✍️ English Grammar and Writing · Essay Writing
Writing a Thesis Statement: true or false
Decide fast, then read the reason. Wrong answers are the best teachers, so every statement explains itself.
All statements and answers
A thesis statement can be one or two sentences long.
✓ True. A thesis can fit in one sentence or take two, as long as it states the main claim and, often, the reasons.
This essay will be about school clubs. is a thesis statement.
✗ False. It is an announcement. It tells the reader what the essay will do, not what the writer claims about school clubs.
A question such as Should schools have a longer summer break? can serve as a thesis statement.
✗ False. A question raises the issue, but it makes no claim. The thesis is the writer’s answer, with a reason.
A fact that nobody disputes, such as The school day has seven periods, makes a strong argumentative thesis.
✗ False. A fact is settled, so there is nothing to argue or prove. An argumentative thesis must be a claim that a reasonable reader could dispute.
In a standard school essay, the thesis statement goes at the end of the introduction.
✓ True. The introduction moves from a hook to background to the thesis, so readers look for the thesis at its end.
A thesis for an informative essay is a controlling idea, not an argument that the writer must win.
✓ True. An informative thesis states the central point that organizes the explanation. It is not a debate.
A road-map thesis, which previews the main reasons, is required in every essay.
✗ False. A road map is optional. A thesis with one clear claim and a reason can be strong without listing every reason.
A thesis for a literary analysis makes a claim about the work, not just a summary of the plot.
✓ True. A summary only retells events. A literary thesis is an interpretation, such as what the work shows, that the writer proves with evidence from the text.
Sports have both advantages and disadvantages is a strong thesis because no one could disagree with it.
✗ False. A thesis that no one could disagree with has nothing to prove. This sentence takes no position.
A strong thesis answers the question or task in the prompt.
✓ True. The thesis is the writer’s response to the prompt. A thesis about a different subject does not do its job.
Each body paragraph should support the thesis.
✓ True. Body paragraphs prove the reasons in the thesis. A paragraph that does not connect to it should be cut, or the thesis revised.
Once a thesis is written, it must stay the same through every draft.
✗ False. Writers often revise a thesis after drafting so that it matches what the essay actually proves.
A thesis that tries to prove three unrelated claims is not focused.
✓ True. A focused thesis makes one clear claim. Several unrelated claims leave the body paragraphs with no single idea to support.