Writing with power

Develop A Strong Opinion About Your Topic Writing a great essay means you need to develop a strong opinion about your topic. This is how radio talk show hosts keep their audiences – they spew strong opinions that attract listeners and phone calls. In order to develop a strong and informed opinion of you topic, you must know the text in detail! Task Find some one else in the room and talk to them for 3 minutes about your topic. Now ask them to summarize your main point back to you

What is a thesis and why have one? A good thesis statement should summarize you main argument in a sentence or two It would normally come at the end of your first paragraph It gives the examiner a clear indication of what you are arguing It provides a guide to what the essay is about and helps you to structure it It is the umbrella, under which all your other points hang

The thesis formula: Thesis = topic + opinion

A strong thesis should… …be a complete sentence. …be debatable. …be specific. …be a strong statement that takes a stand. …communicate your opinion or idea about a topic. …appear as the last sentence in your introduction. Adapted from “Thesis Statements” (available online at

A thesis should not… …be a question. …be a quotation from another source. …be an “In this essay, I will…” statement.

Good thesis…or not? In this essay, I will explain how to save the world. This sentence states what will happen in the essay – it does not provide an opinion. NOT

Good thesis…or not? World hunger has many causes and effects. This thesis is too general; it doesn’t establish a clear guiding opinion for the essay. NOT

Good thesis…or not? Ishmael tells us that “the world was made for man and man was made to rule it.” This sentence includes a quotation from an outside source, so it cannot be the essay writer’s opinion. NOT

Good thesis…or not? Hunger is a problem in African countries because jobs are scarce and farming is rarely profitable. This thesis takes a stand—hunger is a problem—and gives specific reasons for that problem. GOOD

Good thesis…or not? There are positive and negative aspects to Banana Herb Tea supplement. This statement doesn’t take a stand. Is Banana Herb Tea supplement good or bad overall? NOT

Good thesis…or not? Blues guitar is a unique art form because of the opportunities for expression and self-reflection it offers the musician. This thesis is a single, specific sentence that clearly states an opinion about the topic. GOOD

Your first paragraph The first paragraph serves as kind of a funnel opening to the essay which draws and invites readers into the discussion, which is then focused by the thesis statement before the work of the essay actually begins. Define you topic and it’s significance in the text Outline your thesis

Be Specific Don’t just say that something is good or bad, empower your nouns with exciting adjectives that describe what you really think. Adjectives like oppressive, tyrannical, and bloodthirsty are powerful because they portray a strong point of view about something or someone