framing a thesis statement an introductory lesson for beginning composition students
TRANSCRIPT
Framing A Thesis Statement
An introductory lessonfor
beginning composition students
Group Goals Review previous
terminology and key concepts
Introduce new terminology
Answer these questions:
What is a THESIS statement?
Where does a THESIS statement live?
How do I frame (build) a THESIS statement?
Individual Goals
We will: Continue to build
writing fluency. Practice framing
(building) a THESIS statement.
Ask questions. Make
observations. Take risks. Have fun!
Previous Terminology Essay
An essay is a multi-paragraph piece of prose writing that expresses the writer’s opinion about a topic.
ProseProse is normal spoken or written language.
Previous Terminology PROCESS writing
describes the series of steps writers use to produce a piece of writing:
Prewrite Write Edit Revise and rewrite Publish
New Terminology
Thesis Thesis
statement Topic Opinion
Key Concepts Every essay has a
thesis. A thesis introduces
the major ideas in the essay.
Only ideas that have been introduced by the thesis can be included in the essay.
What Is A Thesis? A THESIS is like
the monologue at the beginning of a talk show like Jay Leno’s, or David Letterman’s, or Conan O’Brian’s
How is a THESIS like a talk show host’s monologue?
I’m glad you asked!
What Is A Thesis? After a few jokes to
warm up the audience, the host’s monologue mentions all of the guests who will be on the show each night.
I know that, but how is a talk show host’s monologue like a THESIS?
Good question!
Oh Boy! The Olson Twins and Dave.
What Is A Thesis? The monologue
INTRODUCES all of the guests who will be on the show.
Only guests who are mentioned in the monologue appear on the show.
The monologue lets the audience know exactly what to expect (It lets me know if it’s safe to channel surf. If I don’t like the guests announced, I can switch to Iron Chef!)
Conan and Ice-T
or
Iron Chef?
What does a Thesis do? Why is it in the essay?
Like a talk show monologue introduces guests and lets me know what to expect, a THESIS introduces the major ideas (s) of an essay and lets me know what to expect.
Only ideas that are mentioned in the THESIS will appear in the essay.
Each body paragraph focuses on one of the topics (big ideas) that was mentioned in the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph of the essay.
Thesis
I’m the thesis. I’m here to introduce
every topic inthe essay.
Where Does A Thesis Live?
A THESIS STATEMENT is a sentence that usually lives in the introductory paragraph of an essay.
A THESIS STATEMENT introduces all of the TOPICS that will be included in an essay.
In long essays, a thesis can appear later in an essay and it might be more than one sentence.
For our next few essays, the thesis statement will be ONE sentence in the introductory paragraph.
Worthy Title
Introductory Paragraph
Body Paragraph
Body Paragraph
Concluding Paragraph
Thesis
Basic Five-Paragraph Essay Structure
The Parts of a Thesis
A basic THESIS STATEMENT has three parts:
1. What your essay explains: TOPIC
2. Your OPINION about the TOPIC.
3. REASONS for your opinion.
Topic
Opinion
Reasons
1 2 3
Topic + Opinion + Reasons for Opinion
Quick and Easy Steps to Build A Thesis
1. State the topic. 2. State your
opinion about the topic.
3. State the reasons
for your opinion. 4. Put them
together. 5. Insert adjectives
to add pizzazz.
Topics
Here are some TOPICS:
Driving on the Santa Ana Freeway
Inconsiderate Cell Phone Users
Professional athletes who use steroids
Boo! Hiss!
It’s Regal Cinema’s “Inconsiderate Cell
Phone Guy”
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis1. State the TOPIC.
Here are some sample topics:
Driving on the Santa Ana freeway
Inconsiderate Cell Phone Users
Professional athletes who use steroids
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis2. State your OPINION about the
topic. Here are some topics:
Driving on the Santa Ana freeway
Inconsiderate Cell Phone Users
Professional athletes who use steroids
Here are some opinions:
is a nightmare.
are ruining public places.
should be removed from their sports.
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis3. State the REASONS for your opinion
about the topic. Here are the topics and opinions:
Driving on the Santa Ana freeway is a nightmare
Inconsiderate cell phone users are ruining public places
Professional athletes who use steroids should be removed from their sports
Here are some reasons:
because of the traffic, construction, and road conditions. because ring tones disrupt movies and plays, loud voices
ruin the atmosphere in restaurants, parks, and museums, and distracted drivers cause traffic problems.
because steroids are illegal, athletes who use them harm the purposes of sports, and make winning more important than competing.
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis4. Put it all together.
Topic + Opinions + ReasonsDriving on the Santa Ana Freeway is a
nightmare because of the traffic, construction, and potholes.
Inconsiderate cell phone users are ruining public places because ring tones disrupt movies and plays, loud voices ruin the atmosphere in restaurants, parks, and museums, and distracted drivers cause traffic problems.
Professional athletes who use steroids should be removed from their sports because steroids are illegal, athletes who use them harm the purposes of sports, and make winning more important than competing.
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis5. Add some adjectives for pizzazz!
Driving on the Santa Ana Freeway is a nightmare because of the horrendous traffic, endless construction, and dangerous potholes.
Inconsiderate cell phone users are ruining public places because musical ring tones disrupt movies and plays, loud voices ruin the tranquil atmosphere in restaurants, parks, and museums, and distracted drivers cause dangerous traffic problems.
Professional athletes who use steroids should be removed from their sports because steroids are illegal, athletes who use them harm the healthy purposes of sports, and make winning more important than legitimate competition.
Our Group Goals Q. What is a THESIS
statement?
A. A THESIS statement is a sentence in the introductory paragraph of an essay that introduces all of the topics that are discussed in the essay.
Follow the Steps to Build a Thesis5. Add some adjectives for pizzazz!
ReminderAn adjective is a descriptive word that modifies (changes, provides more information) the meaning of a noun.
Yellow banana Squeaky stairway Foreign language
Our Group Goals Q. Where does a
THESIS statement live?
A. A THESIS statement lives in the introductory paragraph on an essay.
Our Group Goals Q. How do I build a
THESIS statement?
A. State the topic, your opinion about the topic, and the
reasons for your opinion. Insert adjectives to add pizzazz.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Try creating a simple THESIS statement for two of the TOPICS on this list:
Violence on television Age limits on drinking Cost of higher education Pop music Infomercials Fast food restaurants Reality television shows
Sources
Images www.npr.org/features/ feature.php?wfId=1429505 www.angelfire.com/ trek/amsguy/ICGallery.html www.lawandorder-fr.com/ multimedia www.punchstock.com/stock_photography/imagezoo www.efuse.com/Build/ intranet_savvy_section.html www.typingandmore.com/ www.sightssounds.net www. afixe.weblog.com. www.jobear56.tripod.com www.jimcarreyonline.com www.jossip.com www.olsen-twins-news.com www. www.seasite.niu.edu www.landonline.govt.nz/images/people/introduction.jpg