Thesis Statements Should Be Concise and Specific

A thesis statement presents the main argument of your essay.

A strong thesis statement uses language that’s concise and specific, making the thesis clear and interesting to the reader.

Strong Thesis: Concise and Specific

City police should issue more tickets to bicyclists who ride without helmets.

This thesis uses specific language and leaves out unnecessary words. Each part of the sentence serves a purpose.

Weak Thesis: Wordy and Vague

If you think about it, city police should totally issue more tickets to people who ride without helmets.

This thesis includes the unnecessary words “if you think about it” and “totally,” as well as the vague word “people.” Removing the unnecessary words and replacing “people” with a more specific option would make the thesis strong.