A
thesis statement expresses your
opinion about a topic. It is the basis
of the introductory paragraph of
your essay.
 It should be a single complete
sentence.
 You must be sure you can support
the opinion in your thesis.
A
thesis statement should:
 Never be an open-ended question
 Be limited to mentioning only
those points you plan to discuss in
your essay
 Never be so broad that it’s difficult
to discuss all relevant information
 Only present one specific idea; not
multiple ideas
 To
create a thesis statement simply follow
this formula:
TOPIC + OPINION = THESIS
STATEMENT
 Choose a theme
 Innocence
 Friendship
 Humanity
 Obedience/Conformity
 Prejudice/Discrimination
 Write
your chosen theme on your
thesis organizer
 Brainstorm
 Write
down as many points as you can
think of about your theme on your thesis
organizer
 What points can you think of related to
your theme in connection with The Book
Thief?
 What points can you think of related to
your theme in connection with “The Boy
in the Striped Pajamas”?
Look
at your brainstorming list
and identify at least three
common traits related to your
theme between The Book Thief
and “The Boy in the Striped
Pajamas”
Write those three points on your
thesis organizer
 Write
the rough draft of your thesis using
your three common traits:
 _________________(theme) is illustrated
in The Book Thief and “The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas” (when, by, through,
etc…) ____________(point 1),
_____________(point 2),
and_______________(point 3).
 Begin
finding quotes to support your
thesis from The Book Thief and write
them on your thesis organizer. (at
least 3)