Thesis Extras (How To...)

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 position on a debatable issue. In other words, when you write a thesis statement, you take a stand about something.

Suppose one of the general topics listed on the previous page interests you. You could still write about it—you might just have to change your approach so that your thesis statement is arguable. Consider:
Statement of fact: Smoking can cause health problems.
Arguable thesis statement: The government should ban smoking altogether.
Statement of fact: Small cars get better fuel mileage than 4x4 pickup trucks. Arguable thesis statement: The government should ban 4x4 pickup trucks except for work-related use.
Statement of fact: On average, people with college degrees earn more money in the workplace.
Arguable thesis statement: A college degree should not be required for the _____ profession.
Statement of fact: Foul language is common in movies.
Arguable thesis statement: The amount of foul language in movies is disproportionate to the amount of foul language in real life.
Any given individual might agree or disagree with some or all of the revised statements above, and the evidence used to support or challenge the statements would be different from writer to writer. The point is that a writer who supported or challenged one of these theses would have to think in order to make his or her case. With a statement of fact, a writer simply puts on paper what has already been established by other people. An arguable thesis, on the other hand, requires a writer to think about which supporting arguments best challenge the other side of the issue. It is this type of thinking that resonates with your professors.