Writing a Thesis Paper
Seventh Grade Core
November 2011
Your Name: _________________
Content:
1. Animal Farm
2. "The Owl Who Was G-d"
3. "The Hand"
4. "Stalin, Man of Steel" and Foundations material about the U.S.S.R. and
Soviet parallels to Orwell's novel
5. "The Rebellion of the Magical Rabbits"
6. Your “Democrats and Dictators” outside reading book
7. Summer reading: The Giver or The Outsiders
8. A current event from the past year. (Note: If you choose a current event,
you will have to find an article from a reliable news source, print it and hand it in
along with your paper. I will have to approve your source.)
Directions:
As a culminating activity in this unit, you will write a five paragraph essay
called a “thesis paper.” A “thesis” is a central idea; it is an interpretation, rather
than a statement of fact. To assist you with your first essay, I listed thesis
statements that relate to themes explored in the five sources listed above. All of
these materials involve similar issues in a society or community, such as: use and
abuse of power; propaganda and manipulation of minds; leadership; equality;
individual rights; freedom of expression; laws and principles.
Step One: Turn to the handout entitled “Thesis Statements.” Read all of
these statements and choose one that interests you the most. Think about it.
Do you agree or disagree with it? Do you agree with some parts, but not others?
Step Two: In one sentence, rewrite this thesis statement in your own words.
This will be the main point of your paper. (Note: Some of you will simply agree
or disagree with the statement in its entirety. Others might create a new
statement which differs slightly from the original.)
Step Three: Choose three of the materials listed at the top of this page
that will be most helpful when proving your main point.
Due Tuesday night, November 15: Thesis statement and sources
Core does not meet on Wednesday due to the middle school Chesed trip. So,
before you go to bed on Tuesday, you must email your thesis statements to
yourself and to me at lscarborough-kirk@jbha.org. I must approve your
thesis statement before you may proceed to step three.
In your email, list the three sources that you will use in your paper to
prove your thesis statement. (Note: for extra credit, you may choose a fourth
source from the list.)
Due Thursday, November 17:
Bring all materials to class that you will need when writing your paper.
During class on Thursday, you will work on step four:
Step Four: Find supporting details and organize them into an
outline.
Keeping your thesis in mind, skim your three (or four) sources, looking for
relevant passages to prove your point. Mark pages on which you find important
information. You may either use the blank outline below or create your own Word
document.
Due Friday, November 18: Your completed outline
Blank Outline
Paragraph One: State the main point that you will prove or
disprove.
Thesis statement:
Paragraph Two: First source ___________________________________
Main point (topic sentence):
Supporting details:
1. Page _______ Brief description
2. Page ________
Brief description
Paragraph Three: Second source: _______________________________
Main point (topic sentence):
Supporting details:
1.Page _______ Brief description
2. Page ________
Brief description
Paragraph Four: Third source:____________________________
Main point (topic sentence):
Supporting details:
1.Page _______ Brief description
2. Page ________
Brief description
Paragraph Five: Optional, extra credit
Add another paragraph using a fourth source. You may use
one from the list at the beginning of this handout. You may also discuss either
your “Democrats and Dictators” outside reading novel or The Giver.
Main point (topic sentence):
Supporting details:
1.Page _______ Brief description
2. Page ________
Brief description
Last Paragraph: Conclusion.
a) Restate your main point. What have you proved in your essay?
b) What have you learned about this topic? How might your thesis apply
to the world today? What would you like your reader to question or
ponder at the end of your essay?