framing a thesis statement an introductory lesson for beginning composition students

26
Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

Upload: noe-mozley

Post on 01-Apr-2015

219 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

Framing A Thesis Statement

An introductory lessonfor

beginning composition students

Page 2: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for 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?

Page 3: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

Individual Goals

We will: Continue to build

writing fluency. Practice framing

(building) a THESIS statement.

Ask questions. Make

observations. Take risks. Have fun!

Page 5: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

Previous Terminology PROCESS writing

describes the series of steps writers use to produce a piece of writing:

Prewrite Write Edit Revise and rewrite Publish

Page 6: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

New Terminology

Thesis Thesis

statement Topic Opinion

Page 7: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 8: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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!

Page 9: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 10: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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?

Page 11: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 12: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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

Page 13: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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

Page 14: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 15: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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”

Page 16: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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

Page 17: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 18: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 19: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 20: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 21: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 22: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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

Page 23: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

Our Group Goals Q. Where does a

THESIS statement live?

A. A THESIS statement lives in the introductory paragraph on an essay.

Page 24: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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.

Page 25: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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

Page 26: Framing A Thesis Statement An introductory lesson for beginning composition students

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