Though your thesis is essentially your personal opinion, it needs to be presented as a structured argument. Your thesis is a statement that others may hold a different opinion about. And which you will develop in your essay to show why you have this point of view. Check to make sure your thesis contains an argument that hits on the focus of your question. Revising your seatbelt thesis to: "Increasing seatbelt laws to include mandatory buckling in back seats will provide further safety benefits by reducing the percentage of fatalities in vehicle accidents." better answers your original question. A very vague, large statement will require many pages for you to support adequately. A highly specific idea may not be a strong enough argument or provide enough evidence to back up. While "The fear of muddled class systems and the pursuit of the American Dream depicted in The Great Gatsby led to an age of consumerism and excess, which triggered The Great Depression." answers your question, it's slightly broad. "The themes of wealth disparity in American royalty, and pursuit of the American Dream presented in The Great Gatsby depict a parallel to real-world consumerism and excess which led to the Great Depression." narrows down that you will talk about specific themes in the book and compare these fictional themes to the real world. This is also an example of a thesis statement which can be broken up into two sentences. Now that you've compiled evidence, revised, and come to a specific stance, read over the assignment again. Make sure that you can write a paper with your current thesis that will fulfill the requirements. If your assignment was to discuss the benefits of seatbelts, read your thesis again and ask yourself if it can cover the criteria. "Increasing seatbelt laws to include mandatory buckling in back seats will provide further safety benefits by reducing the percentage of fatalities in vehicle accidents." In this thesis, you have taken a position that can be argued. You have made it specific by narrowing your topic a particular aspect of seatbelt safety. And you have given an answer to how your argument will discuss the benefits of seatbelts. If you've already done some research, which you should have to arrive at your thesis, you should be able to provide enough evidence throughout your essay to back up your claim. Before beginning your paper, make sure you have fulfilled all the criteria. Do you answer a question? Are you taking a position others can challenge or oppose? Is your thesis specific enough? Does it pass the "So what?" and "how and why?" test. If your thesis doesn't fulfill these requirements, take a break and then go back and revise. Sometimes, after taking a step back, you can come back with a better angle. As you write your essay, follow your thesis and outline, but don't feel that you have to compromise your paper to fit your thesis. If you find yourself needing to revise your thesis throughout your essay, do so.
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One-sentence summary -- Make sure your thesis has an arguable point, that is not too general a fact or solely a personal opinion. Strike a balance between being too vague and too specific in your thesis. Make sure your thesis covers the assignment. Make sure you can accurately explain your ideas well enough in your essay to support your thesis.

Add whiskers (lots of dots). Done!
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One-sentence summary -- Use face paint to draw a lion nose. Fit the lion fringe.

. Frogs are especially susceptible to poisoning from pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and other common garden chemicals because their hydration and respiration takes place through their porous skin. If you want to attract a healthy frog population, start by using organic gardening practices. Instead of using synthetic fertilizer, encourage growth through picking nutrient-rich soils that are appropriate to each plant, rotating your crops to keep your soil rich, and using organic fertilizer when necessary. Keep in mind that once you've attracted frogs, you shouldn't have any need of chemical pesticides since a single frog will consume more than 10,000 bugs a season. You want to attract the right kind of frogs. Non-native frogs will compete with local ones for food and shelter. Sometimes they'll even eat local species. Their populations are also generally difficult to control because they have no natural predators. Identify the species of frogs in your yard or garden to be sure that they're not invasive. Invasive.org has a list of dangerous non-native wildlife that can be searched by animal type and region. If you do find invasive species of frogs in your yard or garden, contact your local government environmental agency, like your state's DNR, or a nonprofit conservation group, like the National Wildlife Federation, for advice and support about how to remove them responsibly. Frogs like to hide in tall grass and are frequent victims of lawn mowers. Be sure that you can see any rogue amphibians in your path by keeping the grass in your yard or garden well-trimmed. Most male frogs hibernate in water over the winter. A thin layer of ice will not harm them. However, if their water source is completely frozen, they won't survive. Protect any dormant amphibians by putting a pan of hot water over thickening ice. Many flowers and vegetables are poisonous to frogs. Protect the amphibian population in your yard or garden by either not planting species that are toxic to them or by planting them well away from your intended frog habitat. Vegetables that are dangerous for frogs include eggplant, rhubarb, snow peas, and potatoes. Flowers that are toxic to frogs include honeysuckle, azaleas, hydrangeas, daffodils, and hyacinth.
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One-sentence summary --
Avoid using chemicals Keep out invasive species. Keep your grass short. Thaw water sources when necessary. Avoid plants that are toxic to frogs.