Composing the Paper
Thesis Statements
Note: The word 'thesis' has several meanings. You may be familiar with the word as referring to a long paper, such as a M.A. thesis. That is not the meaning we are using here. This writing guide, along with most writing in philosophy, uses the word to refer to a position that a writer takes, or a claim he or she wishes to make, concerning a specific issue. In philosophy, the expectation is that an author should work to establish and support his or her thesis by means of argument and evidence.
In your philosophy papers, you will be expected to state your thesis, that is, to state the position or claim that you will work to establish. The sentence(s) in which you do this is called your "thesis statement." (Some people use 'thesis' and 'thesis statement' interchangeably, but that is confusing, so here we will refer to the written expression as a 'thesis statement.')
(For examples of thesis statements from student papers, click here. For professional examples, here.)
General Features of Thesis Statements
- The thesis statement is probably the most important part of your paper
- It informs the reader what your stance is about your chosen topic
- Your thesis statement gives a "road map" for the paper
- Your thesis statement should directly answer the question asked of you (if the paper is a response to a specific question posed by your instructor, or by you)
- The thesis statement generally appears as one or more sentences in the introduction of your paper
- For the most part, you don't want to leave the first mention of your thesis for the conclusion. That's not "wrong," but the whole paper turns into a guessing game. By contrast, when you're direct, you show you value the reader's time.
- Your thesis may be the first — or last — point you come up with when creating your paper. It's perfectly fine to change it along the way; just make sure that your arguments and conclusion don't lead elsewhere!
- Having difficulty writing your thesis statement?
- Keep collecting and organizing evidence; look for similarities and contrasts between points, and think about the significance of that
Signs of a strong thesis statement
- It answers the question
- It's a position that can be challenged or opposed, and so also defended
- Example: Your thesis statement might be, "Aristotle holds that to have the best kinds of life, one must cultivate virtue (arete) in oneself and in one's society." To show that your thesis statement is accurate and meaningful, you would have to argue in support of it. That will include defending it against challenges. The thesis statement could be challenged by one who points out that Aristotle's characterization of "contemplation" as key to happiness in Nicomachean Ethics Book X does not explicitly mention virtue. You would then defend your thesis by showing (through argument and references to passages of text) that the challenge fails.
- It passes the "So What?" test
- Justify the points you make, showing how the evidence and reasoning support your points. Tie together the justifications of smaller points to show how they work together to support your main point.
- It is supported by your essay
- A thesis should be limited, not too broad; sharply focused, not vague