And, remember, in an argumentative essay, the assertion you present in your thesis is going to be particularly important. Is drug use causing deaths and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence? It is NOT a description or a summary. advocate for your thesis, argument essay thesis statement. Remember me. For example, a thesis like this makes an announcement:.
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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, argument essay thesis statement. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.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 argument essay thesis statement persuade people. This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, argument essay thesis statement, 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 argument essay thesis statement 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. 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 argument essay thesis statement 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 argument essay thesis statement drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence?
Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Argument essay thesis statement, 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, argument essay thesis statement.
In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. 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 argument essay thesis statement 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 rule, argument essay thesis statement.
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 argument essay thesis statement aspect of your broader topic, argument essay thesis statement. 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. Argument essay thesis statement about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something.
Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a argument essay thesis statement solution or policy approach to a problem. Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use 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, argument essay thesis statement.
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, 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 emphasize the validity of two-year colleges, technical schools, argument essay thesis statement, and trade schools as well.
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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 something 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. 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 cigarettes , or 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 drug 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. 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 rule. Assignment: How did domestic labor change between and ? Why were the changes in their work important for the growth of the United States? Beginning thesis: Between and women's domestic labor changed as women stopped producing home-made fabric, although they continued to sew their families' clothes, as well as to produce butter and soap. With the cash women earned from the sale of their butter and soap they purchased ready-made cloth, which in turn, helped increase industrial production in the United States before the Civil War. Idea 2. Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.
Main Idea: Women's labor in their homes during the first half of the nineteenth century contributed to the growth of the national economy. Idea 3. Spend time "mulling over" your topic. Make a list of the ideas you want to include in the essay, then think about how to group them under several different headings. Often, you will see an organizational plan emerge from the sorting process. Idea 4. Use a formula to develop a working thesis statement which you will need to revise later. Here are a few examples:. These formulas share two characteristics all thesis statements should have: they state an argument and they reveal how you will make that argument.
They are not specific enough, however, and require more work. As you work on your essay, your ideas will change and so will your thesis. Here are examples of weak and strong thesis statements. You are the best and only! advocate for your thesis. Your thesis is defenseless without you to prove that its argument holds up under scrutiny. The jury i. To prove thesis statements on historical topics, what evidence can an able young lawyer use? Remember -- if in doubt, talk to your instructor. See writing. The University of Iowa Make a Gift Contact Search. You are here Home » History Teaching and Writing Center » Writing Guides » Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument.
Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument. What is an Argument? This is an argument: "This paper argues that the movie JFK is inaccurate in its portrayal of President Kennedy. A Thesis Helps You and Your Reader Your blueprint for writing: Helps you determine your focus and clarify your ideas. Provides a "hook" on which you can "hang" your topic sentences. Can and should be revised as you further refine your evidence and arguments. New evidence often requires you to change your thesis. Gives your paper a unified structure and point.
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