- a clear direct statement of the main idea to be developed in the paper - usually occurs near the end of the introductory paragraph - indicates a Plan of Development - a “preview” of the major points that will support the thesis - must advance a point about a limited subject - support the thesis with specific evidence EXAMPLE : 3-Pronged Thesis - a thesis that expresses the three main ideas that will be explained throughout the rest of the essay

-overly detailed -a subject that doesn’t branch out into any direction -it can be entirely covered in a few sentences -something that supports itself and doesn’t give much room for major and minor supports -may be unclear -can contain more than one idea -the reader wont know where the writer is going to go

-doesn’t give enough detail -very obvious, too general -can easily branch out into too many factors -doesn’t clearly state the point of the essay -usually in first or second person -states the thesis in statement form

1.The subject of this paper will be my parents. 2.My parents helped me grow in important ways, although in other respects I was limited. 3. My parents had only one child. 4. My parents have been the most influential people in my life. 5. Crime is a major concern of everyone in our country. 6. The “baby boom” generation is going to be the concern of this essay. 7. The problem of America’s overcrowded prisons must be solved, and judges must start handing out tougher sentences. 8.The members of the post-World War 2 “baby boom” makeup the largest single age group in America.

- a word, phrase or clause that identifies precisely what the paragraph is about - can answer the question to the writer, What do you want to say about this topic? - should always be located in the topic sentence -it is a means of ensuring what your reader can expect in the paper - specifies the limits to which writers can go on that topic Examples : A successful space program contributes to the American Sense of pride in national achievement.

- series of statements or examples that do not require further explanation or proof -helps build a paper off of a single idea - these supports test each piece of information against the controlling idea as a sorting process - designed to convince the reader of the validity of the controlling idea - paragraphs can be written with only major supports - you can use the “because test” to make sure all of the major supports directly relate and explain the thesis and controlling idea

- a sentence containing facts, examples or other evidence that clarifies or explains the meaning of a major supporting statement - gives many necessary details that relate to the major support - you can use the “because test” to make sure all of the minor supports directly relate and explain the major support ideas - minor supports must answer the readers question of “Why?” - each major supporting sentence should have at least two minor supporting sentences - make sure that the minor supports adds to the paragraph unity and doesn’t mess it up