Composing a Thesis Statement Bridging the gap from “topic” to “thesis statement.”

Bibliography Foster, Benjamin. Writing about Literature—A Guide for Students. Longman. New York

“Finding a Topic Suitable for a Thesis.” Brainstorming for a topic: 1.Begin by spending about 5 minutes considering why you have chosen these quotations for today. – What led you to these examples? – What is your immediate reaction to each? How does each passage connect to your response to the topic? – How do the passages connect to each other? How did you arrive at your “rough” thesis?

October 20, 2015: Please check the website for the updated calendar. Please consult website before ing me about due dates for assignments. Lesson Objective: Students will work towards producing an analysis by defining a thesis statement with which they can support with text-based evidence. DO NOW: Returning to the same example from yesterday--how will you use the structure of this sample introduction paragraph to establish your goals for writing a thesis and eventually your introduction? What will you try to do? What will you avoid doing?

Sample Student Paragraph WAL 41. Antigone is a strong character who does what she thinks is right. When she learns that Creon has proclaimed a law prohibiting the burial of her brother, Polyneices, she does not agree with this and decides she will bury him. She does this by herself since her sister, Ismene, will not help her. She does out onto the battlefield and puts dust on her brother’s body. When she is caught doing this she is brought before Creon, where she admits performing the action and refuses to confess that it is wrong. So Creon puts her to death. She goes to her death as a martyr, proud of her act of reverence for her brother. What aspect of this paragraph stands out to you? Define some of the weaknesses presented here. How do you think you would revise this if this were your work?

Find the Thesis: I will now ask you to examine the example once again, with a focus on which statement appears to be closest to a claim. What evidence of a thesis could you pull from yesterday’s example? Discuss amongst your groups—to what extent does this attempt inform you on the thesis that you are looking to write? At this time, you should start developing some criteria for how to construct your own thesis statements.

(42) Stating the Thesis as an Assertion Aim to limit your thesis to a single sentence. This is a good way to test if you really have the right kind of focus. Anything longer than two sentences should generally indicate that you may have something a bit too broad on your hands. If / When this happens: You may have something “too ambitious” to fully explore in a short paper --or– you may still lack a clear focus. “Keep working to refine it (ask your peers for feedback –ask us!) until it can be stated in a forceful sentence!”

For your consideration: Think of a thesis as a “road map” for your essay—this allows the reader to understand what he or she is going to read about. Strive to keep your thesis as the last sentence of your introduction paragraph. When you are writing and editing your thesis, look back at your prompt as well. It is important that your thesis provides an answer to your prompt

Revising your Thesis at the end of your first draft! Who knew? You should expect to revise your thesis statement several times during the “drafting” process! With each body paragraph that you write, always work to incorporate your thesis into the particular example that you are working with. If you can’t figure out how to do this: – You may be working with an example that “just doesn’t work --or— – You may need to tweak your thesis statement to fit together with the evidence. – Don’t be afraid!!

Follow Up Activity You will now work with your groups to ask questions about the thesis you are writing or to offer insight to your partners. “Claims/ Introductions are NOW due tomorrow evening (Wednesday evening) 10/21 by 11:59PM. Tomorrow, we will discuss Introductions more carefully.

Exit Slip Exit Slip: What challenges do you face in generating a distinctive thesis statement? How will you address those challenges? (5 minutes). Submit one response PER GROUP to google classroom.