At the end of the lesson, you will understand how to create a strong, focused thesis statement.
Have you ever known a person who was not very good at telling stories? You probably had trouble following his thought as he jumped around from point to point. Maybe he told the end of the story first, then moved to the beginning and later added details to the middle. His ideas were scattered, and the story did not flow well, and when the story was over, you probably had many questions.
Just as a personal anecdote can be a disorganized mess, an essay can fall into the same trap of being out of order and confusing. That is why writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they are about to discuss in the body.
Just like a topic sentence summarizes a single paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes an entire essay. It tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.
For any topic, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful and confident. Remember that a thesis is not the topic itself, but rather your explanation of the question or subject.
A thesis is one sentence and appears toward the end of your introduction. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that will be demonstrated in the body. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize the question but rather analyze it.
The slide presentation in the video is here.
A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities:
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Select each thesis statement that is written correctly — it is precise enough to be covered in an essay and debatable.