Thesis Blog

Thesis Statement Blog
Denise M. Augenstein
07/09/10

Weak thesis statements:

1. I’m going to write about Darwin’s concerns with evolution in The Origin of the Species.

This is a weak statement because it makes no claim.

2. The jeans industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults.

This statement is weak because it is true and a statement of fact. It also restates conventional wisdom.

3. An important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view.

This statement offers a personal conviction as the basis of the claim so it is a weak statement.

4. Othello is a play about love and jealousy.

This thesis statement makes an overly broad claim.

5. The songs of the punk rock group Minor Threat relate to the feelings of individuals who dare to be different. Their songs are just composed of pure emotion. Pure emotion is very important in music, because it serves as a vehicle to convey the important message of individuality. Minor Threat’s songs are meaningful to me because I can identify with them.

This thesis statement is weak because it offers personal conviction as the basis for the claim, and it makes an overly broad claim.




My Thesis Statement:

The scratched writing in Offred’s room was important because it offered her a distraction. Offred spent the majority of her time alone without human contact. The writing allowed her to escape solitude by imagining what the person looked like, how they got away from the house, and what the meaning of the writing was.

This is a strong thesis statement because someone else could argue the reasons Offred found the writing was important. It is specific in that it is often mentioned in this story by Offred and how she wondered about the girl that wrote it and tries to imagine her physical appearance. She also tries to puzzle out what language it is written in. All of these things are contained in the story up to this point.