The document provides guidance on developing effective thesis statements for academic essays. It explains that good thesis statements are based on arguable claims, not facts, opinions, beliefs, or questions. It also notes that thesis statements should take a stance, qualify claims when appropriate, and be narrowly focused on location, time period, population, or viewpoint. The document emphasizes that a strong thesis lays the foundation for a logical argument in an essay.

1. Thesis Statements

2. Arguing Logically: Claims
•Good arguments are based on claims—
statements with which reasonable people
may disagree.

3. Arguing Logically: Claims cont.
•Some claims cannot be argued:
•Verifiable facts
•Issues of faith or personal belief
•Matters of opinion or personal taste
•Questions don’t make good thesis statements since
they don’t take a stance.

4. Kinds of Claims
Proposal: The state of Texas should increase
funding for education.
Evaluative: The use of “yo” is a better alternative
than using “them/their” as a neutral pronoun.
Persuasive: A vegan diet is the healthiest diet.
• Note that ALL thesis statements/claims contain an element
of persuasion.

5. Opinion vs Claim
Your opinion
should lead to
an arguable
claim
Opinion:
“I think Lady Gaga
looks stupid in that
meat dress.”
Claim:
“Wearing a meat
dress in public is a
health hazard.”

6. Practice
Would any of these statements make a good claim
for an academic essay?
•Smoking marijuana is immoral.
•I think smoking marijuana is a good idea.
•Marijuana is a drug.
•Should marijuana be legalized?

7. Thesis as a Foundation
The thesis itself is a small statement with a big
impact. It is the foundation of your argument.
• The government should legalize marijuana because
it can reduce the deficit, and it can be used for
medicinal purposes.
The “because” statement contains two reasons for
this claim. While the reasons do belong in the
introduction, they do NOT belong in the thesis.

8. Practice cont.
According to this thesis, who can smoke marijuana if
it were legalized?
•The government should legalize marijuana.

9. Qualifying a Claim
Qualifying a claim means that under certain conditions, or
in certain circumstances, or with certain limitations, you
concede that “they” are correct.
An argument is rarely only two-sided: right or wrong.
Your thesis and argument should represent your qualified
claim (mixed feelings paper).

10. Concessions
The “with” clause puts limitations on how and
where marijuana will be legalized.
• Marijuana should be legalized with the same
restrictions as alcohol.
It concedes that some people shouldn’t smoke
(under 21), and smoking should remain illegal in
some places (driving, work, school, public places).

11. Narrow Your Thesis
• Your thesis should be narrow enough to fit the page
requirements and narrow enough to be logical and
concise.
• You should think about the following whem you
narrow your idea:
• where (location)
• when (time)
• who (population)
• point of view (legal, psychological, political, social,
economic, ethical, historical, religious, educational, or any
other aspect that could be argued)

12. Narrow Example
• If you were going to write requiring sex ed in schools,
you would need to narrow that down by location and
population.
• Consider where you live and what population would
benefit from sex education (elementary, middle, or
high school).
• Texas public schools should provide comprehensive,
medically accurate sex education in high school.

13. Recap
• Arguable
• Qualified if necessary (middle ground)
• Narrowed
• In present tense
• In third person
A thesis statement is
• A fact
• An opinion
• A personal belief (or based on faith)
• A question
A thesis statement is not