Thesis statements should be clear, specific, and arguable. The thesis statement should be a concise, clear statement that clearly states the argument you will be making in your paper. It has a point of view and reasons to support that point of view. Create account. If your thesis is something that is thesis statement for argumentative essay agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.
When Should I Write The Thesis Statement?
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, thesis statement for argumentative essay, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.
This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that thesis statement for argumentative essay is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good. This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money.
Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution, thesis statement for argumentative essay. In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy. Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right. There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue.
First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use which might include alcohol and cigarettesor all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence? Is thesis statement for argumentative essay use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults?
There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate. In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence, thesis statement for argumentative essay. This is a much more manageable topic. This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.
This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus. Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the thesis statement for argumentative essay. Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.
Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Thesis statement for argumentative essay about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, thesis statement for argumentative essay, how we would rate or categorize something. Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Which type of claim thesis statement for argumentative essay right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you thesis statement for argumentative essay for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper.
You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper. Find Info For Find Info For Academics Admissions Current Students Athletics About Careers Prospective Students Research and Partnerships Quick Links Apply News President Shop Visit Give Emergency.
Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts. Writing Lab Purdue OWL Research Contact Site Map. General Writing Academic Writing Establishing Arguments. Welcome to the Purdue OWL This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. Developing Strong Thesis Statements Summary: These OWL resources will help you develop and refine the arguments in your writing. At least 25 percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution. At least 25 percent of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade business to clean technologies, thesis statement for argumentative essay, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to control or eliminate pollution.
America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars because it would allow most citizens to contribute to national efforts and care about the outcome. While some pundits have framed a four-year college education as something necessary for adult success, this notion should not be treated as a given. Federal student loan policies have contributed to widespread growth in college tuition. The student debt crisis is one of the most serious problems facing the country today. Rather than encouraging all students to attend four-year colleges, we should instead thesis statement for argumentative essay the validity of two-year colleges, technical schools, and trade schools as well.
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September 10, This is the only guide you will ever need to read to write a thesis statement for an argumentative essay. Usually one or two sentences long, and written near the end of an introduction , a thesis statement gives a summary of the central message of your argument. Since everything else that you write in the body paragraphs of an argument will relate back to the central theme in the thesis, you should write your summary in such a way that guarantees utmost clarity of the subject in question. More often than not, a thesis statement written after completing the essay may either collide with the arguments you present or not reflect the statement in its entirety.
The most reasonable approach is to write your initial thesis before you start writing your argumentative essay. Check the essay prompt to see if it already has a question asked. The question you ask should reflect your interest in examining both sides of an argument. Therefore, asking yourself a question is a great first step to coming up with a working thesis for the assignment. You may have to do some initial research to come up with a good answer. Your statement must tell your target reader why you hold a given position in the first place.
It should be a sentence long, but you can go to a maximum of two sentences if you have more relevant thoughts to share. Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password. Please give us your feedback! Skip to content Argumentative Thesis. Your thesis statement should be one to two sentences. Your thesis statement should clearly present the main idea of your essay and make some kind of assertion even if that assertion is about bringing two sides together. Instead, it should just present your assertion. For example, a thesis like this makes an announcement:. Writing Lab Menu open all close all. Junk food is bad for your health is not a debatable thesis. Most people would agree that junk food is bad for your health. Because junk food is bad for your health, the size of sodas offered at fast-food restaurants should be regulated by the federal government is a debatable thesis.
Reasonable people could agree or disagree with the statement. Federal immigration law is a tough issue about which many people disagree is not an arguable thesis because it does not assert a position. Federal immigration enforcement law needs to be overhauled because it puts undue constraints on state and local police is an argumentative thesis because it asserts a position that immigration enforcement law needs to be changed. An argumentative thesis must make a claim that is logical and possible. Claims that are outrageous or impossible are not argumentative thesis. City council members stink and should be thrown in jail is not an argumentative thesis. City council members should be term limited to prevent one group or party from maintaining control indefinitely is an arguable thesis because term limits are possible, and shared political control is a reasonable goal.
An argumentative thesis must be able to be supported by evidence. Claims that presuppose value systems, morals, or religious beliefs cannot be supported with evidence and therefore are not argumentative theses.
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