Lecture 4Stating Thesis

Thesis

• What is a thesis statement?– It is usually one sentence that combines a

writer’s topic and comment.– A thesis statement issues a challenge to

readers in the sense that it may give rise to questions, comments, or personal feelings.

– “Contrary to what many people believe, cartooning is an art form that depends on technical skill, political and social awareness, and a consistently expressed viewpoint.”

Examples

1.SUVs are inferior to cars because they are harder to control, more expensive, and dangerous to the environment.

2.Stress in the fast-food workplace has led to serious physical, psychological, and emotional problems for employees.

3.A honeymoon is probably the worst way to begin a marriage.

Writing a good thesis

• Five questions to ask:1. What is the general topic: sports

2. What is my limited topic: the benefits of tennis

3. What is my opinion about the limited topic: Playing tennis is a sport I enjoy because of its benefits

4. What is my purpose in writing about the topics: I will tell readers why I enjoy tennis so that …

5. How will I break down my topic into parts: the benefits can be found in social interaction, improved fitness, and challenge of the game

I enjoy playing tennis because it gives me the benefits of social interaction, improved fitness, and a challenging game.

Another example

• U.S. government– General topic: U.S. government

– Limited topic: the 3 branches of the U.S. government

– Opinion: Each branch has a different function and purpose.

– Purpose: to inform readers

– Parts: to explain the function and purpose of each branch

– Thesis: The executive, legislative, ad judicial branches of the U.S. government have different purposes and functions, which are designed to keep any one branch from assuming too much power over the others.

Topic sentence vs. Thesis Statement

Topic sentence Thesis statement

States the main idea of a paragraph States the central idea of the essay

Controls the selection of evidence to support the essay’s thesis

Controls the selection of evidence to support the essay’s thesis

Suggests how the writer has organized the paragraph

Suggests how the writer has organized the essay

Helps the writer maintain unity in the paragraph

Helps the writer maintain unity in the essay

Limits the topic in the paragraph Limits the topic in the essay

Writing a good thesis

• FOUR mistakes P51– Announcements– Too broad – Too narrow– More than one idea

Too broad or too narrow?

1. The way our society treats elderly people is unbelievable./Our society discriminates against elderly people in a number of ways.

2. Up to 70 percent of teenage marriages end in divorce./Teenage marriages often end in divorce for several reasons.

3. Action must be taken against drugs./Several steps should be taken to reduce the use of drugs in schools.

4. I failed my biology course./I am doing poorly in school because of three major distractions in my life.

Support the thesis

• A scratch outline – College students should live at home.

• Stay in touch with family• Avoid distractions of dorm or apartment life• Save money

– College is stressful for many people.• Worry about grades• Worry about being accepted• Worry about finances

• More examples:– Moviegoing is a problem.

• Inconvenience of going out• Tempting snacks• Other moviegoers

– Moviegoing does good. • ?• ?• ?

The Importance of Specific Details

• Details serves two purposes– To excite readers’ interest– To explain a writer’s point

– See Example on P57, P58– “wordiness trap” p59

• Do activity 1 &2 on page 61-63, activity on page 67

Writing a thesis statement

• _________________________________– All the course credits that are accumulated

can be transferred to a four-year school.– Going to a two-year college can save a great

deal of money in tuition and other fees.– If the college is nearby, there are also

significant savings in everyday living expenses.

A two-year college has certain advantages.

• _____________________________– The holiday can be very frightening for little

children.

– Children can be struck by cars while wearing vision-obstructing masks and dark costumes.

– There are always incidents involving deadly treats: fruits, cookies, and candies that contain razor blades or even poison.

Halloween is not all fun.

Adequate supporting evidence

• See activity on page 72

• Assignment: do the activity on Page 73 and submit the complete essay via sangzilin.pigai.org

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Redundant modifiers

1. That theory too is a valuable ideological treasure of the party.

2. Singapore will bar America’s popular female pop star Madonna from staging a show in its territory.

3. The Chinese government took all possible eventualities into account when it made this policy decision.

4. Now the government is working hard to improve taxation.

5. Previously we used to overemphasize the need for class struggle.

1. More and more of our various construction projects require the efforts of the intellectuals.

2. Hundreds of transnational firms have started various businesses in China.

3. Imports of foreign automobiles have declined sharply this year.

4. The long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will be assured as long as China widely unites the HK people from all walks of life.

5. We should continue to take measures to further improve regular education, adult education, and on-the-job training programs.

Picture description

How to develop paragraphs?

• Development by Time

• Development by Process

• Development by Space

• Development by Example

• Development by Comparison and Contrast

• Development by Cause and Effect

• Development by Classification

Example

• Automobiles have been playing an important role in the daily activities of human society. For example, industry needs them for transporting products, and agriculture depends on them for farm supplies. Besides, automobiles are used every day to carry people to and from work. At weekends, automobiles take families on nice outings.

• Cooperation and competition are the two sides of a coin. Take a football game as an example. In order to win ， one team fight fiercely against the other, but at the same time, the members within a team must cooperate closely. Without cooperation, any competition would end in failure, and without competition, people will have no impulse to advance.

Cause and effect

• Many people are worried about what television has done to the generation of American children who have grown up watching it ． For one thing ， recent studies tend to show that TV stifles creative imagination ． Some teachers feel that television has taken away the child‘s ability to form mental pictures in his own mind ， resulting in children who cannot understand a simple story without visual illustrations ． For another ， too much TV too early tends to cause children to withdraw from real life experiences ． Thus ， they grow up to be passive spectators who can only respond to action ， but not initiate it ． The third area for concern is the serious complaint frequently made by elementary school teachers that children exhibit a low tolerance for the frustrations of learning．

Compare and contrast

• The same qualities that make people good house guests make them good hospital patients. Good house guests can expect a reasonable amount of service and make effort on their behalf, and hospital patients can also do this. Guests have to adjust to what a change is for them, and certainly hospital patients must do the same. No one appreciates a complaining, unpleasant, unappreciative house guest, and the hospital staff is no exception. House guests who expect vast changes to be made for their benefit are not popular for long. Certainly nurses and other personnel with their routines feel the same way about patients in their care. Just as house guests must make adjustments to enjoy their visits, patients must make adjustments to make their stays reasonably pleasant and satisfying under the circumstances.

Thank You!