Thesis Statement
 What is a thesis?
 It is a claim
 It introduces the argument you are about to make
 Argument?
 This means you are stating your opinion- and you want
others to agree
 Your statement that tells the reader what you
interpreted from a text is an argument
 You want your reader to agree with you by the end
 BIG ISSUE: Jealousy
 Theme: Jealousy causes people to do bad things they
will regret.
 Turn it into a thesis:
 Turn to your partner or table mates:
 Identify the issue in your story
 “Thank You, Ma’am”
 “The Veldt”
 What was the theme- the message the author was
sending about the issue?
 “Thank You, Ma’am”
 “The Veldt”
 Now, work with your partner to write a thesis that will
fit with your paper.
 Possible starters:
 In (title), the author develops the idea
__________________.
 (Author’s name) teaches the reader that
____________________.
Introduction
 The hook
 You need to get their attention
 Author’s name and title of work
 They need to know what you’re writing about
 Background information
 Necessary information they will need to understand
your paper
 The thesis
 Your argument
 A startling bit of information
 There was a lot of rain; in fact, on Venus, it had rained for
seven years straight.
 A bit of dialogue
 “It’s like a fire,” (Margot) said, “in the stove.”
 “You’re lying, you don’t remember!” cried the children.
 A meaningful quote
 “They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot
out.”
 A universal idea
 Everyone falls prey to jealousy at some point; whether it is as a
victim or an aggressor.
 A rich description of the setting
 It was a place like no other, filled with plants and trees, but
washed out and pale from lack of sun.
There was a lot of rain; in fact, on Venus, it had been
raining for seven years straight. In Ray Bradbury’s “All
Summer in a Day,” the constant rain is what causes issues
between the school children and their classmate,
Margot. The school children, who had no recollection of
ever having seen the sun, see the character of Margot as
different because of her clear memory of the sun. This
memory causes resentment within the children, which
they later act upon. It is this resentment that lies at the
heart of the story. Bradbury’s message is that jealousy
causes people to make bad choices they later regret.
 Write your hook using one of the suggestions.
 When finished, write it on the whiteboard and hold it
up.
 What is your story about?
 Who are your characters?
 Write 3-4 sentences giving the reader the information
he/she needs to understand your paper….
 Put together your hook, your background and your
thesis to form your introduction.
 TURN IT IN!!!
The Conclusion
 A restatement of your thesis
 DO NOT REWRITE YOUR THESIS WORD FOR WORD
 A reminder of your points
 What were the main ideas you touched upon?
 A “so what?” moment
 Why should we care???
 Write your thesis on a piece of paper…
 Now, restate it using different words.
 Why do we care about the lesson the author is
teaching us??
 Write a few sentences about why the lesson in the
story is important.
 Share it with your neighbor.
 Write it including:
 Restatement of thesis
 Brief summary of main points
 The SO WHAT?