Creating A Thesis Statement

An essay’s thesis statement serves two purposes: first, it unifies the facts and information of an argument
by describing the overall purpose; and second, it “forecasts” what the essay will discuss. That is, the
thesis statement should answer the questions “Why was this essay written?” and “What is this essay
about?” Therefore the thesis statement should include the topic of the paper, and inform the readers of the
direction the paper will go.

Describing the Purpose:

Imagine you found the following information in an essay: what would the thesis statement of such an
argument look like? Create thesis statements for the groups of information below.
Example
Topic: Free speech
Facts/Info:
• Question: Should there be limitations on freedom of speech?
• Free speech is one of the fundamental rights US citizens cherish
• Some people use speech to slander, insult, harass, or threaten others
Thesis: Freedom of speech is an essential right, but it should not be meant to include hate
speech.

I. Topic: Punk music II. Topic: hydrogen fueled cars

Facts/Info:
• Question: What is the current state of
punk music?
• Punk music has risen in popularity in the last
20 years.
• Punk was once considered to be on the
fringe of society, embraced by angry and
disillusioned youths.
• The liminal figures of early punk music
were thought to be dangerous rabble-
rousers.
• Current punk bands play to audiences of
hundreds of thousands, and compete with
pop stars for radio and video airtime.
• Stores like Hot Topic have commercialized
the edgy punk look
Thesis:
Facts/Info:
• Question: Should carmakers dedicate
time and energy into producing
hydrogen-fueled cars?
• The burning of fossil fuel is one of the
leading causes in air pollution
• Hydrogen fueled cars do not run on fossil
fuels
• Developmental research is needed to create
more efficient hydrogen powered cars
• Developmental research is very expensive
• Hydrogen fuel expels a high amount of
greenhouse gas
• Until enough research can be conducted,
production of hydrogen cells will rely on
fossil fuel for at least the next 10 years.
Thesis:

Forecasting:
“Forecasting” simply means “predicting”—a thesis statement will “predict” what happens in the report by
briefly describing the report’s structure.
Example
“In this paper, I will first discuss the history of free speech in America and its Constitutional
foundations. Then, I will present some examples of the abuses of free speech. Finally, I will
argue that some limitations should be placed on free speech to protect the basic rights of
Americans.”
In this example, we would expect to find the sections of the report to be structured as follows:
I. History of free speech
 II. Abuses of free speech
III. Proposed limitations of free speech
Create a guiding purpose statement that forecasts the following report structures, indicated by the section
headings:

I. Topic: Punk music II. Topic: hydrogen fueled cars

Section Headings: Section Headings:
I. The Early 80’s Punk Scene I. Pollution and Fossil Fuel
II. Contemporary Punk and The Global II. The Hydrogen Alternative: Friend
Market or Foe?
III. Comparison Between Punk and Pop III. Costs of Development of Hydrogen
Album Sales Fuel Technology
IV. The Current State of Punk Music: A IV. More Research: The Environmental
Change For Better Or For Worse? vs. Economic Costs
FS: FS:

The Final Product:

Now, simply combine these two parts to have a complete thesis statement.
Example
“Freedom of speech is an essential right, but should not be meant to include hate speech. In
this paper, I will first discuss the history of free speech in America and its Constitutional
foundations. Then, I will present some examples of the abuses of free speech. Finally, I will
argue that some limitations should be placed on free speech to protect the basic rights of
Americans.”
From this thesis statement, we can easily identify the topic, and get a good idea of the scope of the essay:
we can tell that the essay is about “freedom of speech,” and that it will cover some elements of free
speech in the constitution; conversely, if we were looking for information about free speech in mass
media, we would immediately know that this essay would be of little use to us—all from reading the
thesis statement.

Using the answers you’ve created in the worksheet above, write a complete thesis statement for each of
the topics in the space below:

I. Topic: Punk music II. Topic: hydrogen fueled cars

Thesis: Thesis: