25 Test Your Thesis

You’ve come up with what you hope will be a great thesis for your paper. Want to make sure before you get started with it? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does your thesis take a position, propose a solution, or answer a question?
2. Does your thesis give you enough material to write a full-length paper?
3. Can you come up with interpretations of your thesis that don’t match your own?
4. Is there evidence to support your thesis?
5. Will readers want to read an essay with this thesis?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no,’ you need to revise your thesis.