Thesis statement

All about Thesis Statement

Definition:

Thesis statement is a single,specific claim that your essay supports.A good thesis statement is not simply an observation, a question or a promise. It includes a TOPIC, a PRECISE OPINION, and REASONING.

Parts of a thesis statement:

1- The SUBJECT: That's basically the topic of your essay.

2- The PRECISE OPINION: Your opinion on the subject/the topic of your essay.If you're not sure what that is,you should do a little research to help you formulate your opinion.

3- The BLUEPRINT of REASONS: This is where you show your reader HOW you plan to ARGUE and PROVE your opinion. Tipically, you should have 3 strong pieces of evidence to support your opinion. Later, you will expand on each detail in the body of the essay.

Example:

1.Topic/subject: Hip hop.

2.Your opinion on it: Hip hop is not offensive and positively influences urban youth.

3. Reasons/evidence to back up your opinion:

1. Gives urban youth a chance for artistic expression.
2. It's a form of street poetry.
3. Inspires youth to overcome challenges.

Polished thesis statement:

Though many people dismiss hip hop as offensive, hip hop music inspires urban youth to overcome challenges, offers an important opportunity for artistic expression and allows them to articulate the poetry of the street.

The pieces of evidence or "the blueprint" are only effective if:

1. I explain what I mean about each blue print point in the body paragraphs.

2. I provide detailed examples for each blue print point.

The thesis statement tells your readers:

1. Where you are going in your essay and

2. How you plan on getting there.

When you are composing a Thesis Statement, you need to know the following.:

1. Your TOPIC: What your paper will deal with.
2. Your CLAIM: What you think about the topic.
3. REASONS that SUPPORT your claim: 3 points that will persuade your readers to believe your claim.

Example:

1. Your topic: Shopping at Walmart.

2. Your claim: Everyone should shop at Walmart.

3. Reasons that supoort your claim:

 - Walmart has variety.

 - Walmart has a large inventory.

 - Walmart has cheap prices.

Thesis with points listed:

- Points at the end of the thesis statement (Everyone should shop at Walmart beacause they have variety, a large inventory and cheap prices.)

- Points at the beginning of the thesis statement (The  variety, large inventory and cheap prices at Walmart are why everyone should shop there.)

-Points listed in the sentence after the thesis statement (Everyone should shop at Walmart. They have variety, a large inventory and cheap prices.) 

 Tips for Writing Thesis Statements

1.Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience. 

An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience. 

An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. 

The claim could be

an opinion

a policy proposal

an evaluation

a cause-and-effect statement

an interpretation. 

The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided. If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Source:
Nawal Nader-French. 19 de Febrero de 2010. How to write an A+ Thesis Statement. Website:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=237&v=5HePQWodWiQ

ChrisHeafner. 34 de Agosto de 2011. Thesis Statement --How to construct and compose (A review). Website:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=301&v=DfUkhdh8Z08

Academicwriting-now. 12 de junio 2019. Portfolio #7:Thesis statement.Adapted from: Purdue University OWL. Website:http://academicwriting-now.blogspot.com/