Thesis Statements and Quotes

1. Thesis Statements and Quotes A guide to saying what you really mean!

2. Thesis Statements • Your thesis statement drives your paper. • Without a thesis, • the reader does not know where you stand on your topic. • your reader does not know the direction your paper will take.

3. Creating A Clear, Concise Thesis • Consider using your debatable question. • Make your debatable question a statement. • Be sure your opinion is evident. • You may list subtopics- but this is not necessary.

4. Superb Samples As it is evident that prisons are not environments that encourage rehabilitation, altering sentences for non-violent criminals is a viable solution. The welfare system only promotes government waste and creates a situation where those on welfare are stuck in a low income hole.

5. Words of Warning Be sure you have evidence to support your thesis. Be sure you create your thesis with your evidence in mind. Do you have evidence and is it relevant to your thesis statement?

6. Why quote sources? Your essays must be your own words with your own thoughts and your own voice. However, quoting sources in your essays: Adds authority to your essays by illustrating that you are presenting informed opinions And/or shows your reader exactly how you arrived at a particular thought of your own Forces you to avoid generalizations

7. Most of your essay is in your own words, but you use quotes to: • Back up your own thinking • Illustrate your own thinking • Prove that you are correct • Or reveal that an opposing point of view is completely idiotic!

8. A couple rules of thumb: Do not start a paragraph with a quote Do not end a paragraph with a quote Just one or two fairly short quotes per paragraph

9. A well-integrated quote is a lot like a sandwich: • On top you have a sentence that is your own thought and summary (topic sentence/context), setting the context for the quote that you intend to use to prove or illustrate your point • Then you have the quote (with author tag/signal phrase) to back up your thought (concrete details) • Then on the bottom you have a sentence of your own that reflects back on the quote (commentary)

10. For example: Midway into his famous “I have a Dream” speech before 100,000 rapt listeners on a scorching hot day on the Washington Mall, King answered critics, who asked why he was not satisfied with the civil rights gains at the time, by detailing a litany of unjust public behavior towards Negroes, ranging from police brutality to disenfranchisement at the voting booth. “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” he sand out in his preachers voice (“King’s Speech on Washington”). It was this stunning metaphor of running water and others like it that catapulted Kind into national respect and prominence.

11. Let’s back up a bit: How do you know what to quote?

12. Rule One: quote sparingly Keep quotes to one sentence or less If you have something that is longer, break it up with signal phrases and author tags, so the reader knows why you are quoting it “XXX XXX XXX,” the author wrote, offering justification for his actions. “XXX XXX XXX,” he added.

13. Rule 2: quote just the good stuff Memorable statements Especially clear explanations stated by authorities Controversial arguments in the speaker’s/writer’s own words

14. For example: King brought the crowd to a cheering roar like the sound of a great cataract when he asserted that the promise of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation has not yet been fulfilled. “One hundred years later, the Negro is still anguished in the corners of America Society and finds himself in exile in his own land,” he stated (“The March on Washington”). King noted that the purpose of the giant gathering on the Mall was to illustrate the exact conditions across the South that make the Negro feel like exiles.

15. Summary Keep your quotes short Just quote the good stuff Use author tags and signal phrases with ALL quotes Don’t start paragraphs with quotes Don’t end paragraphs with quotes

16. Some examples of signal phrases • According to Canadian researchers from XXXX, “…” • As Owen, president of M.A.D.D goes on to explain, “…” • Statistics gathered by the N.A.A.C.P show, the society is “…” • As to exemplify, Owen points out, “…” • Dan Hues, author of “Legalizing Pays Taxes” believes “…”

17. List of signal phrases acknowledge, adds, admits, affirms, agrees, argues, asserts, believes, claims, comments, compares, confirms, contends, declares, demonstrates, denies, disputes, emphasizes, endorses, grants, illustrates, implies, insists, notes, observes, points out, reasons, refutes, rejects, reports, responds, states, suggests, thinks, underlines, writes

18. Citing Sources Any information you derive from an external source of information – quotes, paraphrase, data, statistics,, images, etc. – should be cited within the text of your paper, not just on your List of Reference (Works Cited) page. These are called in-text citations, or parenthetical references. In-text citations require sources to be cited in an abbreviated style within the text of a document rather than in footnotes or endnotes. The full citation style is required for the Works Cited page. Both the APA and MLA styles require in-text citations.

19. Citing Sources Exact words Concepts and ideas Facts that are not common knowledge Pictures, photos, poems, cartoons, or other artwork you did not create yourself

20. Parenthetical Citations The following examples adhere to MLA standards. An in-text citation may include: The author’s name incorporated into the text with the page number in parenthesis at the end of the statement. The author’s name and the page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence or paragraph. If you incorporate the author’s name into your text, give only the page number in parenthesis. If no author is listed on the complete citation, use the article title- remember, these appear within quotes.

21. Example #1 According to Krushke, an assault weapon can be defined as “any weapon used in an assault on another individual” (375). Here, the author is listed in the introduction of the quote. Do not list the author again in the parenthetical citation. If you found your article on-line, you do not need to list page numbers- just the author or article title.

22. Example #2 An assault weapon can be defined as “any weapon used in an assault on another individual” (Krushke 375).

23. Example #3 Some of the research on gun control laws is controversial. A famous study by Dr. John H. Sloan compared crime statistics in Vancouver and Seattle, cities with similar demographic characteristics. The study found that the rate of violent crime involving the use of handguns was much lower in Vancouver than in Seattle, and concluded that the primary reasons for this difference was the presence of stricter gun laws in Vancouver. Critics point out that the Sloan study ignored other important differences between the two cities, and maintain that the research was therefore not valid (Krushke 22).

24. If the source does not have an author listed, cite article title: (“Gun Control” 68)