English Writing
Part 3:
Thesis Focus
John E. Clayton
Nanjing University, Spring, 2005
Please Turn In Your Homework
Journal 1
(name/student number/journal 1)
Keep your essay for now
Syllabus
03/02 Introduction; Overview; Writing a good paragraph
03/09 Information Form; Essays – structure, thesis
03/16 Thesis Focus; Movie: Johnny Lingo
03/23
03/30 Movie: Dave
04/06
04/13
04/20 Mid-term exam
04/27 Business – letters, resumes, SOP
05/04 Holiday
05/11
05/18
05/25
06/01
06/08 Final exam
Journal 1
Journal 2
Journal 1
Journal 2
Journal 1
Journal 2
Contacts
• E-mail:
clayton@software.nju.edu.cn
• Downloads:
http://software.nju.edu.cn/~clayton/
• JEC EW2S 1 – Introduction
• JEC EW2S 1 – Introduction (smaller)
• JEC EW2S 2 – Essay Structure
American Essay Style
Thesis
Support Support Support
Conclusion
Handout
Hand out:
Argumentative
Essays for an
American Audience
5 Paragraph Essay Structure
Introduction
•Motivate and interest the reader
•State your position - thesis
•Tell a little more about what to expect
Body Paragraphs
•Begin with a topic sentence
•Explain, define, clarify the topic sentence
with facts, examples, descriptions, etc.
•End with a concluding sentence that
draws the paragraph together
Conclusion
•Say the thesis in a different way
•“Grab” the reader, so he/she will not forget.
Might include a prediction, a
recommendation or a solution
Thesis – What’s the Big Deal?
American academic essays are usually
"thesis-driven."
This means that you, as the writer, must
explain the main point of your essay at the
start.
An academic essay is not a mystery novel your reader does not want to figure out the
plot or search for clues.
Writing Differences
The thesis-driven essay may be different
from non-American writing forms, in
which the thesis is often implied, delayed,
or delivered at the end of the essay.
Consider the thesis statement a concise
version of the entire essay, which usually
appears in the introductory section of an
essay. A thesis provides the reader with a
"road map," clearly laying out the route
ahead.
Writing Differences
Note that a thesis is an interpretation
of a subject, not the subject itself.
For Example:
The subject of an essay might be
Smoking, but the thesis must then offer
a way to understand smoking that
others might dispute.
Purpose of the Thesis
The thesis states:
- the goal of the argument
- the reasons to support the argument.
• The essay must clarify or support your thesis.
Example 1
Subject: Smoking
Argument: Smoking is harmful, and should be banned
Primary goal: to ban smoking in public places.
Reasons: it’s dangerous, harmful and annoying.
Thesis:
“Smoking should be banned from public places,
because it is dangerous, bad for health, and very
annoying to other people.”
Example 2
Subject: Reading books
Argument: Books should remain a key resource for
university students.
Primary goal: to encourage students to read more printed books.
Reasons: inexpensive, relaxing, always available.
Thesis:
“Even though we are bombarded with information
today, we should continue to invest time reading oldfashioned paper books, because they are inexpensive,
they can help us relax, and they won’t shut-down at
11:00pm.”
Example 3
Subject: Camping
Argument: A university club should be established to
focus on outdoor activities, especially camping.
Primary goal: encourage the creation of a campus club
to promote camping.
Reasons: healthy, relaxing, good use of time.
Thesis:
“Even though some people say the university should be
for academics only, the university should establish a
club to promote camping, because it is a healthy,
relaxing activity that uses time wisely.”
Classroom Exercise
1. Get in a group with one or two others.
2. Find an argumentative topic on the handout.
3. Create a thesis statement as you saw in the
examples:
1. Subject
2. Argument
3. Primary goal
4. Reasons
5. Thesis
Johnny Lingo
Location
A South Pacific Island, early 20th century
Characters
Mahanna
Mo Key
Johnny Lingo
Mr. Harris
Tulo
a young girl
Mahanna's father
an famous island trader
a shop keeper
the shop keeper's helper
A husband would bargain for his wife with her
father, in cows – trying to pay as little as possible.
Homework Assignment
Think about “Johnny Lingo”, and
the difference he made in
Mahanna’s life, then:
Write the introduction paragraph
only (including thesis statement)
to an essay entitled:
“I Can’t Change Someone
Else…or Can I?”