Understanding Thesis Statements

How to Survive Freshman English at MVHS

Thesis Statements

Level One Thesis Statements:

• Restate the prompt• Answer the question “what do you think?”• Contain your opinion• Contain a major claim which is your opinion.• Must be debatable to be a claim.• Represent the “knowledge” and “comprehension” levels of

Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Example:

Prompt: Describe how another person helped you learn to do something that you do well better than you did it before.

Thesis: My friend Raymond taught me how to play lacrosse better than I used to.

Restate what you just learned to your partner

Thesis Statements

Level Two Thesis Statements:

• Answer two questions• “What do you think?” and “Why do you think it?”

• Contain your opinion and the reason you have that opinion.• Your opinion is the major claim and the reason is the minor

claim.• Represent the “analysis” and “application” levels of Bloom’s

Taxonomy.

Example:

Prompt: Describe how another person helped you learn to do something that you do well better than you did it before.

Thesis: My friend Raymond taught me how to play lacrosse better than I used to by teaching me to do drills for fundamental skills every day.

Restate what you just learned to your partner

Thesis Statements

Level Three Thesis Statements:• Answer two questions

• “What do you think?” and “Why do you think it?”and• Give the logical connection between those answers.

• The logical connection is a principle that shows why your reason is relevant to your opinion.

• In other words, the principle explains the logical connection between the major and minor claims in your thesis.

• Represent the “synthesis” and “evaluation” levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Example:

Prompt: Describe how another person helped you learn to do something that you do well better than you did it before.

Thesis: My friend Raymond taught me how to play lacrosse better than I used to by teaching me to do drills for fundamental skills every day. Athletes who do drills for fundamental skills perform those skills automatically in games and under pressure.

Thesis Statements

Restate what you just learned to your partner

• In your own words, summarize what you have learned about thesis statements during this lecture.

• Write questions and key words on the left side of your notes.

• Write your summary at the bottom or on the back of your Cornell Notes.