1. Thesis Statements, Piece by Piece
By Brandon Simpson

2. What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is a single sentence that conveys the main idea of an essay. It typically comes near the beginning of an essay, quite often but not always as the final sentence of the first paragraph.
It is specific, succinct, and suggestive of the organization of the rest of your essay.

3. Parts of a Thesis Statement
Topic & Claim (necessary for minimal thesis statements)
Directions (necessary for adequate thesis statements)
Qualifier (strongly recommended when making an argument – better thesis statements will have these)
Universal idea (strongly recommended – better thesis statements have these)

4. Sample Minimal Thesis Statement
Increasing the number of field trips for Barbourville High School is money well spent.
This thesis statement contains merely a topic and a claim. The writer clearly wants to increase the number of field trips for BHS (topic) and says it is “money well spent” (claim.)

5. Example of an Adequate Thesis Statement
Increasing the number of field trips for Barbourville High School is money well spent, as it would provide students with cultural exposure, hands-on learning opportunities, and innovative methods for learning required content.
This thesis statement adds three directions, which are underlined above. Directions serve as support for the claim. In other words, the directions prove that this would be “money well spent.”

6. Improving a Thesis Statement By Adding a Qualifier
While schools certainly face difficult economic times, increasing the number of field trips for Barbourville High School is money well spent, as it would provide students with cultural exposure, hands-on learning opportunities, and innovative methods for learning required content.
The qualifier (underlined above) concedes that there are some difficulties and some alternative points-of-view; however, it is your job to successfully show that your claim is worth whatever the costs may be.

7. Qualifiers (continued)
Using a qualifier allows you to introduce counterargument. It is crucial to introduce and discuss opposing viewpoints in argument papers.
Qualifiers may not be necessary in analytical writings unless your analysis contains points which are controversial or argumentative in nature (i.e., arguing against some longstanding traditional interpretation of a literary work, etc.)

8. The Universal Idea
While schools certainly face difficult economic times, increasing the number of field trips for Barbourville High School is money well spent, as it would provide students with cultural exposure, hands-on learning opportunities, and innovative methods for learning required content, factors which combine to enhance the school environment.

9. Universal Idea (continued)
Connecting your ideas to one universal, large-scale idea can help provide unity to your essay as long as you make sure to reference the idea throughout the work.
If your thesis statement is poorly constructed or getting too wordy, leaving out the qualifier is preferable to leaving out the universal idea.

10. Find the Parts
While some people may find the prospect of corporate sponsorship disheartening, it is, perhaps, a necessary evil that generates much-needed funding for school sports, field trips, and other extracurricular activities that serve to enhance the school environment.

11. Thesis Statement Parts
Topic: Corporate sponsorship in schools
Claim: it is a “necessary evil” that generates money
Directions: school sports, field trips, other extracurricular activities
Qualifier: some people may find corporate sponsorship “disheartening”
Universal idea: enhancement of the school environment