by Sylvia Korman

WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT? WHAT IS A THESIS?

When we make an argument about a text, especially in a formal writing assignment like a paper, we are often speaking on behalf of the text itself: an argument makes a claim about what the text is really saying. Your thesis is your argument written out and encapsulated in one sentence.

A thesis can be disagreed with — otherwise there’s nothing to argue! Think of it like an opinion that can be backed up by facts from the text. To test if your argument can be argued against… try it! Ask yourself what the opposite side of your claim might look like, and try to make a case for it.    

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT THESIS

A good thesis is specific (narrow, not broad)

A good thesis comes from reading the text closely and specifically.

To back your thesis up, you’ll want to have specific moments in the text that provide evidence. You can imagine someone (me, if you want) saying “oh yeah? Prove it!” whenever you make a claim about your subject material — you’ll want to be able to respond with specific quotes.

A good way to make sure you have evidence for your argument is to start with the close reading, and let that guide you to an argument. Look through our list of things to pay attention to when we read. What do you notice? What stuck with you? What ideas in your notes or annotations might be related to one another? How are they related? How might these individual moments add up to a sense of what the text as a whole is doing or saying?

IN SHORT

Your argument and your thesis are the same thing in different forms! Your argument is your claim about the text, one that you will be tracking throughout your paper, and your thesis is that same opinion presented in a one sentence (or, for more complex thesis statements, a few sentences or even more!). This statement will generally be included in the introductory paragraph of your essay, and you must support the statement in the body of the essay.

EXAMPLES

• A thesis statement is an assertion that requires evidence and support, not a universally agreed-upon fact or an observation.
  • A universally agreed-upon fact or an observation: Scurvy used to be very common.
  • Thesis: While many factors contributed to scurvy’s commonness in the 19th century, it was primarily a lack of understanding of Vitamin C that made it so difficult to eradicate.

• A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a subject.
  • Announcement: The subject of this paper is the difficulty of solving our environmental problems.
  • Thesis: Politicians might believe that our environmental problems are easy to solve, but scientists suggest that many environmental problems are already unfixable.

• A thesis is the main idea, not the title. It must be a complete sentence that expresses in some detail what claim you plan to support.
  • Title: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Address
  • Thesis: By directly addressing his son, Coates creates a personal story of race in America for his white readers to connect to.

• A thesis statement should never be so broad that it’s difficult to discuss all of the relevant information. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully supported.
  • Broad: The American steel industry has many problems.
  • Narrow: The primary problem of the American steel industry is the lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.

• A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general.
  • Vague: Hemingway’s war stories are very good.
  • Specific: Hemingway’s stories helped create a new prose style by employing extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong Anglo-Saxon words.

• A thesis statement has one main point rather than several main points. More than one point may be too difficult for the reader to understand and the writer to support (don’t make this harder for yourself!)
  • More than one main point: Stephen Hawking’s physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a world-renowned physicist, and his public appearances have brought important attention to neurodegenerative diseases while also bringing popular attention to the field of theoretical physics.
  • One main point: Stephen Hawking’s status in the public eye has helped to revive a previously waning interest in theoretical physics.