1. Thesis Statements Definition of a Thesis Statement How to Construct a Strong Thesis Statement How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

2. What is a Thesis Statement? What is a thesis statement? Most important sentence in your paper The single sentence that ___________, ________, and / or _________ the topic of your essay and your approach to the topic Lets readers know your ___________ Answers: What am I trying to ________ through the research / points in my paper? formulates statessums up purpose prove

3. Four Characteristics of Strong Thesis Statements 1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand. A thesis must show your conclusions about a topic. 2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. (Quoted Source: Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University- current and following slide)

4. Four Characteristics of Strong Thesis Statements 3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea. Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. 4. A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic.

5. Thesis Statements Should: Be ________ What does this mean?? Thesis statements should not contain pre-established ______. Why? Thesis statements should present information and your ________________ to the information. Even though you don’t say, “________” or “________,” your thesis is your __________ based on the ________ and ___________ you’ve made as you’ve __________ for your paper. provable facts “take” or approach I think I believe opinionresearch conclusionsprepared

6. Thesis Statements Should: Take your essay’s purpose and audience into account Contain action verbs, strong adjectives, and specific, illustrative vocabulary Avoid- “___,” “___,” “_____,” etc. Avoid- “___________” or other vague, generalized statements isarehave many ways

7. Ideas for Stronger Verbs… Instead of “is / are” use _________________ Or _________________ __________________ Instead of “have” use ___________________ Or ________________ ___________________ Instead of “show” use___________________ Or ________________ ___________________

8. Constructing a Strong Thesis Statement How do you write a good thesis statement? Magic Formula: ________________+ ______________ + _________________________________ = Strong Thesis Statement Specific Topic Active Verb Point You are Proving (your approach)

9. A Three Pronged Thesis This is the common ______ approach to writing thesis statements. Your thesis includes your ______, your ___________________, and the _______________________ you will use to prove and discuss your topic in the body of your essay. You may have more or less than 3 points depending on the size of your essay. PSSA topic approach to the topic three aspects / main points

10. A Three Pronged Thesis Example for Literature: Literary contemporaries William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson exhibit similar styles of language, character development, and plot execution. = Strong Thesis! Topic + active verb + 3 prongs / main points / the approach that you use to prove your topic = strong thesis 1 3 2

11. A Two Part Thesis As you grow as a writer, you should expand into the two part thesis approach. Here, you state your thesis and approach to topic in one sentence. This is actually the true definition of a thesis statement… one sentence with topic and approach. Following your “thesis sentence” you must then write a “_______” statement. You will put forth the main points of your paper (3 aspects / topics) in the “ ______” statement. details

12. A Two Part Thesis Example for Social Studies THESIS- When compared, the United States and the Philippines exhibit similar governing characteristics. DETAILS STATEMENT- Their federal branches, formal legal systems, and rules of cultural decorum correspond. Examine how the same formula is used. The thesis is clear, so are the 3 points that will help prove the thesis.