Thesis Statement

Another part to an effective essay

Brainstorming your Topic

• After reading your prompt: think about your audience, type of writing, your point of view, and the topic. Imagine your topic being:

“Write an essay about environmental issues in your community.“

• Create some categories of information about the general subject and ask yourself as many questions as you can think of that pertain to each subcategory you've created:– Questions on recycling: Should businesses be fined for not recycling? Is recycling

really good for the environment?– Questions that focus on energy: Should cars with only one passenger be banned

from the freeways? What effects does the airport have on the atmosphere?– Questions that focus on the future: How is global warning affecting the city life?

Do air pollutants cause cancer?– Or answer question using the 5 Ws to develop your topic.

Difference between topic and thesis:

• Topic: the subject matter, the data or situation that you are writing about, in your magazine article, essay, book or whatever.

• Thesis: The position that you are taking about the topic. Thesis statement: the idea or argument that you intend to support in your essay.

• Make your thesis interesting- to you and potential readers, give it a twist, controversy or shock.

• Keep your thesis statement focused- make your statement specific and narrow.

• Example: My favorite book is _________ because it opened my eyes to the importance of _________.

• Check the purpose of the assignment- re-read the prompt, assure yourself that you are responding directly and precisely to the assignment. Check that you have developed a thesis that both states a point of view and is sufficiently focused to serve as the guiding statement throughout your essay.

Examples

• Example Good Thesis

Important studies show that kids today are watching too much television.

• Example Weak Thesis

I will show in this essay that kids are watching too much television

Practice: Write a thesis for the topic of: The use of school uniforms in high school.

Your introduction should include your thesis statement.

Example: • Walking into the interview not knowing what to expect, but

confident that I had come prepared with a list of challenging questions for the principal. She looked at me sternly and nodded for me to take a seat. “I’m here to represent all students in the ninth grade,” I explained, “We are prepared to boycott classes if you institute a rule requiring us to wear school uniforms.” All the students had voted opposing the proposal that high school students should wear uniforms for the next school year. We wanted the principal to know just how serious we were.

Let’s practice- Write a thesis statement

Weak statement:• Video games are very

popular.

Now write a strong thesis statement for the following:

• Sports play a part in high school life.

• Parents nag their kids too

much about homework.

Strong thesis statement:

• Video games are stealing time away from homework for many high school kids in our community.

Support and strengthening your writing

1. Provide details and examples- examples can explain, describe or elaborate on your ideas

2. Provide facts that are relevant- definitions, logical conclusions, or carefully constructed observations- make it relevant or leave it out.

3. When you're building a thesis statement, you will be wise to

consider all the reasons a reader might not agree with you, and make sure that you address or dismiss those potential concerns with your own list of reasons why your thesis is a good one.

Example for Support For an essay on the Sadness of the movie King Kong: • *Weak Reason: "I couldn't stop crying at the end of the movie; it

was just totally sad." (Too emotional and subjective; not a factual reason to agree.)

• *Good Reason: "One has only to mention the name Kong all over the world and moviegoers' eyes will tear up. He has become the very symbol of brutalized innocence." (Difficult fact to prove, but a strong, easily accepted semifactual statement.)

• *Strong Reason: "The multiple remakes of this movie prove the profound emotional impact of Kong on movie history and on the Widespread fans and moviegoers." (Easily substantiated fact.)

Cont. Support and strengthening your writing

4. Include short anecdotes and descriptions

5. Include quotations 6. Include figurative language and / imagery

Practice writing support for the thesis statement.

Identify your favorite movie. Write a thesis statement for an essay, then supply three types of supporting sentences.

My favorite movie:

My proposed thesis statement: Three examples of types of support I’d add:• 1.• 2. • 3.

First Sentence, Body and Conclusion of Your Essay

Writing an interesting first sentence-• Use a quotation about your topic that will grab your reader’s attention or• Include a startling or shocking fact that will grab your reader’s attention or• Include a dramatic description that will grab your reader’s attention or• Start with an exclamation or• Start with a figurative language.

• The Body of your essay- make sure that every subsequent paragraph supports your thesis statement. The body paragraphs, no matter how many of them there are, must build on – and ideally expand on – the idea put forth in the thesis statement.

Think of your essay as a puzzle.

• The body of your essay- each paragraph following the one before, either should elaborate on or support it, or add new information that builds toward the conclusion.

• Your conclusion- should have a strong wrap up offering a summation of the thesis statement and

offer either some new insight, or at the very least something more to think about.

Example Conclusion

• Television is a factor that affects and influences teen’s lives. While the most reputable studies are unanimous in their condemnation of the amount of time most high school students spend watching television, there is strong evidence that the internet is replacing television as a favorite pastime for kids aged 8 – 15. Does this mean that kids are learning something useful while they’re staring at their computer screens? Let’s hope so.