Thesis Statements By Alfred Taylor 1www.booksbyalfredtaylor.com

Thesis Statements The thesis statement is the most important part of the essay. It describes the essay’s subject, scope, and tone. In a standard English composition essay, the thesis statement should be one sentence long and appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.

Thesis Statements A thesis statement must contain three elements: 1)It must be concise. 2)It must have an assertion. 3)It must have a preview of the essay’s topic.

Thesis Statements Concise It’s a thesis statement, not a thesis paragraph. One sentence is plenty for a thousand word essay. The thesis must describe the contents of the essay in the fewest words possible.

Thesis Statements Assertion The thesis statement must be more than a statement of fact. It must have some point to argue that can be proven in the essay to follow.

Thesis Statements Preview The thesis statement must provide the reader with an idea of the topics that will be covered in the essay. The preview is usually taken from the major points on the essay’s outline.

Thesis Statements Which sentence would make a good thesis statement for a thousand word essay? Dogs make good pets. Mark is smart, handsome, and well educated. Jane doesn’t understand Poe’s fiction.

Thesis Statements Which sentence would make a good thesis statement for a thousand word essay? Dogs make good pets. Mark is smart, handsome, and well educated. Jane doesn’t understand Poe’s fiction. None of the above.

Thesis Statements A thesis statement must have all three elements. The first example, “Dogs make good pets” has no preview. The second example “Mark is smart, handsome, and well educated” has no assertion. The last one, “Jane doesn’t understand Poe’s fiction” is just a statement of fact.

Thesis Statements The thesis statement below is an example of a good thesis statement because it has all three elements: An assertion, a preview, and it is concise. Most people don’t know that Lincoln was a farmer, a postmaster, and a captain in the Illinois militia as well as a politician.

Thesis Statements The best way to develop a thesis statement is to pull it from the essay’s outline. The outline will provide the preview and all the writer has to do is develop an assertion that fits the topic of the essay.

Thesis Statements I) Lincoln was a farmer – A) Raised on a farm in Kentucky a) hated hard labor b) did his share of chores but no more – B) Rented out as hired labor by his father. a) gave all earnings to his father b) understood what it was to be a slave II) Lincoln was a postmaster – A) appointed postmaster of New Salem, Illinois. a) delivered mail b) delivered news papers – B) How he became “Honest Abe.” a) had missing money in a sock. b) walked for miles to return money. III) Lincoln was in the military – A) Captain in the Black Hawk war a) liked by his men b) fought only when he had to – B) Kept his title after his service. a) hated his first name b) liked to be called “Captain Lincoln” Most people don’t know that Lincoln was a farmer, a postmaster, and a captain in the Illinois militia as well as a politician.

Thesis Statements The previous slide shows how the preview for the thesis statement was taken from the outline. Since the essay’s topic is a biography of Lincoln, the assertion also fits with the essay’s topic.

Thesis Statements For more information on how to create an outline, download the power point at

Thesis Statements The End