The Thesis Statement Miss Johnson

Review Introductory Paragraph has three parts The Hook (attention grabber) The Bridge (all background information; brief summary; definitions) The Thesis Statement (the argument)

The Thesis Statement Thesis Statement: the sentence that states the main idea of a writing assignment and helps control the ideas within the paper IT IS NOT MERELY A TOPIC!! It reflects an opinion or judgement that a writer has made about a reading It can be for or against; it can be disputed Often start my thesis with the word “Although”

A Thesis’ Length The length of your thesis should match the length of your essay. For a 3-5 page paper you should only need a one (1) sentence thesis For a 5-10 page paper you may need two (2) – three (3) sentences

The Basic Outline Basic Outline Opinion Statement + Reason 1 + Reason 2 + Reason 3 As freshman, it is okay to still be using this outline to write your thesis but remember this is BASIC By the end of the year you should start moving on from this!

Not the First Step in Writing Do not try to write your thesis statement FIRST!!! You need to collect evidence or ideas about a topic, think about it, and look for relationships between ideas THEN, you write a “working thesis” Working Thesis: a basic, main idea, and argument that you THINK you can support with evidence Your working thesis WILL CHANGE and SHOULD CHANGE based upon what you write

Is this a strong Thesis? Ask yourself: Do I answer the question from the prompt? Helps you focus your thesis Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If someone cannot oppose your thesis it is possibly you are writing a summary Is my thesis statement specific enough to my essay? If your thesis is not specific enough, your argument is often not specific enough

Is this a strong Thesis? Does my thesis pass the “so what” test? You need to forge a relationship or connect to a larger issue Why is your essay topic important? Often the most difficult question to answer in a high school essay Does my essay support my thesis specially and without wandering? If not you may need to revise your thesis or possibly your essay Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If so, you may not have enough guidance for the reader

Examples Prompt: Compare and contrast the reasons why the North and South fought the Civil War. The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different. While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions. While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

Examples The sin of mankind is the cause of the flood. Although it is not mankind’s fault, the sin of mankind ultimately caused the flood. Although the flood in Genesis seems overly harsh, it is ultimately just due to the overwhelming, evil sin that mankind has committed.

Final Thoughts You do not need to start PROVING your argument in your thesis! I do not need to start seeing evidence yet Save that for the body paragraphs

Comment on Word Count After the last line of your essay, include a word count aligned to the right margin EX: In conclusion, blah blah blah blah blah blah blahb blah blah blah blah BLAH. Word Count: 1,225

Essay Your essay will be graded harshly on three things: Paragraph Structure Integration of Quotes AND Your Thesis Statement

Works Cited http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/