Thesis

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Thesis Statements!
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A thesis is the main idea of your paper.
It is contained in a thesis statement.
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So, just what the heck IS a thesis statement,
anyway?
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A thesis statement is a sentence that answers
these questions for your readers What is
the subject of this essay? What is the
writers opinion on this subject?
What is the writers purpose in this essay?
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Everything you write in your paper should support
your thesis!!!!
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But what happens if I change my thesis as I
revise my paper?
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A working thesis may change as you revise and
redraft what you write. This is okay. You are
not locked into your original idea if you think
of something better.
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Guidelines for Writing Effective Thesis
Statements
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Clearly define your opinion. Make sure your
readers know what you think.
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Have only ONE main idea. This is not as easy as
it sounds.
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High school athletes shouldnt have to maintain
a certain grade-point average to participate in
school sports, and the value of sports is often
worth the lower academic average.
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Two Theses High school athletes shouldnt have
to maintain a certain grade-point average to
participate in school sports. The value of
sports is often worth the lower academic average.
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To improve, pick one High school athletes
shouldnt have to maintain a certain grade-point
average to participate in school sports.
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To improve, pick one For some students,
participation in sports may be more valuable than
achieving a high grade-point average.
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Say something worthwhile.
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If you write it well, any subject can be made
interesting. But some subjects are more
predictable and boring than others.
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Sometimes you are asked to write about yourself
in an essay after all, you are the worlds
greatest expert on you.
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The problem with this is that not all topics you
generate this way will interest others as the
subject is just too personal.
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In this case you need to UNIVERSALIZE the thesis
so that others can get into it.
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The six children in my family have completely
different personalities. This might be true, but
would anyone outside your family and friends
really care?
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Universalize the Thesis Birth order can
influence childrens personalities in startling
ways. You can use the same examples from the last
thesis, but now others are more likely to buy
into it.
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Limit the thesis to fit the assignment.
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State the thesis in specific terms.
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Living away from home in an apartment for the
first time can teach you many things about taking
care of yourself.
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More Specific By living in an apartment,
college freshmen can learn valuable lessons in
financial planning and time management.
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The thesis should be easily recognizable as the
main idea. Ideally the thesis statement should
show up in the first or second paragraph.