Essay Checkup

Thesis Statements

Topic Sentences

Lesson Objectives

• By the end of class today, you will:– Know whether your thesis statement and your

topic sentences are merely factual statements;

– Be able to convert a factual statement into a solid thesis statement or topic sentence.

Diagnosis

Several students wrote thesis statements and/or topic sentences that were little more than factual statements about the novel.

SYMPTOMS

The thesis statement or topic sentence… – Describes or restates what happened in the

novel.– Does NOT have any opinion words or phrases.– Speaks for itself. There’s nothing to prove,

argue or interpret. You can back the statement up by listing examples without explaining or analyzing anything.

What symptoms can you detect in the following sentences?

• In My Antonia, novelist Willa Cather gives equal importance to the individual and the community.

• In Ethan Frome, the main character dislikes his community and wants to be unique.

• The main character in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening does not like society’s rules and wants to be independent.

Treatment

SIGNIFICANCE

Why is this fact important to the novel’s theme or lesson about life?

REASON

What point is the author trying to make by incorporating this fact into his/her novel?

In My Antonia, novelist Willa Cather gives equal importance to the individual and the

community.

Q: Why is this fact important to the theme?A: It is important because it shows that she

believes that both are necessary for a balanced life.

NEW THESIS In My Antonia, novelist Willa Cather gives equal

importance to the individual and the community in order to show that both are necessary for a balanced life.

In Ethan Frome, the main character dislikes his community and wants to be unique.

Q: What point is the author trying to make by incorporating this fact into his/her novel?

A: Every human being has the desire, at some point, to be distinct from others.

NEW THESIS In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton uses the main

character’s internal conflict to represent every human being’s desire to be unique.

The main character in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening does not like society’s rules and

wants to be independent.

Q:

A:

NEW THESIS

BEFORE AND AFTER• In My Antonia, novelist

Willa Cather gives equal importance to the individual and the community.

• In Ethan Frome, the main character dislikes his community and wants to be unique.

• In My Antonia, novelist Willa Cather gives equal importance to the individual and the community in order to show that both are necessary for a balanced life.

• In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton uses the main character’s internal conflict to represent every human being’s desire to be unique.

Your Turn

• Write your thesis statements and topic sentences in the spaces provided on the handout. If you don’t have topic sentences, write sentences that summarize what you will include in the paragraph.

Exchange Papers Within Your Group

Check Your Partner’s Statements For Symptoms

The thesis statement or topic sentence… – Describes or restates what happened

in the novel.– Does NOT have any opinion words or

phrases.– Speaks for itself. There’s nothing to

prove, argue or interpret. You can back the statement up by listing examples without explaining or analyzing anything.

ON A STICKY NOTE…

• Write the “prescription”– a question that will help you/your partner create a better thesis or topic sentence.

• Do this for every sentence that has “symptoms.”

Rewrite your statements as needed.

EXIT TICKET/Test Grade

Revised sentences on the handout.