Thesis Maker: Three Steps to a Strong Thesis Statement A Tutorial for the Students of Mount Vernon High School by Mr. Tuel, Librarian

Step 1 Choose your topic. Do some reading/study about it. (Depending on the class/teacher, your topic may be chosen for you.)

Step 2 Choose your focus. This limits the information you will present about your topic. The focus will also identify the approach you will take toward your topic: informational/expository or argumentative/persuasive.

Step 3 Write your thesis statement, a single sentence that –Identifies the topic and focus of your paper –States the main idea/argument of your paper –Controls the content and direction of your paper Think of your thesis as an umbrella under which all of your paper will be covered.

Example 1 TOPIC: The Vietnam War FOCUS: Rationale (reason for the war) THESIS: The United States fought the Vietnam War in order to stop the spread of communism in Indochina.

Example 2 TOPIC: Jim Crow laws FOCUS: Effects of THESIS: “Jim Crow” laws, enacted by many Southern legislatures between 1877 and the early 1950s, mandated segregation of blacks and whites and impacted public transportation, schools, and many businesses.

Example 3 TOPIC: The impact of the individual in history FOCUS: The murder of Emmett Till THESIS: The gruesome and vicious murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in the Deep South in 1955 for his supposed whistling at a white woman captured the attention of the nation and helped to ignite the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

Your Turn On your own paper, write the following: –Your TOPIC: –Your FOCUS: –Your THESIS: