When I taught high school English at an independent school in middle Tennessee, I used to sit through our department meetings where we would try to reach a consensus on “what constitutes good writing.” Time and time again, we would circle back to the importance of a thesis statement. However, we never discussed strategies for creating this important element.

  The problem with giving our students a plan for the thesis statement is that it can lead to formulaic and sterile writing. The problem with not giving our students a strategy is that one could argue that we are not teaching.

  Here is some helpful advice. My good friend Ray Blair, who taught history at the University of Alabama, told me he wanted thesis statements to be ambitious. He frequently would complain that his students realized they should state an opinion and not a fact. But their opinions were broad and general. And they lacked ambition.

 He compared their thesis statements to doing belly flops at the Olympic Games. In diving competitions, the judges give a degree of difficulty to every dive.

A triple flip with two twists might be given a degree of difficulty of 3.5 while a belly flop might be given a 0.2. The Bedford Handbook offers this sentence as an effective thesis statement:

  Although young male drivers have a high accident rate, insurance

companies should not be allowed to discriminate against anyone

who has driven for the past two years with out a traffic violation.

 This thesis statement is clearly expressed and succinct, and there is an argument to prove.

Consider this statement taken from the opening scene of the film Animal House:

    Knowledge is good.

 It is succinct, but it is too broad and general. Plus there is no argument to prove.

An important strategy in the formation of the thesis statement is to ask this question: What is your evidence saying? What story has emerged? You should have collected data in the form of quotations, anecdotes, facts, statistics, or expert opinions. What opinion does your evidence support?

 At the Institute of Writing and Thinking at Bard College, our professors asked us to re-write our thesis statement numerous times. This act may take you twenty-to thirty minutes, but you will reap dividends with this investment of your time.

 When you write the standard “Crit. Lit” essay, try to connect a technique the author is using with the theme or main idea of the work.

 Remember: When you create your thesis, be daring and bold. No belly flops. The Russian judge might give you a low score.