THESIS STATEMENTS

Characteristics of a Thesis Statement It is the focus of the essay.. It tells the reader how you interpret the significance of a subject matter. It makes a claim that others might dispute The thesis sentence is a clear, concise statement of the position you will defend in your paper. The thesis sentence should argue a position, not summarize information.

When composing your thesis statement make sure your thesis reflects the full scope of your argument. avoid using a thesis that is too broad to be defended in your paper or too narrow to be a full response to the assignment. Ask yourself How? and Why? questions to deepen your thesis. make sure your reader can easily identify your thesis sentence.

How to Brainstorm your THESIS: The THESIS STATEMENT doesn’t always come first in the writing process, but it is good to develop it early so you can use it as a guide for your paper. Think about contrasts or opposing views.

In The Craft of Argument, Williams & Colomb suggest the following ways of deepening the thesis: add a reason, include a reason-clause beginning with because, or if, or a phrase beginning with by or in order to (84). acknowledge an alternative point-of-view or reason, or to limit the scope of your claim, add a concession-clause beginning with although, while, or even though, or a phrase

Points to Remember A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or an observation. Fact or observation: People use many lawn chemicals. Thesis: People are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean.

A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a subject. Announcement: The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of solving our environmental problems. Thesis: Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than many environmentalists believe.

A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully supported. Broad: The American steel industry has many problems. Narrow: The primary problem if the American steel industry is the lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.

A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general. Vague: Hemingway's war stories are very good. Specific: Hemingway's stories helped create a new prose style by employing extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong Anglo-Saxon words.

A thesis statement has one main point rather than several main points A thesis statement has one main point rather than several main points. More than one point may be too difficult for the reader to understand and the writer to support. More than one main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a world-renowned physicist, and his book is the subject of a movie. One Main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a world renowned physicist.

Useful Tips Thesis statements vary according to writing genre A thesis must be a claim that you can prove with the evidence at hand (e.g., evidence from your texts or from your research).

Practice Read each of the following statements and evaluate whether it is a strong or weak thesis statement. 1. Advertising companies often use attractive models in their ads to sell their products and television producers get paid millions to run these ads. This is a weak thesis statement because it has more than one idea. Using attractive models is one idea and television producers making money is another idea.

There are many positive and negative aspects to the use of oral medications to fight childhood diseases. This is weak because it does not give the writer’s viewpoint.

The number of persons infected with AIDS in the continent of Africa continues to grow due to the inhabitant’s lack of education about the sexually transmitted disease and its method of prevention. This is a strong thesis because it contains only one main idea and narrows down the subject to a specific topic.

The subject of this essay is the economic implications of a global society. This is a weak thesis statement because it simply announces the subject of the essay.

Proving the Thesis Think of the main points of the essay as the reasons you think your thesis statement is true. Make sure that each point is directly related to your thesis statement. These main points should predict the paper’s plan of development, usually by mentioning the paper’s main subtopics in order of appearance.

Remember, A Good Thesis Is: Arguable: The thesis should express an idea that can be doubted. Clear : The thesis should use precise, unambiguous language, and thus it should contain no metaphors, similes, or other figures of speech. Unified: The thesis should make a unified statement expressed as a single sentence. Narrow: The thesis should be about a topic that you can master thoroughly. .

Let’s Practice Your teacher asks you to write an essay on “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Brainstorm elements such as theme, character development, writing style etc. Choose one and ask yourself questions about it I choose narration as my topic

Questions about Narration Third person limited omniscient What effect does this narration have on the reader Is the narration influenced by any other factors? Why has the author chosen this style of narration? Is the narrator reliable?

Answer the Questions 1. What effect does this narration have on the reader. Allows the reader to see into Walter’s mind. 2. Is the narration influenced by any other factors? Narration is influenced by Walter’s thoughts and feelings. 3. Why has the author chosen this style of narration? Allows the reader to sympathize with Walter because the reader is not privy to the thoughts or emotions of the other characters. 4. Is the narrator reliable? Why/Why not? No. The narrator has bias and therefore must be questioned by the reader.

Pick one and turn it into a thesis statement: 1. Is the narrator reliable? Why/Why not? No. The narrator has bias and therefore must be questioned by the reader. As a thesis, this would read as follows: In his short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, James Thurber’s narrator is unreliable The thesis is specific, clearly worded and arguable.

Formative Feedback Always check your thesis statement with your teacher! If the thesis is not strong, the rest of the paper will also be weak