The reader has no idea what point the writer will try to make about baseball.

1. A thesis tells the writer’s point not just the topic. I am going to be writing about baseball. The reader has no idea what point the writer will try to make about baseball. Here is an example of a writer that has only stated the topic. Probably, the writer won’t make any point, but will just drift around saying anything that is connected to baseball. If the writer had a point, he or she would say what it is.

2. A thesis states the writer’s point not just the topic. Baseball belongs strictly in America. After reading this bold statement, it’s hard not to know the point the writer is going to make. The reader may not agree, but the writing is not so weak that the reader doesn’t even know. The writer has a point, so he or she said what it is.

3. Follow these two guidelines: 1. Make a claim with which reasonable people might disagree. 2. Make this claim very specific.

4. 1. Make a claim with which reasonable people might disagree. Reasonable people will not disagree with facts. Therefore, a mere statement of fact cannot be a thesis. Instead, create a claim about those facts. My Greek family loves to eat. Winter should be fun on the Island. Mars is the most Earthlike planet. The love of food creates an important family bond in traditional Greek Culture. With many winter attractions, the Island should concentrate on attracting year-round visitors. Because Mars is the most Earthlike planet, building a colony there should be one of our highest goals.

5. 2. Make this claim very specific. A thesis that tries to rope in many aspects of the topic is too vague. Instead, write a thesis that is specific to the topic being examined. Many tactics are used to sell products on television. Many new drugs and procedures are now used to treat cancers. George is a great basketball player, an excellent fisherman, and a writer of poetry. Peer pressure is the most powerful tactic used to sell products on television. Laser surgery is the most promising new procedure for throat cancer. The driving force in George’s life is the love of nature that his grandfather taught him.

6. 2. Make this claim very specific. A thesis that merely states the goodness or badness of the topic is too vague. Instead, write a thesis that is specific to the topic being examined. Track is good for me. Snowmobiles are an excellent idea for our Island. Home births are a bad idea. Hemingway is a really good writer. Track develops the whole person better than other athletic activities available to high school students. Although a home birth appeals to many people, the risks involved make in an inferior choice to a hospital birth. Hemingway’s stories helped create a new prose style by using extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong, simple words.

7. There is an easy way to identify a weak thesis – If the topic can be switched, it’s weak! A home birth would be Snowmobiles are Island winter is Track is good for me. Westley and Buttercup Darcy and Elizabeth Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s play show the importance of true love. Pride and Prejudice The Princess Bride

8. Here is a rule that another teacher put on his website to keep his students from writing vague thesis statements. Students in this class are absolutely forbidden to write a thesis that makes “any kind of claim about Society, The History of Mankind, People Since the Beginning of Time, All the People of the World, Everyone Who Ever Lived, etc." Michael Barsanti

9. Make a claim with which reasonable people might disagree. 1. Merely announcing the topic is not enough. A thesis statement must have something to say about the topic. 2. Since reasonable people won’t disagree with facts, a thesis statement should not be a fact. Instead, make a claim about your facts. Make this claim very specific. 1. Don’t try to rope in different things about the topic. 2. It is not specific enough to merely claim that the topic is good or bad. 3. A claim made by a thesis statement that can be switched with another topic is very weak!