23-24: A Learning Check on Thesis Statements

Which of the following statements is FALSE when writing a literary-analysis essay?

• Students should maintain a formal, detached voice in their writing.

• Usage of first- and second-person pronouns is acceptable anywhere in the essay. Students should use "I" to explain their ideas.

• Students can use first- and second-person pronouns, but only if these words are in directly quoted material in textual evidence.

• Students can use first- and second-person pronouns, but only if these words are found in a quote--which can be used for the lead (first sentence of introduction paragraph) or clever closer (last sentence of conclusion).

Which of the following statements is FALSE about the thesis statement in a multi-paragraph essay?

• A thesis statement serves as the foundation in any essay.

• It is used to “set up” a piece of writing to guide the reader while establishing a purpose for the piece.

• The following are required parts to the thesis statement: topic, claim verb, direction (prongs of the fork), qualifier (also a verb), and message.

• Students should identify a purpose for their writing through the usage of "I."

  Example: I am writing this essay because...

Which thesis statement does NOT meet the 8th-grade requirements discussed in class? (Pay close attention to capitalization and punctuation as well.)

• In the dystopian book Matched, author Ally Condie uses dystopian characteristics and power struggles to develop a theme: too much power can lead to limited freedom.

• The dystopian novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding uses power struggles and dystopian elements to illustrate the theme of living in constant fear can lead to destruction.

• In the novel "Red Queen," author victoria aveyard uses dystopian characteristics and power struggles to exemplify a theme: inequality leads to the toppling of the powerful.

Which thesis statement does NOT meet the 8th-grade requirements discussed in class?

• In the book titled Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury uses dystopian characteristics and power struggles to illustrate the following theme: censorship in a society can lead to the destruction of its government and people.

• The book titled Fahrenheit 451 uses dystopian characteristics and power struggles to illustrate the following theme: censorship in a society can lead to the destruction of its government and people.

• Ray Bradbury uses dystopian characteristics and power struggles to illustrate the following theme: censorship in a society can lead to the destruction of its government and people; this was done in the book titled Fahrenheit 451.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about punctuating book titles in our literary-analysis essay?

• Italicize book titles when typing.

  Example: Lord of the Flies

• Underline book titles when typing.

  Example: Lord of the Flies

• Use quotation marks around book titles when typing.

  Example: "Lord of the Flies"

• Use both underlining and quotation marks around book titles when typing.

  Example: "Lord of the Flies"

Which of the following statements is TRUE about capitalizing book titles in our literary-analysis essay?

• Capitalize only the important words. Unless the first word of the title, the following parts of speech are not capitalized: articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.

• Capitalize ALL words in a book title, regardless of their part of speech.

• Capitalize the first word only of a book title.

Which of the following statements is FALSE about the introduction paragraph of a literary-analysis essay?

• The lead is the first type of sentence, and its purpose is to engage the reader without giving away thesis information.

• The bridge is the second type of sentence, and its purpose is to build on the lead without giving away thesis information

• The thesis statement is the third type of sentence, and its purpose is to "set the stage" for the essay, identifying the topics of the body paragraphs.

• The introduction paragraph must be a minimum of two sentences.