Your thesis statement should have clear significance. It should be strong and declarative without using the first person to state your opinion. A thesis statement will declare where you are going in a specific way.
Give your reader a road map to your paper in your thesis statement, telling him exactly what to expect down the road. The statement is logically located at the end of the first paragraph. It should be easy to find and clearly defined. A suggested equation for a thesis statement can look like this: Specific Topic + Attitude/Angle/Argument = Thesis Statement; or What you plan to argue + How you plan to argue it = Thesis Statement.
Identify the question you are going to answer, not the subject you are going to deal with. Take on a topic that can be covered in the length of the project assigned. A complex thesis statement for a short paper would not make sense.
Identify a good thesis statement by running it through the "Who cares?" test. If your thesis statement does not cause an internal conflict in the reader, it may not be a good thesis statement.
In your thesis statement offer a theory or make a speculation that might be disputed. A good thesis statement will be provocative. You will assert your own conclusion based on the evidence you present in your body and refute counter arguments. Your thesis statement must take a stand and justify the discussion.
The thesis statement is a single or double sentence somewhere in the introductory paragraph. It is your assessment based on your research using supporting evidence. Your thesis will serve these functions. It will inspire the reader to ask how and why questions. It will make your readers care about your topic and lead them through the paper guided by good topic sentences in each paragraph to a logical conclusion. A thesis statement avoids generalizations and sweeping comments.