7.3 What Is a Less Developed Thesis Statement?

Now that you have learned about the components of a strong thesis statement, let’s take a look at the other side: What is a weak thesis statement? See the following examples and revise the sentences by considering the qualities of a strong thesis statement.

Weak thesis statements often have one or more of these characteristics:

1. Topic announcement: When a thesis is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay, your reader may not clearly see what stance you take about the topic.

Example: “This essay will talk about the effects of fracking on climate change.”

2. Moral statement: A thesis is weak when it contains an obviously moral statement that no one can disagree.

Example: “Because everyone needs food to survive, I think that taking food from hungry and starving people is a bad thing.”

3. Foregone generalization:  If the statement is too broad, your thesis sounds weak. In many cases that a thesis includes generalizing words like “all,” “always,” “everyone,” or “never,” the thesis is too broad to address a specific context of your argument.

Example: “This essay argues that no changes to education accessibility are needed, because everyone has equal accessibility to education.”

4. Question: Your thesis must offer a straightforward statement without asking your reader to answer for you.

Example: “This essay explores whether vegetarian diet is good or bad. So, is it a good idea or a bad idea to eat animal meat?”

To practice how to revise these examples, see the exercise in 7.5 Thesis Exercise and Checklist

Continue Reading: 7.4 Revise Your Thesis