Tip 3.1.1.
If you don’t know your main claim, try asking yourself questions like, “What is my main argument?” and “What am I trying to prove or disprove?”
Subsection 3.1.1 Main Claim
Every argument should be guided by a main point or central message.
For instance, if you are writing an essay on the influence of caffeine consumption on college students, your main claim, or thesis, might be something like “Caffeine consumption has numerous positive benefits for the academic lives of college students.” This main claim will then likely be broken down into smaller supporting claims, each of which argues a different part of your main claim. For instance, a possible supporting claim of the statement above might be “Caffeine promotes student productivity by binding to adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing tiredness and extending hours of awakeness.” Another supporting claim could pose that “The consumption of caffeine as a critical facet of campus life creates a shared experience of camaraderie among students which, in turn, facilitates intellectual interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration.”
