Getting Students to Write Clear Thesis Statements

I. What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is…

• Your point of view or observation
• Your controlling idea for the essay because it
  1. indicates the specific topic you will deal with,
  2. imposes manageable limits on that topic and
  3. suggests the organization of your paper.
• May be one or more sentences long
• Must be stated early in the essay’s development
• Should prepare the reader to ask “How?” or “Why?”

A thesis statement is NOT…

• A statement of fact:
  • George Bush is the president of the United States.
• Too narrow nor too broad:
  • Al Gore’s claim to improve health care for the elderly will earn him many votes among the senior citizens.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous man.

II. How do we get students to write clear thesis statements?

• Sample Assignment: Analyzing Thesis Statements
• Sample Assignment: Creating a Thesis Statement
• Sample Assignment: Arriving at a Thesis Statement

Workshop Assignment

1. Take a formal writing assignment which you will be giving to your students in the next few weeks.
   
   
2. Devise a tentative plan for how you might provide support for your students to help them create clearly written thesis statements. Questions to consider:
   
   
   • Will your students need to review the definition of what a thesis statement is?
     
   • How will you assess the students understanding of what a thesis statement is?
   • What will you do to help students create their thesis statements for the assignment? (in-class activities, prewriting strategies)
   • Will students be given feedback on their thesis statements during the drafting stage?