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YOUR THESIS
Argumentative Thesis Statement
In an argumentative paper, you are making a claim about a topic and justifying this claim
with reasons and evidence. This claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an
evaluation, a cause-and- effect statement, or an interpretation. However, this claim must
be a statement that people could possibly disagree with, because the goal of your paper is
to convince your audience that your claim is true based on your presentation of your
reasons and evidence.
Example of thesis for Native American tribe, the Sioux:
The United States was justified in removing the Sioux Indians from their lands onto
reservations because they refused to share their land and threatened the lives of U.S.
citizens.
A reader who encountered this thesis would expect to be presented with an argument and
evidence that the Sioux Indians refused to compromise on the sharing of their land and
that they threatened the lives of U.S. citizens.
Evaluation Thesis Statement
An evaluation thesis gives a rating to a certain person, event, or concept from a historical
perspective.
Example for suffragist, Susan B. Anthony
Some people consider people as heroes because they were brave. Others think of people
as heroes because they helped people in need. Of course, there are many definitions for a
Hero, but to me, people who are heroic stand up for what they believe in and don't back
down no matter what people tell them or say. I believe that Susan B. Anthony did just
this. She stood up for Women’s Right to vote and fought until the very end.
A reader who encountered this thesis would expect to be presented with an argument and
evidence that Susan B. Anthony encountered opposition to her quest for the woman’s
right to vote and yet refused to give up.
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Sentence
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One.
1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.
Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. Here are two
thesis statements:
There are some negative and positive aspects to U.S. government’s policy towards
the Cherokees.
This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase negative
and positive aspects is vague.