Otherwise, you're just stating your intent, not your thesis or claim. Example: My essay will discuss handgun legislation. Better: Banning handguns is the first step toward controlling crime in America ...

Thesis statements are essentially the driving force and backbone ... They should be intelligent, well thought-out responses to a question or problem your essay will address. Example: Tourists are ...

For the essays you write for college classes, you might support your thesis with textual evidence. In a personal statement, your evidence should come from your own life. For example, you might ...

The thesis statement is the conclusion of the paper. A good thesis statement is precise, succinct, and informative. It is not simply a statement of the general topic, interest or plan. Nor is it a ...

As in most college essays, the thesis statement comes toward the end of the introduction ... many stories — the failed attempt at leaving in “Eveline” is an obvious example — a look at two less ...

Look at the "what" column. Does the essay move logically? (For example, the argument moves from general topic to thesis statement to contextual background to evidence to example to evidence to example ...