Identifying a Thesis

1. Identifying a Thesis From The Longman Writer Chapter 3, pages 36-44

2. What Is a Thesis? • The essay’s hub • The central point • What the essay revolves around

3. Why Use a Thesis? • Helps the writer: • What does and does not belong • Helps the reader: • Focus on the central point

4. How Do I Create a Thesis? • Revisit your prewriting and ask: • What statement does all this support? • What aspects are covered in most detail? • What is the focus of the most provocative material?

5. Work in Progress • You may find that you need to refocus your thesis as you move through the stages of the writing process • See page 38 in The Longman Writer

6. 2 Parts to an Effective Thesis • The paper’s limited subject • Your point of view or attitude • What are you writing about AND what do you have to say about it • See The Longman Writer page 38 for examples

7. Structure • May point the way to a pattern of development • i.e. comparison-contrast, cause-effect, argument-persuasion • May include a plan of development: • A concise overview of the essay’s main points in the exact order they will be discussed • Example: Baseball’s inflated salaries hurt the fans, the sport, and most of all, the athletes.

8. Tip 1: Don’t write a highly opinionated statement • With characteristic clumsiness, campus officials bumbled their way through the recent budget crisis • Improved: Campus officials had trouble managing the recent budget crisis effectively

9. Tip 2: Don’t make an announcement • Handgun legislation will be the subject of my paper. • Improved: Banning handguns is the first step toward controlling crime in America

10. Tip 3: Don’t make a factual statement • America’s population is growing older • Improved: The aging of the American population will eventually create a crisis in the delivery of health-care services

11. Tip 4: Don’t make a broad statement • Nowadays, high school education is often meaningless • Improved: High school diplomas have been devalued by grade inflation

12. Practice • In a small group, complete practice activities 1 and 4 on pages 42 and 43 of The Longman Writer

13. Supporting a Thesis with Evidence From The Longman Writer Chapter 4, pages 45-53

15. What Is Evidence? • Examples • Facts • Details • Statistics • Personal observation • Personal experience • Anecdotes • Expert opinions • Quotations

16. Make Sure Evidence Is: • Relevant and Unified • Specific • Adequate • Dramatic • Accurate • Representative • Documented

17. Practice • In a small group, complete practice activity 1 on page 52 of The Longman Writer

18. Outlining: Organizing the Evidence From The Longman Writer Chapter 5, pages 54-63

20. Use the Patterns of Development • Volunteer to read aloud the bottom of 54 and page 55 in The Longman Writer

21. Select an Organizational Approach • Chronological • Spatial • Emphatic • Simple-to-Complex

22. Prepare an Outline • Helps you: • Organize your thoughts • Guide your writing • Determine what comes first • How to: • 1: reread and evaluate your prewriting and thesis • 2: decide upon a pattern of development • 3: decide upon an organizational approach • 4: identify and sequence your main and supporting points

23. Outlining Tips • Outlining is individualized • Yours doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s • Unless it is a formal essay to be submitted • The amount of detail will vary according to the paper’s length and assignment • Do NOT just create an outline afterwards; • Creating an outline actually SAVES time and frustration • Tables of Content are usually outlines (look at examples)

24. Practice • In a small group, complete practice activities 1, 2, & 4 on pages 61-63 of The Longman Writer