WRITING THESIS STATEMENTS
Upon successful completion of this lesson, you should be able to:
•
distinguish an arguable thesis from a statement of fact
•
write an arguable thesis statement
•
write a thesis statement and supporting arguments that logically align
•
revise a thesis statement so that it aligns with existing supporting arguments
PART 1: ARGUABLE THESES VERSUS STATEMENTS OF FACT
In Parts 2 and 3 of this lesson, you will explore two different approaches you can use to
write a thesis statement. First, however, you must understand the difference between an
arguable thesis and a statement of fact.
Your readers—especially your professors—want to read writing that engages them.
Consequently, you must write thesis statements that are arguable, not factual.
A statement of fact is a statement that cannot be argued—at least not logically. Students
often write statements of fact instead of arguable theses when they are struggling to
embrace a topic. Statements of fact
seem
easy to write about because, well, they are easy
to prove. After all, they’re facts. The problem is that most students cannot write engaging
papers around statements of fact. Such theses prevent students from demonstrating
critical thinking ability and analytical skills, which professors want to see.
Statements of fact are statements of common knowledge; therefore, writing papers about
them prevents students from demonstrating important academic abilities. Consider the
statements below.
Smoking can cause health problems.
Small cars get better fuel mileage than 4x4 pickup trucks.
On average, people with college degrees earn more money in the workplace.
Foul language is common in movies.
If you were to write a paper around any of the above statements, your writing would
probably be quite dull because you would be restating facts that the general public
already knows.
In order to make your writing interesting and engaging, you should develop thesis
statements that are arguable. Sometimes you will be writing to persuade others to see
things your way. Other times you will simply be making an opinionated statement and
laying out your case. Whatever the occasion, your thesis statement should state your
