Thesis Statement Remix

Weak Thesis: "This essay will talk about the problems with global warming."

• Prompt: Does this statement present an argument, or does it simply announce your topic? How can you turn it into a specific claim about the problems of global warming that you will prove?

Weak Thesis: "School uniforms are bad."

• Prompt: Is this statement too general and opinionated? How can you make it more specific and provide a reason or two that can be argued and supported with evidence?

Weak Thesis: "Reading books is important."

• Prompt: Is this statement too obvious or widely accepted to be a strong thesis? What specific kind of importance, or what impact, could you argue that reading books has, making it a more debatable point?

Weak Thesis: "Are video games good for kids?"

• Prompt: Is a question an effective thesis statement? How can you transform this question into a clear, arguable position on whether video games are beneficial or detrimental for children?

Weak Thesis: "Technology has changed society."

• Prompt: Is this statement too broad? What specific aspect of technology's change on society could you focus on to create a more precise and arguable thesis?

Weak Thesis: "The characters in Romeo and Juliet were interesting."

• Prompt: Is "interesting" too vague of a word for an academic thesis? How can you use more precise language to describe how or why the characters were significant, and what specific impact they had on the play's themes or plot?

Weak Thesis: "Social media exists."

• Prompt: Does this statement offer any argument or analysis? How can you move beyond simply stating a fact to make a claim about social media's influence, effects, or role in modern life?

Weak Thesis: "In this paper, I will explore the history of the internet."

• Prompt: Does this statement present an argument or just tell the reader what you will do? How can you formulate a specific argument or analytical claim about the internet's history or its impact that you will support?

Weak Thesis: "Homework is a topic that many students have opinions about."

• Prompt: Does this statement take a clear stance or make a claim? How can you move from describing a general situation to presenting a specific, arguable position about homework's role or effectiveness?

Weak Thesis: "The setting of the story was in a small town."

• Prompt: Is this detail significant enough to be the central argument of an essay, or is it merely a factual observation? How does this specific setting connect to a larger theme, character development, or plot point that you can argue?