Writing a thesis

1. Writing a thesis Do you know what a thesis is? Does your paper have it?

2. What is a thesis? To break it down, a thesis should…. • Explain to your reader(s) your position on the topic at hand. • Guide the reader as to the direction your paper will be taking. • Answer the prompt/question in detail.

3. Before writing a thesis… • You can’t just sit down and write a thesis right after reading the prompt! • You’ll want to analyze the topic a little and start thinking about your opinion. • Plus you want to make sure you have reasons for your opinion. • Your previous knowledge on the subject will really help out at this step!

4. If it’s a homework assignment… • If you’re writing a paper/paragraph/etc. as a homework assignment, then you have lots more time to think. • You may want to research the topic a little to help you form your opinion.

5. If it’s an in-class assignment… • Then you have a little less time. • You’ll want to think of everything you already know about that topic (this is your previous knowledge). • Think of things you’ve read, experiences you’ve had, or things you already know about the topic.

6. The Evidence • The evidence in your paper will be the points listed in your thesis. Usually we like to have about 3 points or pieces of evidence in our thesis (and discussed in our paper). • If you have good strong points to back up your opinion, you will have a stronger thesis and a stronger paper.

7. Examining Your Thesis • If you can, ask your teacher if your thesis is a good one or not. • Sometimes though, you won’t be able to ask anyone (in-class write, TCAP test, etc.) so you’ll need to know how to evaluate your thesis on your own. • You can ask yourself three questions to help you decide if you have a good thesis or not… • First and foremost, does my thesis answer the prompt (the question being asked, the topic of the paper, etc.)? If not, you’ll probably have to start over! • After you’ve finished the paper, ask yourself is the main points in your paper support your thesis. Do the details in your paper’s main body back up your thesis? • And last, does the thesis give enough depth to sum up an entire paper?

8. Examples and Process • Suppose you’re asked to write a paper on whether or not you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald killed John F. Kennedy. Whoa! Who is Lee Harvey Oswald?!? Discuss for a moment to make sure we understand the topic. • You decide on the following response: Based on the abundance of evidence on the subject, I don’t think Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK. Is this a good thesis???

9. Is it a good thesis? NO! Why not? • All it did was restate the question! • It had no supporting evidence. • The reader doesn’t know where you’re going in your paper. • The reader doesn’t know why you think Oswald didn’t do it. • It’s not clear or specific enough!

10. Let’s break it down… • As you begin to research your topic, there’s some steps you can follow to make thesis-writing easier… • First things first…. What’s your opinion on the topic? • What’s your backup (information, evidence, etc.) for your opinion?

11. Researching and/or Brainstorming • After we’ve come up with reasoning, information, research, etc. we want to organize the backup for our opinion into three ideas/categories. • EXAMPLE: Say you’re writing a paper on why you should be allowed to have your cell phones out in class. • Your three pieces of evidence could be: • Cell phones have tools like calculators, dictionaries, etc. on them. • Cell phones could be very helpful in an emergency situation. • Cell phones with Internet could help with research, etc. Make sense?

12. Say I’m still working on my JFK paper, and I need three pieces of evidence to support my belief that Oswald didn’t kill JFK. • My evidence could be….. • The single bullet theory does not make sense—the belief that one bullet caused seven wounds in two men despite its timing, flight path, point of entry and exit, and resulting conditions. • Kennedy was pushing for desegregation in schools and life, which came during the turbulent Civil Rights era…this made many people uncomfortable and they wanted him out. • Kennedy was dealing with pending problems with Fidel Castro and the Bay of Pigs issue. Is that enough evidence? Too little? Too much?

13. It’s overwhelming! • That evidence is way too much for a short paper. Maybe if I was writing a book that would be enough… • So now how can I shrink my evidence or down-size it into something more manageable? • The best way would be to just pick one of those topics and find three ideas for that one topic alone. • Let’s use the magic bullet theory!

