Thesis Statement Review

A thesis statement is a sentence that expresses what an author will prove or demonstrate in an essay. In an informational essay, the thesis statement is the author's controlling idea.

In an argumentative essay, the thesis statement is the author's claim?

The thesis statement usually appears in the introduction, or opening paragraph, of an essay. It is often the last sentence of the introduction.

The body paragraphs offer supporting details, reasons, and evidence to prove the author's thesis statement.

The conclusion of the essay restates the thesis and summarizes the main supporting details or evidence.

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​What is a Thesis Statement?

Multiple Choice

In an argumentative essay, what is the thesis statement called?

• author's voice

• author's claim

• thesis statement

• author's controlling idea

Checklist for Thesis Statement:

Compose argumentative texts using genre characteristics and craft by following these steps to write a clear thesis:

1. Consider the ideas you would like to claim you want to prove in your essay.

2. Think about how all these ideas relate to one larger idea. This larger idea is your thesis statement.

3. Write a clear sentence that expresses your thesis statement.

4. Remember that your thesis statement should

• let the reader know what to expect in the body of your essay

• respond completely to the writing prompt

5. Determine the best placement for your thesis statement.

• If your response is short (for instance, if you are writing a paragraph), you may want to get right to the point. Your thesis statement may appear as the first sentence of your first paragraph. If your response is longer (for instance, if you are writing a formal essay), you will want to build up to your thesis statement. In this case, you should place your thesis statement at the end of your first paragraph.

Multiple Choice

Which thesis statement is more effective?

• References to similar cases such as Sweatt v. Painter validate the Supreme Court’s claim about segregation in Brown v. Board.

• In the verdict of Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court determined that segregation is detrimental to African-American students.

Multiple Choice

Which thesis statement is more effective?

• In “The War Works Hard,” Dunya Mikhail uses personification to emphasize the fatal forces of war.

• Dunya Mikhail’s poem “The War Works Hard” was translated from Arabic to English by Elizabeth Winslow.

​Write Your Own Thesis

On page 67 of your notebook write down the following thesis and then begin to construct your thesis for this prompt.

How do we define success?: Write a response in which you argue what success really means. What does it mean to “win”? What are the benefits of winning/being successful? What are the costs?