· Subject + commentary (your argument)
· States the main idea of your whole essay
· Usually one sentence, but may be part of a sentence, or possibly more than one sentence
· Strong, takes a stand, not a fact!
· Often comes toward the end of your introduction, after you’ve written a few sentences introducing the subject

Examples:

Weak thesis: “Abortion is a controversial issue that many people disagree on.”

Strong thesis: “Laws prohibiting abortion inhibit freedom of choice and endanger physical and mental health.”

Strong thesis: “Laws prohibiting abortion help to keep people from trying to play God for selfish reasons.”

Example introductions:

Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that can arouse very strong feelings on both sides of the debate. Those who oppose abortion call it murder and condemn the idea of a woman “playing God” with a human life, deciding who will live and who will die. Yet whether an unborn baby constitutes a life is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. And the truth is that laws prohibiting abortion inhibit freedom of choice and endanger the physical and mental health of women.

Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that can arouse very strong feelings on both sides of the debate. Those who support abortion rights argue that it’s a woman’s choice what to do with her body. Yet the unborn baby inside a woman is a living being, and terminating that pregnancy is the equivalent of murder. One doesn’t have the “choice” to commit murder, right? Abortion is ethically wrong, and laws prohibiting abortion help to keep people from playing God for selfish reasons.