Writing a Thesis
Statement
Spinning from a Prompt
The Challenge for
Writing
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
In Writing, students struggle with the following:
• Synthesizing information from multiple texts
• Extrapolating a theme and putting it in writing
• Creating a thesis that reflects the common theme of presented texts
• Citing text evidence to support a student’s and/or the author’s argument or
explanation
• Understanding the structure of literary/ informational texts and being able to
analyze it (RL4,5,6/RI4,5,6)
1/22/2015
2
The Map
1. A thesis statement (TS) is a guide map to your entire
paper.
2. It provides a mini-summary of the paper’s content.
3. It allows the reader to know in advance how the paper is
organized.
4. It lets the reader know why he/she should care. (The “So
What?”)
Express Yourself
The thesis statement expresses the
main ideas of your paper and previews
the answer to the question or questions
posed by your paper.
Two Main Points
1. Topic
2. Assertion, analysis, or explanation you are
making about the topic.
Topic
Assertion
Two Main Parts
Analysis
Topic
Explanation
Assertion
Part 1
Part 2
What to do..
1. Make a clear assertion about the topic.
2. Limit the statement to the idea that can be
supported.
3. The statement has to be specific and
significant.
What to do...
4. At least imply your purpose.
5. Make sure the parts relate to each other and
to the prompt.
New York
Grade 3
What is the
subtitle?
“Sea Turtles”
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
What 2
details can
I use?
• Why does the information
Why are
they suited
for the sea?
1/22/2015
in paragraph 5 belong
under the heading “Suited
for the Sea”? Use two
details from the passage
to support your response.
How do
I
respond
?
9
Richard Woods, Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
How to Read the
Prompt?
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
Make a “To Do List”
1/22/2015
10
Close Read Para. 5
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
But sea turtles are more than just great swimmers.
Some of them are great divers. The leatherback can
dive more than a thousand feet deep, looking for
food. That’s the length of three football fields. And
its deepest dives can be three times deeper than
that!
To
•
•
•
•
1/22/2015
Read para. 5
Determine why
Use
Support
Do
close read
“Suited for the Sea”
two details
my response
11
New York
Grade 6
• Excerpt from We Were There, Too!
1/22/2015
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
• How does the information in lines 1 through
6 relate to the information in lines 7 through
15? Use two details from the article to
support your response.
• In lines 38 and 39, the author states, “Anna
Green Winslow got an education, all right –
just not the one her father intended.” Explain
what the author means by this statement.
Use two details from the article to support
your response.
12
New York
Grade 8
Richard Woods,
Georgia’s School Superintendent
“Educating Georgia’s Future”
gadoe.org
“The Inheritance of Tools”
by Scott Russell Sanders
• What character traits of the
grandfather are revealed
through his use of the
hammer? Use two details
from the passage to support
your response.
1/22/2015
13
What do you think about the thesis?
6th Grade Prompt:
How does the last paragraph of the passage affect the passage as a whole? Use details from the passage to
support your answer.
Response 1: The last paragraph talks about the same things as what the first paragraph talks about.
Response 2: The last paragraph supports the information in the first paragraph by explaining how hermit crabs would rather
"socialize and live in packs" than be alone.
Response 3: The last paragraph brings the passage full circle by supporting the information in the first paragraph. It explains how
hermit crab colonies have 100 crabs, and if you keep them as pets, "you should have more than one." This supports the claim in
the first paragraph that hermit crabs "like to socialize and live in packs."
Do you see Two Main Parts?
Prompt: Write an argumentative essay supporting either side of the debate in which you argue that television and movies reflect
society or that they influence it.
Thesis: . However, the feelings and reactions described reflect feelings we all have as human beings. We may be influenced by a
dramatic plot, but that will not change who we are and how we live our lives.
Topic: Television and movies reflect society or influence
society
Assertion: Television and movies may influence us but will
not change who we are and how we live.
Try one. READ the Passages
Look at the prompt:
Write an informational essay detailing the ways in which a dog that just had puppies might foster a litter of
new kittens.
Thesis (Regrouping the prompt to include an
assertion, explanation, or analysis)
Write a thesis.
(Passages on handout.)
Student Thesis
However, unusual situations allow animals to
change that dynamic. One of those unusual
situations could be a litter of kittens bonding with
a dog that just had puppies.
What do you think about the thesis?
7th grade prompt:
What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? Use details from the passage to
support your answer.
Response 1: The author's purpose is to explain the history of basketball.
Response 2: : The author's purpose is to explain the history of basketball. The passage starts with how it was
invented and ends with how popular it is now.
Response 3: The author's purpose is to explain the history of basketball. The passage starts out by telling who
invented basketball and why he did it. Then it talks about how the game changed and developed over the
years. Finally, it describes how it became a sport played all over the world.
Do you see Two Main Points?
Prompt: After reading two articles, Write an informational essay detailing the ways in
which a dog that just had puppies might foster a litter of new kittens.
Thesis: However, unusual situations allow animals to change that dynamic. One of those unusual situations
could be a litter of kittens bonding with a dog that just had puppies
Topic: Dog bonding with litter of kittens
Analysis: Unusual situations allow animals to change that
dynamic.
Try one. READ the Passages.
Look at the prompt.
Write an argumentative essay in your own words supporting either side of the debate in which you argue for
or against the use of GM food. Be sure to use information from both texts.
Thesis (Regrouping the prompt to include an
assertion, explanation, or analysis)
Write a thesis.
(Passages on handout.)
Student Sample:
Genetically modified food is a necessary
and important step in our efforts to feed
the people of the world and keep them
healthy. Since it has been introduced,
farmers have been able to grow more food
that uses fewer resources.
What do you think about the thesis?
8th grade:
What are the advantages of including the two images in the
passage? Use details from the passage to support your answer.
Response 1: Both advantages aid the reader in understanding vision differences through the use
of images as a real-world example.
Response 2: The images help the reader understand what it must look like having night vision
capabilities when compared to our standard vision at night.
Response 3: The images help the reader understand night vision.
Do you see Two Main Points?
Prompt: Write an argumentative essay in your own words supporting either side of
the debate in which you argue for or against the use of GM food. Be sure to use
information from both texts.
Thesis: Genetically modified food is a necessary and important step in our efforts to
feed the people of the world and keep them healthy.
Topic: Debate about genetically modified foods
Assertion: Necessary and important step to feed people and
keep healthy.
Try one. READ the Passages.
Look at the Prompt:
Write an informational essay in your own words explaining the ways in which libraries are adapting and
changing in the 21st century.
Thesis (Regrouping the prompt to include an
assertion, explanation, or analysis)
Write a thesis.
(Passages on handout.)
Student Sample
A person only has to sit in a mall, a coffee shop, or a
bus terminal for a few minutes to realize that the
way people read has changed in the last several
decades. It is more likely that people are reading
the daily news on their smartphones or tablets now
than reading an actual newspaper. The same is true
for books. As reading has changed, so have
libraries, in a number of surprising ways.
Checklist Questions
Checklist Questions
■
■
■
Does the statement make a concise
assertion about your topic?
Is the assertion limited to only one idea?
Is the assertion specific and significant?
Checklist Questions
■ Does the statement at least imply your
purpose?
■ Is the statement unified so that the parts
relate to each other?
Works Cited
●
●
Georgia Department of Education, ELA Department
Purdue University Writing Lab (Almost Word for Word)
●
●
The Little Brown Handbook, 8th ed. Instructor’s Annotated Edition.
Georgia Milestones Teacher Guide