Honors March 6, 2012

Honors March 6, 2012• 10 minutes to study for Unit 12 Quiz• Take Unit 12 Quiz• Writing Thesis Statements

– Thesis/intro paragraph writing activity– Work on first draft of thesis statement AND intro paragraph

• Get Macbeth Final Assessment

HW due THURSDAY: • 2nd draft thesis statement/introduction • 1st draft of bibliography • Print out at least two sources each about your assigned psychological

condition

CP March 6th and 7th

• 10 minutes to study for Unit 12 Quiz• Take Unit 12 Quiz• Writing Thesis Statements– Thesis/intro paragraph writing activity– Work on first draft of thesis statement AND intro

paragraph

HW due THURSDAY or FRIDAY – 2nd draft thesis statement/introduction and 1st draft of bibliography

Thesis Statement and Introduction Paragraphs…

A $5 guide and guarantee

Why do we write thesis statements?• Because it sets the tone for the whole essay

by introducing key points and providing the reader with purpose and direction.

Why do we write GOOD thesis statements?• Because people are impatient, lazy, and value their time, and therefore, will not

want to waste their time while you ramble on and do not get to the point. Teachers may fail you or take off points for poor thesis statements. Bosses might fire you for not being clear or for not giving them what they ask for. Your peers will ridicule you.

Think – have you ever asked the following?• What’s the point? When will I ever need this?Think – have you ever said the following?• This is so frustrating, you’re not telling me anything.

So in a nutshell…

Thesis statements are important because we crave instant gratification and do not want to think or work too hard to get information.

Hello, I’m Mr. LinAnd when I’m not grading your work, I am hanging

out with the Ruff Ryders and riding tricycles. When you write good thesis statements, I have more time to do those things! YAY!!!!!!

When you don’t write good thesis statements, this is what I read, grade, and think…

What the heck was the point of this story @!^#*$(%)#&!!@$$#???

What I want to write on your paper…

… but that would take too long. So? F

So how do we fix this?

Here are 5 Steps to Writing a Good Thesis:

1. Be Focused2. Be Specific3. Be Debatable4. Be Supportable5. Be Concise

Be Focused.• What is your topic? Make sure that you understand

your topic fully and know what information you need to provide as background in order to explain what you want or need to in order to back up your points.

If I were talking about ultimate frisbee and said ‘huck’, ‘poach’, ‘sky’… would you know what I’m talking about? Probably not. So my first task when coming up with my thesis is to keep technical words (jargon) to a minimum but make a mental note that I need to explain them later on in my research. They are important overall, but not currently in the thesis.

Be Specific.• Building off of being focused, think about your topic

and make sure that you are using language and words that doesn’t leave your audience in the dark.

• Think like a current event: who, what, where, when, how, why.

• This isn’t “Mad Libs” so don’t just throw any word or term out there, unless you plan on explaining it later on in the body of your essay.

Example Thesis: Brodie Smith is currently the best player in the nation.

What’s wrong here?

Example Thesis: Brodie Smith is currently the best player in the nation.

• Not specific enough…– Who is he and/or what sport does he

play?– What makes him the best player?

• Without going into too much detail, a better thesis statement would answer these questions.

Revision 1:Brodie Smith is currently the best ultimate frisbee player in the nation for many reasons.

Revision 2:Brodie Smith is currently the best ultimate frisbee player in the nation because he has the best throws and plays the best defense.

Is this perfect though? No. Better? YES.

Be Debatable.• Your thesis statement cannot be

a fact. If it’s a fact then why do I need to read 3+ pages about it when you can answer it in one sentence?

Example Thesis: The American flag is red, white, and blue. It just is.

Why it isn’t good? It doesn’t prove anything nor promise to give me

any greater insights.

Be Supportable.

• Your thesis statement must also be provable based on real evidence and not just opinion.

Example Thesis: Everyone thinks that Taylor Swift is the sexiest, most talented, and greatest human being ever.

Can I prove this? Maybe by a poll or survey BUT can I prove that everyone

thinks this? Also, what does “being the greatest human being ever” mean?

Avoid words that are extreme (everybody, nobody, all, never).

Be Concise.

Avoid lengthy explanations, summary, excessive wordiness, usage of big words, metaphors, similes, etc. Simply say what you mean. You have the rest of your paper to ‘wow’ me. For now, I just need to know if you have an intelligent thought and if you can explain it.

Now Let’s Write Our Thesis Statements

Brainstorm the topic.• Let’s say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by

changes in the dietary habits of Americans. You find that you are interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume.

• You start out with a thesis statement like this:Sugar consumption.

• This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you want to say about sugar consumption.

Narrow the topic.Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the conclusion that elementary school children are consuming far more sugar than is healthy.

• You change your thesis to look like this:Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children.

• This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one segment of the population: elementary school children. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree, because while most people might agree that children consume more sugar than they used to, not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. You should note that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions on the topic.

Take a position on the topic.• After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you

decide that what you really want to say about this topic is that something should be done to reduce the amount of sugar these children consume.

• You revise your thesis statement to look like this:

More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school

children.• This statement asserts your position, but the

terms more attention and food and beverage choices are vague.

Use specific language.• You decide to explain what you mean

about food and beverage choices, so you write:

Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine times the

recommended daily allowance of sugar.

• This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. It merely reports a statistic instead of making an assertion.

Make an assertion based on clearly stated support.• You finally revise your thesis statement one more time

to look like this:Because half of all American elementary school children

consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the

beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.• Notice how the thesis answers the question, “What

should be done to reduce sugar consumption by children, and who should do it?” When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights.

Let’s ReviewWhat is a thesis statement?• A sentence or two that serves to guide your argument, making it easier for

a reader to understand the information and purpose of your paper or essay

A good thesis statement will usually:• take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree• deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the

assignment• express one main idea• assert your conclusions about a subjectAnd lastly, a good thesis will follow these 5 simple rules

1. Be Focused2. Be Specific3. Be Debatable4. Be Supportable5. Be Concise