1. Thesis Statements What the?

2. 1-2sentence statement that condenses the whole argument or analysis. Eg. News Articles Tests your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or 2 Better organises your thoughts Provides reader (and marker) with a guide What is it? Why do you need it?

3. How to do it? Nearly all assignment topics can be reduced to a question. Once you have the question, it is just a matter of providing a brief answer to it. This is the thesis statement.

4. For example: Topic: “Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class.” Question: “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” Thesis Statement: “The potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class are...”

5. Even if your assignment doesn’t ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue you’d like to explore.

6. How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement 1.A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand. 2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion. 3.A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea. 4.A strong thesis statement is specific.