The thesis statement or thesis question is one of the (if not the) most important parts of your
paper. It should be introduced in the first paragraph and serve as the focus of your analytic
argument. The thesis is the thread (a strong one!) that ties together your interpretations of all
the significant moments, patterns, developments, changes, and/or contradictions that you will
develop in the body of your paper. Think of the thesis statement as a contract between you (the
writer) and the reader. The thesis makes certain promises to your reader; it then becomes your
job to fulfill that promise using specific details or analysis. The more specific your promise,
the easier it will be to find specific evidence to support your argument.
This post offers general guidelines on writing thesis statements, but it’s important to remember:
thesis statements are NOT formulas, and a successful one cannot be reduced to its parts.
Successful theses provoke thought, they read beautifully, they provide analysis of an idea or event,
and they consider a specific issue.
Your thesis should include three components: WHAT, HOW, and WHY
WHAT—claim about event or historical topic
HOW—the events, ideas, sources, etc. that you choose to prove your claim
WHY—the significance of your idea in terms of understanding the history/narrative as a whole
(answers the dreaded “so what?” question)
Example: The experiences of tribal groups who inhabited the Old Northwest and who
relocated to territories west of the Mississippi River from the late 1700s to the 1860s
offer new perspectives on the subject of Indian removals. Rather than an organized
removal of tribes under the legislation and direction of the federal government, the
movements of Indian populations in the nineteenth century encompassed an
expansive timeline, fractured and scattered journeys, and extensive participation
by a variety of actors whose presence and attitude serve to complicate a seemingly
smooth narrative of American expansion.
Please note:
1. A thesis can be (and probably should be) more than one sentence.
2. The part of the thesis in plain text (“Rather than an organized removal of
tribes under the legislation and direction of the federal government”) is a potential
contradiction to your argument; a strong thesis usually addresses a potential
opposing viewpoint. This ability to imagine and answer an opposing viewpoint
ensures that your thesis is arguable.
3. A good thesis should address these three questions of what? how? and why? in
some way.
Most students have trouble answering the “so what?” question for their thesis; it
is answering this question that makes your argument relevant to the historical context.
Be careful, though, that your answer to the “so what?” question is not a generalization
“about the world we live in, or life in general”; it should be SPECIFIC and justify why
and how your argument is significant to the historical narrative.