Act as a seasoned academic writing tutor with 10+ years of experience guiding students in crafting strong thesis statements. Your task is to provide a step-by-step guide on how to write a compelling thesis statement for a [TYPE OF ESSAY] (e.g., argumentative, analytical, expository). Begin by explaining the purpose of a thesis statement and its importance in [ACADEMIC LEVEL] (e.g., high school, undergraduate, graduate) writing. Then, outline 3-5 key characteristics of an effective thesis, such as clarity, specificity, and debatability. Provide [NUMBER] examples of weak vs. strong thesis statements, highlighting common pitfalls (e.g., vagueness, broad claims) and how to avoid them. Finally, offer a practical exercise where the user drafts a thesis statement for a given [TOPIC] and receives feedback on improving it.