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Thesis and Strong Topic
Sentences
Directions: copy down everything on
the slides that are green
Thesis Statement
 A thesis statement tells the reader what
the entire paper will be about.
 It
sets the structure for the essay.
 Like a topic sentence, a thesis statement will
have two parts. .
 It
will state an opinion on one main idea and
 List the topics you will use to prove your opinion
Thesis Statement
 A strong thesis statement will:
 Take
some sort of stand.
 Express one main idea.
 Be specific.
Thesis Statement Examples
 Take some sort of stand.

There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea
Supplement.


This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second,
the phrase negative and positive aspects is vague.
Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss
that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a
potential danger to customers.

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because it's
specific.
Thesis Statement Examples
 Express one main idea.

Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet,
and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.


This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide
whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages.
To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to
become more clear. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:
Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential,
companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that
offer both advertising and customer support.

This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related.
Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words
like because, since, so, although, unless, and however.
Thesis Statement Examples
 Be specific.

World hunger has many causes and effects.


This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, world
hunger can’t be discussed thoroughly in seven to ten pages. Second,
many causes and effects is vague. You should be able to identify
specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:
Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming
in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.

This is a strong thesis statement because it narrows the subject to a
more specific and manageable topic, and it also identifies the specific
causes for the existence of hunger.
All Thesis Statement examples from: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml
Examples for Fear Prompt
• Method 1: Stating your main points
– Fear is dangerous to our society because it
robs one of their destiny and destroys their
health
• Method 2: Addressing the other side
– Although fear may be viewed as a necessity
to maintain life, it will, in fact, rob one of it.
• Method 3: Present it in a unique way
– The fear that grips so tightly will rob it’s
victims of life.
Directions:
• Return to your essay map
• Place a star next to the two evidence you
would like to use within each body paragraph
• Flip over to the outline
• Craft a thesis sentence
Strong Topic Sentences
Review Topic Sentences
A topic sentence has 2 parts:
1.It names the topic.
2.It expresses an idea about it.
What’s makes a topic sentence
strong?
1. Present a specific opinion
2. It will not be a fact
1. It will connect this new paragraph to your previous
paragraph (known as a transition).
Example
• Weak:Some types of birth control should be
provided by schools.
• Better: To prevent unwanted pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases, schools
should provide every form of non-prescription
birth control available.
Example
• Weak:I think that it is important for every
woman to carry mace or pepper spray.
• Better: As violent criminals take over the city
streets, women must carry mace or pepper
spray to protect themselves.
Example
• Weak:The Surgeon General must be the
Hercules that slays the Hydra of chemical
addictions.
• Better: As Hercules slew Hydra, the Surgeon
General must defeat the many-headed
monster that is chemical addiction.
Examples for Fear
Weak: Fear keeps you alive.
Better: In a world full of predators, crime, and
disease, fear is vital in maintaining life.
Weak: Fear teaches you how to behave.
Better: Not only will fear keep one alive, but it also
will teach an individual how to behave in a
civilized culture.
Transitioning
• What transitions do…
– Good transitions can connect paragraphs and
turn disconnected writing into a unified whole.
Instead of treating paragraphs as separate ideas,
transitions can help readers understand how
paragraphs work together, reference one another,
and build to a larger point.
Key to a Good Transition
• The key to producing good transitions is
highlighting connections– ideas -- between
corresponding paragraphs.
Transitions Between Paragraphs
1.Arrange paragraphs logically
Therefore, the transition will highlight a relationship that already exists by
summarizing the previous paragraph and suggesting something of the
content of the paragraph that follows.
2.To build an effective paragraph transition, a writer has to show the reason
that one paragraph comes after another, just as a sentence can usually make sense
only because of the sentence before it.
3. A transition between paragraphs can be a word or two, a phrase, or a
sentence.
4. Location of Transitions:
1)at the end of the first paragraph,
2)at the beginning of the second paragraph,
3)or in both places.
5. Strive to create transitions by connecting ideas instead of resorting to cut & paste
words (though they may be necessary to connect the ideas).
Example Within Paragraph
Directions: identify the ideas that link these sentence together
• Eating a tart cherry pie has always made my
cheeks salivate. Sometimes I drool so much
that red juice runs down my chin. A
waitperson at a restaurant even remarked to
me once that appeared to be in a pie eating
contest with myself.
Example Between Paragraphs
. . . A waitperson at a restaurant even remarked to me
once that I appeared to be in a pie eating contest with
myself.
I frequently find myself the recipient of personal
comments bestowed by strangers who may imagine
they are being helpful or at least funny. I always try to
have a sense of humor and humility about myself, but
self-deprecating humor is not my preferred way to
connect with others. Suddenly having a person leap
out and make a joke at my expense only pains my alltoo-thin skin.
Example
• The prompt from this example is:
– Should school personnel be allowed to carry a
gun?
Example of an idea transition & topic sentence:
Even if the teachers receive a longer period of
training (my previous body paragraph was
about the lack of training) to prepare them,
one cannot ignore that the gun would prove
useless if the teacher had to keep it in a
secure location.
(In this paragraph I’m going to argue that to prevent accidents the gun
would most likely be not loaded and locked away in a safe location.
However, if only one person is able to shoot it, the likelihood of them
being in the same room as the gun is highly unlikely.) Therefore, the
only way it would prove useful is if it remained on the personal and was
loaded. This sets me up to talk about accidents in my next paragraph.)
Practice
Directions: take the two concepts below and
create two strong topic sentences and a
transition.
– Fear makes you think illogically
– Fear leads to phobia
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