision to engage the German Army in battle. **

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's specific.
 * Despite the constant demands from Winston Churchill, FDR could not begin to engage the German Army until the US had been successful in the Pacific, and the American industrial output was set for total war. **


 * 2. **// A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. //

Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on The CIA, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements: This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.
 * The American CIA functions in secret. **

This is a strong thesis because it shows how your opinion contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point.
 * While many Americans view the CIA with suspicion because so little is known about the agency, its secrecy has been the very key to the CIA’s success. **


 * 3. **// A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea //** . **

Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example: This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide whether the paper is about the Soviet strategy or the battle of Stalingrad. To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become more clear.
 * The Soviets needed to exploit their winter to slow the Germans down and protect Stalingrad. **

One way to revise the thesis would be to write: This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like //because//, //since//, //so//, //although//, //unless//, and //however//.
 * Because the Soviets were not ready for the speed of the NAZI attack as it advanced toward the strategically important city of Stalingrad, the Soviets had to rely on the brutal Russian winter to slow the NAZI advance. **


 * 4. **// A strong thesis statement is specific. //

A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say: This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, //world hunger// can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages. Second, //many causes and effects// is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects.
 * World hunger has many causes and effects. **

A revised thesis might look like this: This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger. // Adapted from Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN //
 * Hunger persists in Somalia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable. **