Thesis StatementsOne sentences that says it all.

The Thesis Statement• The most important sentence in your essay.• Establishes your claim and your reasons for that claim.• In other words, what you believe and support for why you believe it.

• A reader should know what you will discuss in your essay through reading your thesis.

• You cannot begin a paper without first establishing your thesis.• How will you know what direction to take if you don’t even know what you’ll be

discussing?

How to structure your thesis.• Identification of the topic

• What is the topic of your essay?

• Claim• What do you believe about this topic?

• Reasons• What are your three reasons to support your claim?• Your reasons will outline the body paragraphs of your essay.

• Identification of Topic + Claim + Reasons = 1 Thesis Statement• Thesis statements are 1 sentence and 1 sentence only!

A good thesis statement is…• Short and simple: it should be no longer than one sentence, regardless of essay length. 

Good Example: Success is a result of consistently doing the right things.Bad Example: In a world full of success gurus and books about success, it becomes ever so more

important to delineate the one trait that ultimately determines success: doing the right things consistently.

• Limited to one main idea. 

Good example: The key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal.Bad example: The key to successful dieting is focusing on a specific goal, which is also the key to

successfully running a business and coaching a football team.

• A declarative sentence with no qualifiers (might, maybe, perhaps, etc.): 

Good example: Lebron James' ability to score, pass, and rebound make him the league's most valuable player.

Bad Example: Lebron James' ability to score, pass, and rebound just might make him the league's most valuable player.

ExampleWriting Prompt: Educators often discuss whether high school sports have a positive influence on students. Some educators think high school sports do have a positive influence because the lessons learned from athletic competition add to the lessons learned in the classroom. Other educators think high school sports do not have a positive influence because the emphasis on sports often overshadows student achievement in other areas. In your opinion, do high school sports have a positive influence on students?

ID-Identify topic Sports offered in high school

Claim-What you believe They have a positive influence

Reasons-3 general reasons you believe your claim is true

- Teach social skills - Teach time-management - Provide exercise and teach

benefits of hard work

Thesis: High school sports unquestionably have a positive influence on high school students because they teach social skills, reinforce time-management skills, provide exercise and show the benefits of hard work.