After your prewriting activities--such as assignment analysis and outlining--you should be ready to take the next step: writing a thesis statement. Although some of your assignments will provide a focus for you, it is still important for your college career and especially for your professional career to be able to state a satisfactory controlling idea or thesis that unifies your thoughts and materials for the reader.
Characteristics of an Effective Thesis
A thesis consists of two main parts: your overall topic and your position on that topic. Here are some example thesis statements that combine topic and position:
Sample Thesis Statements
- Drunk driving
- Anyone found guilty of drunk driving should have their licenses revoked for five years.
- Anyone found guilty of drunk driving should have their licenses revoked for five years.
- College internships
- The college internship program provides important benefits for participants.
- City mass transit
- In the next ten years, Americans will be forced to embrace mass transit in their cities.
Notice that a thesis statement could be written as an equation:
Thesis Statement = Topic + Your Position on it
When writing your thesis, be sure to use direct language and avoid the "announcement" thesis that uses phrases like "In this paper, I will..." or "This paper will focus on..."