The Thesis Statement

1
The Thesis Statement
2
A Thesis Statement

• Makes a claim that someone else might dispute (it
  is arguable)
• Usually single sentence in the first paragraph
• Is a plan for your whole research
• Is dynamic (you can make slight changes)

3
A Thesis Statement

• Avoids vague or general language
• Avoids the first person
• I believe, I think, In my opinion

4
3 Types

• Explanatory
• Explains something to the reader
• Analytical
• Breaks down an issue or idea into smaller parts
  then evaluates the issue or idea
• Argumentative
• Makes a claim about a specific topic and
  justifies this claim with specific evidence

5
Explanatory Thesis Statements

• The music that students listen to is directly
  related to where they live.
• Rap music is derogatory to females.

6
Analytical Thesis Statements

• An analysis of computer use shows that high
  school students spend more time on social
  websites than doing research for a project.
• An analysis of first person documents shows that
  foot soldiers are more confident when they know
  an air strike is planned.

7
Argumentative Thesis Statements

• The Pearl Harbor attack would not have occurred
  if the U.S. had not docked so many ships in one
  place, making them an easy target.
• High school students should complete one year of
  military service immediately after graduation in
  order to become more mature and more disciplined.

8
Is It a Thesis?

• Television is too violent for children
• Violence on television leads to aggressive
  behavior in preschool children

Explanatory Thesis
Argumentative Thesis
9
Developing a Thesis - 1

• Topic Video games
• Topic II Video games and education
• Interesting Question Are video games educational
  or just for fun?
• Working Thesis Video games are beneficial to
  increasing student understanding of school topics
• Final Thesis War based video games are good for
  students to understand specific wars and wartime
  strategies.

10
Developing a Thesis - 2

• Some questions that might guide your research
• What types of war video games are there?
• How well were those games reviewed?
• Are those games realistic?
• Are there people I could interview?
• Is there any research in this area already?

11
Civil War Thesis Development

• The North and South fought the Civil War for
  different reasons.
• The different reasons that the North and the
  South fought the Civil War can be explained as
  moral versus self-governing.
• The Civil War developed because of the
  Northerners belief in the moral issues of ending
  slavery versus the Southerners belief in the
  importance of the right to self-government.