English III Honors

The Thesis Statement:A Roadmap for Your Essay

ESSAYIntroductionThesis Statement

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IntroductionIntroductionThesis Statements

After you have brainstormed and you have some mainideas of what you would like to write in your essay, you

canbegin thinking about writing a thesis statement.

What’s a thesis statement????

What is it?Your thesis is the basic stand you take, the

opinion you express, and the central point you wish to make.

It’s your controlling idea, tying together and giving direction to all of the separate elements in your paper.

Your primary purpose is to persuade the reader that your thesis is valid.

Most Important!!!!The most important thing to understand

before you create your thesis statement is that it MUST contain two parts, a subject (also called a topic) and an opinion or assertion about that subject (also called a controlling statement/claim).

Types of ClaimsClaims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about

how you want to approach your topic, in other words what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of you broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:What some people refer to as global warming is actually nothing

more than normal, long-term cycles of climate change.Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one

person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:The popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase.

Claims about value: These are claims made about what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world

today.Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that

argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:Instead of drilling for oil in Alaska we should be focusing on ways to

reduce oil consumption, such as researching renewable energy sources

Getting started…When defining your thesis, start by writing

a one-sentence version of the thesis called a thesis statement. For example,

1. Professor Smith (subject) is a classic absentminded professor (opinion about subject).

2. Professor Smith’s colorful personality (subject) makes her a great lecturer (opinion).

Writing with a thesis gives a paper an intrinsic dramatic interest. You, as the writer, commit yourself. You have something at stake: “This is what I believe, and this is why I’m right.” You say, “Professor X is incompetent.” Your reader says, “Tell me why you think so.” You say, “I’ll be glad to.” Your reader says, “I’m listening,” and you’re ready to go.

LocationLocationSetting the scene

Maya Angelou is an accomplished African-American author in the United States. While growing up, she suffered tremendous hardship. Some of her most difficult life events are portrayed in novels and poems such as, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and, Still I Rise. Her written works often include strong themes such as perseverance through trials, love for family, and passionate optimism.

The thesis statement comes at the end of the introductory paragraph. This sentence tells the reader that he/she can expect to read more about how Maya Angelou expresses these themes in her writing.

A Thesis is not…1. A Thesis is not a TitleTitle: Not a ThesisAn Enlightening ExperienceThesis StatementMy first day at Katella High School was an

enlightening experience.

2. A Thesis is not an Announcement of the Subject

Announcement: Not a ThesisThis paper will attempt to explain why the

boys split into two hostile groups.Thesis StatementThe boys split into two hostile groups because

of their inherent violent nature.

3. A Thesis Statement is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact A thesis makes a judgment or interpretation. There’s no way to spend a whole paper supporting a statement that needs no support.

Fact: Not a Thesis1. Jack felt anger towards Ralph and

eventually formed his own group.2. Bellevue High School’s colors are Blue and

Gold.

What a Good Thesis IsA Good Thesis is Restricted. It deals

with restricted, bite-size issues rather than issues that would require a lifetime to discuss intelligently.

The more restricted the thesis, the better the chances are for supporting it fully.

SamplesPoor StatementThe boys are either mean or savage.Better StatementRoger’s actions represent the basic

cruelty inherent in every human being. Poor StatementPeople are too selfish. Better StatementTeenage selfishness is seen at its worst

at 2:35 in the afternoon, when all student-drivers are trying to leave the parking lot.

A Good Thesis is Unified. It expresses one major idea about its subject. The tight structure of your paper depends on its working to support that ONE IDEA.

POOR: People trapped on islands aren’t usually captivating, but people have always liked learning about their stories, and many fine writers have written about their plights.

BETTER: Islands provide enchanting settings for stories that appeal to the basic human desire for adventure.

A Good Thesis is Specific. There is not enough time to be vague! “The new gym is impressive,” for example, could mean anything from impressively beautiful to impressively ugly. With a thesis statement like “Our principal is cool,” you would probably have to spend more words defining “cool” than discussing the principal. Even when there’s no likelihood of confusion, vague ideas normally come through as so familiar or dull or universally accepted that the reader sees no point in paying attention to them.

