Thesis Statements

WRITING A WELL DEVELOPED THESIS

How was the climate and terrain of the Aegean responsible for the development of Greek culture?

UNDEVELOPED THESIS: The climate and terrain of the Aegean had a great deal of influence on the development of Greek culture.

BETTER BUT IGNORES COMPLEXITY, CONTRARY EVIDENCE:

The climate and terrain of Greece provided many assets which helped the Greeks to developed a strong and vibrant culture.

Greece developed a strong and vibrant culture in spite of an impoverished physical environment.

WELL DEVELOPED BUT FORMULAIC* THESIS: Although the climate and terrain of Ancient Greece presented difficulties and challenges, it influenced the development of culture in a positive way because it taught the Greek people to overcome challenges, take advantage of scarce resources, and work hard.

WELL DEVELOPED & UNIFIED THESIS: The climate and terrain of Ancient Greece presented difficulties and challenges along with assets and opportunities. In learning to overcome the challenges by taking advantage of assets, Greeks developed a culture in which hard work and opportunism were rewarded and valued.

Note how the thesis provides an outline of the paper, which might be composed of three paragraphs on each of the following topics.

¶ Difficulties

¶ Assets

¶ Culture that resulted.

*The "Although," and "Three Things" Formulas.