14. What were our steps again? • (1) Decide opinion… (2) Find evidence… (3) Write thesis. • Time to write our thesis! • Example #1: The belief that one bullet caused seven wounds in two men despite its timing, flight path, and points of entry and exit is not only absurd but impossible, which is proof that Lee Harvey Oswald could not have killed JFK that fateful November 22, 1963. • Example #2: Lee Harvey Oswald was falsely accused of killing JFK based on the faulty single bullet theory which claims one bullet cause seven wounds in two men despite its timing, flight path, and resulting condition.

15. Are those two theses any good? • Yeah! Either one would work. Why? • Because both state the opinion clearly and detailed. • Both also have three points to back up the opinion and will be discussed in the paper. • The reader knows exactly what to expect!

16. What about the rest of the paper? Thesis: Lee Harvey Oswald was falsely accused of killing JFK based on the faulty single bullet theory which claims one bullet cause seven wounds in two men despite its timing, flight path, and resulting condition. • For the paper with this thesis, the first paragraph would be the introduction – the last sentence of the introduction is the thesis. • The second paragraph (1st main body paragraph) would discuss the timing of the bullet. • The third paragraph (2nd main body paragraph) would discuss the flight path. • The fourth paragraph (3rd main body paragraph) would discuss the resulting condition. • The last paragraph (5th) would be the conclusion.

17. What you SHOULD NOT do in your thesis: • Don’t state “I think” “I believe” “to me” “in my opinion” “I will prove that”, etc. It’s your paper! We already know it’s what you think. • Don’t go more than one sentence! It can be a long sentence, but don’t go longer than ONE sentence. • Don’t use vague/dull words – it’s the strongest sentence in your paper! Use strong words. • Don’t state it as a question. It’s a statement of your opinion plus fact – if you make a question, it sounds like you don’t know what you’re talking about. • Don’t quote someone else – use your own words for the core of your paper!

18. What you SHOULD do in your thesis: • Do answer the prompt/question. • Do write it in only one sentence! • Do take this time to use colons and semicolons – it helps to make the sentence longer sometimes, so careful punctuation helps. • Do put your thesis at the end of your first paragraph. Always! • Do give enough information to guide your audience – it’s the road map of your paper. • Do take a stance – have an opinion! Be bold!

19. Practice! As a class. Prompt: Lawmakers are considering raising the driving age from 16 years up to 18 years. Do you think they should do this? • First step: Decide opinion. • Second step: Find evidence. • Third step: Write a thesis. Helpful Hint: You can always use a formula like this – “(Opinion/answer prompt) because (reason #1), (reason #2), and (reason #3).” Later, you may want to improve the sentence structure.

20. Practice! As a class. Prompt: Should American students be required to learn a second language? Why or why not? • First step: Decide opinion. • Second step: Find evidence. • Third step: Write a thesis. Helpful Hint: Use a formula like this – “(Opinion/answer prompt) because (reason #1), (reason #2), and (reason #3).” Ta da!

21. Practice! With a partner. Prompt: What are the qualifications of a good parent? Describe these qualities. • First step: Decide opinion. • Second step: Find evidence. • Third step: Write a thesis. Helpful Hint: Use a formula like this – “(Opinion/answer prompt) because (reason #1), (reason #2), and (reason #3).” Ta da!

22. Practice! With a partner. Prompt: Why are horror films so popular today? Explain your opinion. • First step: Decide opinion. • Second step: Find evidence. • Third step: Write a thesis. Helpful Hint: Use a formula like this – “(Opinion/answer prompt) because (reason #1), (reason #2), and (reason #3).” Ta da!

23. Practice! By yourself. Look in your essay. Do you have something that looks like a thesis? It’s probably somewhere in your introduction paragraph. If you have one already, nice work! Please edit it as needed on the sticky note. If you don’t have one, no worries! Write one now, following these guidelines, on your sticky note. You’ll put that sticky note on your essay and turn in both to Mrs. Baker before leaving today.