Keeping it focused!!

What do you already know about writing a thesis statement?

 It is the last sentence of your Introduction.  It states your topic.  It tells the readers what sub topics they will read about.  It makes a strong, clear, statement to really grab the reader’s interest.

To develop a thesis statement you start with your actual research topic. Elvis Presley

 Ask yourself, how can I show my readers that my topic impacted American culture? What was important or special about it? In the case of Elvis Presley, his rock and roll music definitely inspired fans and musicians and continues to do so.

Now, take a look at the sub topics in your outline. Which subtopics definitely help to answer the question “How has Elvis impacted American culture?” His early life His music and career His family His death Legacy – fans and inspiration

Next, you want to put together the topic with the ideas or subjects you want the reader to know using subtopics to summarize how your topic has had an impact on American Culture. Though Elvis Presley’s untimely death cut short a revolution in rock and roll music, it was this inspirational music and the adoration of millions of fans that created an impact on American culture for all time.

 Though Elvis Presley’s untimely death cut short a revolution in rock and roll, it was this inspirational music and the adoration of millions of fans that created an impact on American culture for all time. Does it: 1.Make a strong statement? 2.Summarize how the research question will be answered in your paper using information from some sub topics that will actually BE in your paper? 3.If YES to both, then it is probably GOOD!

 From a successful commercial art career, to his glamorous pop art prime years striking new trends in popular culture, Andy Warhol has made a great impact on culture in America and all over the world.  From its humble beginnings as a glider and its revolution of the transportation industry, to its use as a weapon of terrorists on 9/11, the airplane has impacted American society.  Emmet Till lived a very short life, suffered a painful death at the hands of a brutal, racist Southern community, and his story has made a huge impact on civil rights advances in America.  In the 1950’s, Americans never realized that the technology to watch moving pictures and stories right in their own home on a Television set would have such a lasting impact both positive and negative on American culture.  From his charming, whimsical artistic style to his quirky rhyming stories, Dr. Seuss has educated and inspired generations of Americans and become a beloved childhood icon.

Now you try! Here are the steps one more time: 1. Decide how your research question (“How has ____ impacted American Society/culture?”) can be answered. 2. Look at your subtopics and identify a few that you will definitely use to help answer the question in your paper. 3. Turn it into a bold and interesting statement. Make sure that your thesis essentially summarizes the answer to your question. 4. You are ready to write it into your final outline and paper intro!