How to Form a Thesis Statement A thesis statement is an assertion about a topic that you believe to be true and will attempt to prove in your paper. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury 1. Choose a Topic A topic is a subject, a field, a body of knowledge, a situation, a work of literature. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

2. Define a Problem Within Your Topic How? Look for a difficulty worth thinking (and writing) about. Identify a key issue or conflict that you and your reader care about. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

3. Explore/ Analyze the Problem How? Think through the problem. Use prewriting techniques (like a discovery draft, an outline, a freewrite, a map) to come to your own definition, overview, opinion or theory about the problem or issue. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

4. Find Evidence that Supports Your Thesis How? Prewriting Reading Research Thinking Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

5. Form Your Thesis Statement Your thesis statement should summarize the main idea of your paper. It is the nut from which your paper grows, the engine that drives your paper. Place it as the last sentence in your introductory paragraph. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

6. Organize Your Writing Around Your Thesis Statement How? Every paragraph should have a main idea with a topic sentence that relates to your thesis statement. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury

Functions of a Thesis Statement Establishes a boundary around the subject that keeps the writer from wandering from the subject--about this--not about that. Can chart an orderly course for the paper and make it easier to write--not just about this--but HOW it is --about this. Gives the reader an idea of what to expect, makes it easier for the reader to follow. Mary Ellen Bertolini CTLR Middlebury