Thesis Statements

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Thesis Statements
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What is a Thesis Statement?

• A thesis statement informs readers in a concise
  manner regarding your intention in writing the
  paper.

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Working Thesis

• You may write and rewrite a thesis several times
  while developing an essay.

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Characteristics of an Effective Thesis Statement

• A thesis is only one sentence. One of the most
  common mistakes students make is to write a
  number of sentences and call it a thesis. A
  thesis statement, however, is singular and must
  be only one sentence consisting of 25 words or
  fewer.
• A thesis makes an assertion (your opinion)
  related to the topic of the essay. It is what you
  want to prove in your essay.

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Characteristics of an Effective Thesis Statement

• The thesis must always be located near the end of
  your introduction.
• Everything in your paper must support, be related
  to, or point back to your thesis statement.
• Although a thesis is an opinion, that opinion
  must be one a reasonable person might agree with
  or argue against.

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Characteristics of an Effective Thesis Statement

• A thesis answers the questions How? or Why?
• A thesis passes the So what? testwhat does
  this topic have to do with anything? Why should I
  care? Why should others care?

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• A thesis statement is not
• a fact or observation.
• Incorrect The United States has many homeless
  people.
• Correct Because the homeless population is still
  widespread in the United States, Congress,
  organizations, and individuals must do more to
  improve the problem.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• a generalization.
• Incorrect Men take all the good jobs and get
  paid more.
• Correct Recent research shows men are still
  earning a significant amount more than women in
  the same positions therefore, employers and the
  government must do more to narrow this gap.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• an exaggeration
• Incorrect Fad diets are extremely unhealthy.
• Correct Many fad diets are dangerous because
  they may harm the human body, they often lack
  proper nutrients, and they may easily cause a
  person to regain original weight.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• a question.
• Incorrect Is it right for the media to portray
  women the way they do?
• Correct The media and Hollywood portray women as
  very beautiful and thin doing so has a negative
  effect on young girls self-esteem.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• too broad.
• Incorrect All animals are unique.
• Correct The hippopotamus is one of the most
  unusual and interesting animals within the animal
  kingdom.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• too narrow.
• Incorrect The song Cop Killa is offensive.
• Correct Music with vulgar language or
  inappropriate messages may negatively influence
  young children and teenagers.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• an announcement.
• Incorrect This essay talks about how legalizing
  marijuana is incorrect.
• Correct Marijuana must not be legalized because
  it will lead to greater social ills.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• vague or general.
• Incorrect Jane Austen was a good author.
• Correct Jane Austen was one of the greatest
  authors of all time because of her unique use of
  characterization and plots detailing significant
  social issues.

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Thesis Statement Fallacies

• written in first person.
• Incorrect I believe second-hand smoke is bad for
  people.
• Correct People of all ages should avoid
  second-hand smoke because it poses one of the
  deadliest health risks today.