How to write a thesis statement that actually says something? 🤔

[MileyCross]

My TA keeps writing "where's your thesis?" on my essays. I thought my thesis was just... what I'm writing about. Like "this essay is about climate change." Apparently that's not a thesis.

I Googled it and found a formula: specific argument + reasons. So not "social media is bad" but "social media harms teens because it reduces sleep, increases anxiety, and promotes unrealistic comparisons."

That actually makes sense! It tells the reader what I'm going to prove. Why didn't anyone just give me the formula before?

 

[BertaSimpson]

The number of thesis statements I see that are just "this paper will discuss X" is exhausting. Your formula is perfect because it forces students to actually take a position.

One thing I'd add: make sure your reasons are distinct and not just restating each other. Like "social media harms teens because it's bad for mental health and causes psychological damage" — that's the same reason twice. Your example (sleep, anxiety, comparisons) is perfect because they're three different specific impacts. That structure also gives you a built-in outline for your body paragraphs!