Topic, Claim, and Thesis

Distinguish a text's topic from its claims and from the single thesis that governs them.

Three terms are often confused. The topic is what a text is about, usually a noun phrase: 'school start times. ' A claim is any arguable statement the text makes: 'Teenagers are biologically inclined to sleep later. ' The thesis is the central claim that the whole text is organized to support: 'Districts should move high school start times to 8:30 or later because earlier schedules conflict with adolescent biology and harm learning. ' A long essay may contain dozens of claims, but they serve the thesis. To identify a thesis, ask which statement every paragraph helps prove.

If a candidate sentence is supported by only one section, it is probably a sub-claim. Also note that a thesis is arguable; a statement of fact that no reasonable person would dispute ('Many schools start before 8:00') is background, not a thesis. Distinguishing these levels is the foundation for summarizing, evaluating, and comparing complex texts.

• 1Topic: what the text is about.
• 2Claim: any arguable statement.
• 3Thesis: the central claim the whole text supports.