CVCC Thesis
- 1. The Art of the Thesis Statement Professor Harbinson English June 2, 2016
- 2. Before writing an essay, ask yourself: * What is the topic? * What is my position on the topic? * Why is my topic important? * How will I structure my paper?
- 3. All of these questions will be answered by your THESIS STATEMENT. The Thesis Statement alerts readers to not only the importance, but also the structure, of your essay. It is a single sentence that appears at the end of your introductory paragraph. “Why am I reading this and what is it about?”
- 4. Types of essays… Narrative (tells a story) Expository (informs the reader) Research (presents findings) Argumentative (chooses a side) Many papers that require a Thesis Statement will be ARGUMENTATIVE.
- 5. A Thesis Statement is a complete sentence that contains the topic of every body paragraph. EXAMPLE: In order to truly appreciate cosmetology, one must understand the history of the subject, the skills involved and the educational requirements. From this statement, we can tell that the body paragraphs will cover: 1) history, 2) skills and 3) education IN THAT ORDER!
- 6. How to plan your paper: * Freewrite * Bullet points (topics) * Idea maps * Venn diagrams Try to come up with specific topics/arguments that strengthen your paper the most.
- 7. Ask yourself: * What aspects of my topic are most interesting? * What is my educated opinion? * For what arguments to I have the most evidence? * Could I successfully defend my argument against counterclaims? Or do I need more information?
- 8. A Thesis Statement should NOT be… * A question, rhetorical or otherwise * A topic without a position * A simple statement of purpose (“In this paper, I will…”) * A topic that is too broad and/orvague
- 9. BAD EXAMPLE #1 “Why is it a good thing to recycle?” ** This is a poor Thesis Statement because it covers a topic that is too broad, does not take a position, and does not alert the reader to the paper’s structure. **
- 10. BAD EXAMPLE #2 “Abortion in the United States.” ** This doesn’t even take a position on a highly-controversial topic! It is simply a heading with no purpose or goal. **
- 11. BAD EXAMPLE #3 “In this paper, I will describe the effects of global warming on climate change.” ** This is a poor Thesis Statement because it is simply a statement of purpose. This is redundant and unnecessary. Like the above examples, it does not outline the paper’s basic structure and does not take a position. **
- 12. BAD EXAMPLE #4 “Crime in the United States has many causes.” ** This is a poor Thesis Statement because it is WAY too broad. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of reasons people commit crimes in America! Topics should be as NARROW and SPECIFIC as possible. **
- 13. GOOD EXAMPLE #1 “Teen pregnancy can be reduced with good education, parental support and birth control.” ** This is a good Thesis Statementbecause it chooses a position that can be defended. It also outlines the paper’s structure. **
- 14. GOOD EXAMPLE #2 “At least 25% of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade businesses to clean technologies, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to eliminate pollution.” ** Look at the specifics here—this topic is fine-tunedand straightforward. It takes a clear position. **
- 15. EXAMPLE #3 “Eliminating fast food is bad and should be avoided.” “Americans should eliminate the regular consumption of fast food because the fast food diet leads to preventable and expensive health issues, such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.”
- 16. EXAMPLE #4 “There is a high number of homeless people living in Berkeley, CA.” “Homeless people in Berkeley should be given access to services, such as regular food donations, public restrooms, and camping facilities, because it would improve life for all inhabitants of the city.”
- 17. One GRAMMAR issue… What is wrong with this Thesis Statement? “In order to understand psychology, one must watch scientific videos, read books and interviews.”
- 18. This is FAULTY PARALLELISM. In the previous statement, we have the verbs “watch” and “read,” but there is no third verb. “In order to understand psychology, one must watch scientific videos, read books and listen to interviews.”
- 19. FAULTY PARALLELISM #2: “In psychology, one must analyze people’s actions, dreams and ask them questions.” CORRECT: “In psychology, one must analyze people’s actions, dreams and responses to questions.” ** In this example, all three aspects must follow the verb analyze.”
- 20. Now for some practice… 1) Come up with three legitimate Thesis Statements that fulfill all requirements. 2) Come up with three faulty Thesis Statements and explain, briefly, what is wrong with each one.