Sharpen your thesis statement

This prompt reviews your current thesis. You give the topic, your version and the paper type, such as argumentative or compare-and-contrast, and it explains what is weak, for instance too vague, and suggests better wording.

text-thesis-statement — chatgpt — 47 words

Help me improve my thesis statement.

Topic: [TOPIC]
My current thesis: [YOUR VERSION]
Type of paper: [ARGUMENTATIVE / ANALYTICAL / COMPARE-CONTRAST]

Tell me what is weak (too vague, too broad, not arguable). Then give 3 stronger versions, each taking a clear position and previewing the main reasons.

Edit in the builder Copy & open ChatGPT ↗Copy & open Gemini ↗Copy & open Claude ↗

A good thesis is something a reasonable person could disagree with.

Get a better result

What you will get

A short diagnosis of what is weak in your current thesis, then three stronger versions, each taking a clear side and naming the two or three reasons your paper will argue.

Why it works

The tip gives the real test: a thesis has to be something a reasonable person could disagree with. The prompt asks for a diagnosis first so you learn why yours is weak, not just get a replacement. Saying the paper type matters because an argumentative thesis takes a side while an analytical one makes a claim about how something works.

Common mistake

The new versions take positions you cannot support.

Fix: Add one line on the sources or evidence you already have. A bold thesis is only useful if your paper can defend it.

Also watch for

All three versions argue the same thing in different words. Ask for three different angles, such as a cause, a comparison and an evaluation, so you have a real choice.
The thesis lists topics instead of reasons. “This paper discusses A, B and C” is a table of contents. Ask it to turn each topic into a claim with “because”.

Try a variation: counterargument check

Ask for the strongest objection a marker could raise to each of the three theses, and which one survives it best.

Still not right? Reply with this

For the version I like best, write the topic sentence of each body paragraph so I can check the thesis actually holds the whole paper together.