The thesis statement’s MAIN VALUE:It is a constant, compact reminder of the

point your paper must make, and it is therefore an indispensable means of determining the relevancy or irrelevancy, the logic or lack of logic, of all the material that goes into the paper.

A Checklist for deciding if your thesis is effective:

__The thesis statement presents an opinion that is sufficiently limited.

__The thesis statement answers “So What?” by saying something meaningful.

__The thesis statement presents an arguable statement which can be supported and is worth exploring.

__The thesis statement asserts a single idea. (No more than one!)

__The thesis statement is located at the beginning of the paper.

ExampleLet’s pretend that you have been assigned

a paper that will research aspects of the current American life.

There are many facets of our current life that you could researchBalance of professional and personal timeSocial mediaHealthy lifestylesBad economy

I decided to research healthy lifestyles.

But healthy lifestyles isn’t a good topic. I need to narrow it down.Healthy lifestyles in children? Or adults?What constitutes a healthy lifestyle? Is it

exercise? How much exercise? Is it eating vegetables? Is it not crash dieting?

The best way to narrow it down is to focus on something you are interested in. Remember, research is already a chore; you don’t want to be numbed by all the horribleness of a topic you hate.

I choose to write a paper about instilling healthy lifestyles in people at a young age.

“Instilling healthy lifestyles in people at a young age” is a good idea for a thesis statement becauseIt is a topic that reasonable people could

disagree with. It reflects upon the assignment.There is one main idea.I can definitely assert my position on this.

More efforts should be taken to ensure that children begin living healthy lifestyles at a younger age.

BOOM! Thesis!

And yet, it’s vague.More efforts should be taken to ensure that

children begin living healthy lifestyles at a younger age.What efforts? What does healthy mean?How old are these children? When does this need

to happen?Be specific!On your papers, brainstorm some ideas that

could fill in the blanks for this thesis statement:Age range of kidsWhen they should know about healthy livingWhat specific efforts?

Different ways to format it:“More efforts, such as ____________ and

______________, should be taken to ensure that ______________ begin living healthy lifestyles by the time they are ____________.”

“Because an overwhelming amount of American ____________ are overweight and are therefore in danger of future health issues, more efforts, such as ____________ and ______________, should be taken to ensure that ______________ begin living healthy lifestyles by the time they are _______________.”

Is It Strong? Or Weak?A strong thesis statement takes some sort

of stand.“There are many people who believe

elementary school children should be given healthier food at school, and some people who think that we worry too much about the younger generations.”

There is no stand here!There is vague language!Totally weak.

A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.

“A lot of today’s children are overweight and unhealthy.”

So?This is just an observation, and it does not

merit any discussion.Weeeeeeeeak..

A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.

“Children today are overweight and unhealthy and they play too many video games for their own good.”

Is the problem that they’re overweight? Or is the problem that they’re playing video games?

I know it might seem like you have a lot of room to talk about your topic, but it’s only about two pages double-spaced. There is very little wiggle room.

Ugh. Weak.

PracticeA good thesis statement will usually include the

following four attributes:take on a subject upon which reasonable people

could disagree deal with a subject that can be adequately treated

given the nature of the assignment express one main idea assert your conclusions about a subject

The five topics you have been given have aspects of them that can be argued.

Take the last 15 minutes to brainstorm a list of possible topics/opinions for your paper based on the information you have gathered over the past 2 days. You may begin your homework for Monday if you have time.

Homework Due Monday 2/27Based on the information in this presentation, you

are to create a list of 3 working and/or solid thesis statements that you would be interested in exploring for your research paper.

On Monday, February 27th, we will conference one-on-one to discuss which is the best thesis statement for you.

If you do not have your list of thesis statements on Monday, you will lose 15 points.

Bring The Great Gatsby on Monday as well. You will read Chapter 5 as I conference with you individually.