THESIS PIECES
Laying the Foundation for an
Effective Argumentative Thesis
Stacy Allen Webster, Stephen F. Austin High School
Huzzah! We get to write ESSAYS?!?
do I start?
HAVE TOWhere
WRITE
AN ESSAY.
UGH. I
WHERE DO I START?
Start with a small seed of an idea, then water
it, nurture it, talk to it, and watch it grow!
topic  thesis  well-argued analysis
BACK TO THE BASICS…WHAT DO YOU ALREADY
KNOW ABOUT THE THESIS STATEMENT?
A thesis is a complete sentence.
 It expresses an opinion.
 It should be arguable.
 It provides a roadmap for the reader.
 It’s the main argument, boiled down to a sentence or two.

ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENTATION
Claim
 Concession
 Counterargument
 Qualifiers
 Rebuttal
 Call to Action

ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENTATION
Claim: the thesis or assertion about the topic
 Concession: acknowledging opposing viewpoints
 Counterargument: refuting the opposition’s evidence
 Qualifiers: words and phrases that limit the claim, such
as usually, sometimes, in many cases
 Rebuttal: showing the opposing argument to be weak
or wrong
 Call to Action: signifying action the writer wants the
reader to take

THESIS PIECES
SUBJECT or TOPIC (limited, specific, contextual)
 CLAIM (precise opinion, assertion, an arguable point,
the writer’s position or stance)
 BLUEPRINT OF REASONS (a roadmap of evidence)

Sometimes, the thesis may include:
 CONCESSION
 QUALIFICATION
horror movies
This is not a complete sentence.
 This does not express an opinion – what about
horror movies?
 This is not arguable because it’s not an opinion in
the first place.


This is a TOPIC
violence in horror movies
This is a more specific topic, but it’s still not a
sentence.
 This does not express an arguable opinion.
 We have no roadmap…where is the author going
with this essay?

Suggestion to
the writer:
take a position!
Horror movies desensitize
viewers to violence.
It is a complete sentence!
 It expresses an opinion that we could argue
against. (Millions of people view horror movies
each year; very few of them act out violently.)
 We have a better idea of what this writer will try
to prove in this essay.

Suggestions to the
writer:
-get more specific
- answer the “How
so?” and “So what?
questions
Since modern cinematic techniques have
allowed filmmakers to more realistically
portray gore and murder on screen, young
viewers have become increasingly
desensitized to violence.
It is a complete sentence!
 It expresses an opinion that
we could argue against.
 We know where this writer
will lead us.
 It is a more specific and focused argument.

QUALIFYERS/CONCESSIONS:

QUALIFY when you need to narrow or clarify the thesis.

Include a CONCESSION to show your balanced
perspective (catch more flies with honey than vinegar).
TOULMIN’S METHOD OF ARGUMENTATION:
In The Uses of Argument, 1958, Toulmin purported:
The use of qualifiers makes the argument more
convincing and reasonable.
Absolutism has limited practical uses.
Arguments that stand up to criticism earn a favorable
verdict.
QUALIFYERS
Few
 It is possible
 Rarely
 It seems
 Some
 It may be
 Sometimes
 More or less

Many
 In the main
 Routinely
 Most
 One might
argue
 Often
 Perhaps

Possibly
 If it were so
 In some cases
 Under these
conditions
 For the most
part

