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Step 2: Developing a Thesis Statement

Now that you have selected an appropriate subject, you should question it to deduce a more specific area of sports about which to write. It is very important to create a specific subject area because "Sports" is too general and cumbersome to be developed in a composition. Provide yourself with a number of potential specific subject areas pertaining to sports. Notice the following suggestions:

Sports (What about sports?)

1. Salaries of professional baseball players.
2. Injuries suffered by football players.
3. The increase of drug related incidents in basketball.
4. The impact of sports personalities on youth.
5. The training necessary to succeed in professional golf.

After "brainstorming," you can now decide on a specific subject area. Suppose that you decide on #3, "The increase in drug related incidents in basketball," as the specific subject area for your paper .

Now, you must question this subject area so that you can develop a number of potential "points of view. " The point of view is the particular angle from which you will approach the subject.

The increase in drug-related incidents in basketball + POINT OF VIEW.

After much thought, you might generate the following potential points of view.

1. It is affecting the performance of players.
2. It is setting a poor example for young people.
3. It has affected the public's opinion of professional basketball.
4. It has produced conflict between owners and players.

Once you have developed a list of potential points of view, you can select the one that best relates to your specific subject. Suppose you decided on #2, "It is setting a poor example for young people." You have now created the two important ingredients for framing your thesis statement for the composition --a sentence housing the main idea for the composition. In this case, your thesis would be as follows:

The increase of drug-related incidents in professional basketball is setting a poor example for our young people.

After creating the thesis statement, you have successfully completed steps #1 and #2 in the pre-writing cycle.

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