My Best Day in My Life

1480 Words6 Pages
Developing Thesis Statements: Breaking Down the Main Topic (Dr. Tarzia rev. Feb 07) =================================================== Reminder of what a thesis statement is: ■ The thesis is a claim that you want to argue. The thesis should in fact be “arguable”: it should set out a goal that is possible to support for the audience you are writing for. An arguable thesis does not try to prove the obvious such as “honesty is good” or “We must end poverty” -- ideas that are obvious and/or beyond anyone’s immediate power. An arguable thesis can be supported with evidence and reasons (logic): “Ghosts exist” is not an arguable thesis because the evidence is itself lacking or too questionable. ■ A thesis is the central idea of your essay, or your goal. It is the statement that you will support or prove to be true. It is not a topic: it is an assertion about a topic. When you say your topic does something, or means something, or came about because of something, or will cause something, then you are close to a thesis. ■ Great thesis qualities: (a) A great thesis makes a “contract” with the reader stating that the essay will deliver interesting information that the reader has not encountered before and will repay reading, (b) A great thesis is a powerful statement that makes the reader think, “Huh! OK, that sounds interesting/controversial; let’s see how you can support your idea.” (c) A great thesis can have specific “parts” which pre-organize the topics of the essay, which helps the writer write and the reader anticipate and understand. Examples of Thesis Statements The essay topic for these examples is, “My Microculture”: a microculture is a small group of people who regularly share lifestyles, hobbies, occupations, or philosophies (softball club, skateboarder buddies, music/dance buddies, fellow workers in your job, etc.). Microcultures allow
Open Document