CONCESSION/REBUTTAL PATTERNS
CONCESSIONS PHRASES:
o While it is true that, ...
o Admittedly, …
o Some may claim that…
o Certainly,…
REBUTTAL PHRASES:
o But ...
o Nevertheless,…
o However,…
o On the other hand,…
While it is true that many teenagers view
horror movies without turning to violence,
themselves, the realistic and gory scenes of
modern film-making contribute to today’s
youth being increasingly desensitized to
violence in the real world.
LET’S PRACTICE WRITING CLAIMS WITH
QUALIFICATIONS:
 Step
1: Figure out what the prompt is asking.
Turn the prompt into a question.
American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencken (1880–1956)
wrote, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply
wants to be safe.” Examine the extent to which Mencken’s
observation applies to contemporary society, supporting your
position with appropriate evidence.
Is safety more important than freedom?
In modern society, does the average person really
care about being free?
For years corporations have sponsored high school sports.
Their ads are found on the outfield fence at baseball parks or
on the walls of the gymnasium, the football stadium, or even
the locker room. Corporate logos are even found on players'
uniforms. But some schools have moved beyond corporate
sponsorship of sports to allowing "corporate partners" to place
their names and ads on all kinds of school facilities--libraries,
music rooms, cafeterias. Some schools accept money to
require students to watch Channel One, a news program that
includes advertising. And schools often negotiate exclusive
contracts with soft drink or clothing companies.
Some people argue that corporate partnerships are a necessity
for cash-strapped schools. Others argue that schools should
provide an environment free from ads and corporate influence.
Using appropriate evidence, write an essay in which you
evaluate the pros and cons of corporate sponsorship for schools
and indicate why you find one position more persuasive than
the other.
SHOULD SCHOOLS ALLOW CORPORATE
PARTNERSHIPS?
 Step
2: List the pros and cons.
Pros of corporate
sponsorship:
Cons of corporate
sponsorship
• $ goes to improve sports
programs for all students
• $ may be spent on
books/equipment that would
improve education
• Students are bombarded
with messages to consume
products
• The educational atmosphere
of schools is diminished by the
ads.
 Step
3: Create a complex sentence that answers
the question. Begin with a subordinate clause
that includes your weaker point (this becomes a
concession). Include your main argument in the
independent clause.
subordinate (dependent) clause
Although it is true that increased funding may
help schools do a better job, corporate
sponsorships create a consumer atmosphere that
is not appropriate to an educational
environment.
Independent clause
BUT I’M WRITING ABOUT A BOOOOOK…
METHOD AND MEANING
 How:
methods the author uses, such as
imagery, diction, allegory, irony, magical
realism
 Why:
the meaning (message, moral,
theme!) the author is trying to convey
 What:
Lame. This writer just explains
what happened in the book, without
actually analyzing the HOW or the WHY.
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
MEANING=THEME
Have you determined a
theme? Novels often have
multiple themes – you only
need to write about one.
What universal truth is
conveyed to the reader?
The author wants the reader to see that…
(fill in the blank)
THESIS FORMULA
(VERY BASIC, VERY DRY, VERY FORMULAIC…
BUT AN OKAY PLACE TO START)
In
(title of poem/novel/play), (author's
name) uses (1st literary device), (2nd
literary device), and (3rd literary device)
to (show/criticize/explain/etc.) (some
aspect of human nature).
Novel
Theme
(Meaning)
Literary Devices
(Method)
Life of Pi
Fiction may not
reveal what is
“real,” but it can
capture what is
“true.”
•Plot twists
•Allegory
•Contrast
between the
two stories
Novel
Theme
(Meaning)
Literary Devices
(Method)
Ramayana
and/or
Siddhartha
Following the
right path
allows one to
overcome great
obstacles and
become
triumphant in
the end.
•Character
development
•Hero cycle
•Imagery and
diction
•Contrast
between good
and evil
Novel
Theme
(Meaning)
Literary Devices
(Method)
The Inferno
Humans are
flawed by
nature, but
God’s justice
represents
perfection.
•The number 3
•Poetic justice
of punishments
•Motifs (light vs.
dark; beautiful
vs. bestial)
Novel
Theme
(Meaning)
Literary Devices
(Method)
Title of your
Latin American
Novel
What is the
lesson to be
learned from
reading this
novel?
What devices
really stood out
while you were
reading?
FEEL LIKE YOU’RE HALFWAY
THERE?


If you have an idea about the meaning, it’s time
to jump into the book to see HOW the meaning
was conveyed.
If you don’t know the theme of the book, it’s time
to collect some of the most significant moments to
see if you can identify devices and determine
WHY they are being used.
THESIS FORMULA
(VERY BASIC, VERY DRY, VERY FORMULAIC…
BUT AN OKAY PLACE TO START)

In (title of poem/novel/play), (author's name) uses (1st
literary device), (2nd literary device), and (3rd literary
device) to (show/criticize/explain/etc.) (some aspect of
human nature).
In "If you Were Coming in the Fall,"
Emily Dickinson uses simile, diction,
and syntax to describe how people wait,
hoping to fall in love.
Note: If all you do in one body paragraph is give a few
examples of diction from the text and simply identify
them as diction, then you haven't analyzed anything.
The analysis part involves explaining how those
examples are effective diction and how they help to
communicate the theme of the passage.
STILL FEELING STUCK?
BRAINSTORM!
Ask yourself some questions (look back at your lit. circle work or
annotations to get a jumpstart). Then FREE WRITE or BUBBLE
CHART to discover your ideas.
What is the role of prophecy or clairvoyance in the
novel? How does that contrast or connect to fate?
 What do the (fill in the blank: wings, statues,
labyrinths, tatoos, coins, recipes) symbolize? When
you find the abstract word, decide what you think the
author is trying to say about that concept.
 How does (fill in the blank) gain power as the story
progresses?
 Do authors “hide” touchy subjects by including the
fantastic elements of magical realism?

EVEN MORE QUESTIONS
CONSIDER:
TO
Why is there a female narrator AND a male
narrator in
House of the Spirits?
 Why does Laura Esquivel include so much about
food and cooking in Like Water For Chocolate?
 What does the title One Hundred Years of
Solitude mean? What kinds of solitude does the
author explore?
 What role does Catholicism play in The War of
the Saints?
 How do reality and imagination collide in the
works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

Novel
Theme
(Meaning)
Literary Devices
(Method)
Title of your
Latin American
Novel
What is the
lesson to be
learned from
reading this
novel?
What devices
really stood out
while you were
reading?
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION:
THESIS CHECK
Have you written a
complete sentence?
 Does it convey an opinion that someone could argue
against?
 Does it provide a roadmap of the essay for the reader?
 Does it mention METHOD (the how of a writer’s craft)
and MEANING (the why of writing… writer’s
message?)
 Have you included the author’s name and title of the
book in the thesis?

“The pages are still blank, but there is a
miraculous feeling of the words being there,
written in invisible ink and clamoring to
become visible.” ~Vladimir Nabakov
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
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Here are broad topics that may apply to The
Tempest as well as your Latin American novel.
Power struggle
“calibanesque”
Colonization
Magic / Magical Realism
Family dynamics