STAAR Thesis Statements

A thesis statement should...

• be a statement is a claim that could be argued

• be in the first person

• use unclear language

• state a fact

A thesis statement should...

• use more than one topic

• be the main idea of an essay

• be broad

• be wordy or very long

Choose the BEST example of a thesis statement

• Abe Lincoln was an excellent speaker, the 16th President of the United States, a person who got things done, and united the North and South at the end of the American Civil War.

• Abe Lincoln was one of the best presidents the United States has ever known for many reasons.

This is a good example of a thesis statement: In this essay I will discuss the crime rate in Mountain City.

• True

• False

What does the thesis statement do?

• Clearly responds to the prompt

• Hooks the reader's attention

• Asks the reader a question to ponder

• Gives background and details about the text

The thesis statement is. . .

• The hook for your essay

• The most interesting part of your essay

• The roadmap for your essay

• A good way to end your essay.

You can think of the thesis as. . .

• The arms and legs of your essay

• The fingers of your essay

• The heart of your essay

• The evil witch of your essay

How long should your thesis statement be?

• As long as it takes

• At least 2 sentences

• 1 or 2 sentences

• Exactly 1 sentence

Where does the thesis statement go?

• The very first sentence of your essay

• The last sentence of the introduction

• The very last sentence of the essay

• In the middle of the introduction

How should you begin your thesis statement?

• With words from the prompt

• With a hook

• With at least 3 adjectives to describe the topic

• With a quote from the book