Introductions and Thesis Statements

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Introductions and Thesis Statements

• Writing Both Effectively

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Thesis Statements

• A thesis is a sentence (one only!) that presents
  the main idea of a paperan idea that every fact
  and detail should support.

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Thesis Statements

• A good thesis statement should have two
  qualities
• It should state the papers topic
• It states a specific point of view concerning
  that topic

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Thesis Statements

• Your purpose for your Type IV essay is to inform.
  The following sample thesis statement is a great
  example of an informative thesis
• To complete the law school admissions process
  successfully, students need to give adequate time
  to choosing schools, preparing for the LSAT exam,
  and completing the applications.
• (Topic The law school admissions process)

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Thesis Statements

• The previous thesis statement lets us know that
  the essay will discuss the time it takes to
• choose possible law schools
• prepare for the LSAT
• complete applications

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Thesis Statements

• Here is an example from the last essay we did
• The boys and teachers at Helton faced multiple
  man vs. man, man vs. self, and man vs. society
  conflicts, helping to develop the movies plot.

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Bad Better Thesis Statements

• Bad
• College can teach students so many lessons.
• Better
• Our sociology departments new requirement of
  three hours of community service allows students
  to apply lessons they learn in their classes.
• The first thesis is too big and vague to develop
  in a short paper. A narrower choice might work
  better.
• Bad
• I like the new movie version of Hamlet.
• Better
• The new Hamlet movie succeeds by portraying
  Hamlet as a tentative and tortured member of
  Generation X.
• The writer should pick a more arguable
  viewpointone that will involve readers.

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Bad Better Thesis Statements

• Bad
• Skateboarding is an excellent hobby.
• Better
• Skateboarding is an excellent hobby because it
  gives teenagers a chance to form their own
  groups, have their own parks, and feel free.
• The writer might choose a more specific focus.
• Bad
• This paper is about capital punishment in our
  state.
• Better
• Our state should substitute the sentence of life
  without parole for capital punishment.
• The writers viewpoint is unclear

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Bad Better Thesis Statements

• Bad
• The womens soccer team has strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Better
• Key changes in personnel and institutional
  support will make the womens soccer team the
  best in our conference this year.
• Everything has strengths and weaknessesthe
  writer must have a more specific focus!
• Bad
• More than eight million children are taking
  Ritalin prescriptions have quadrupled in the
  United States since 1990.
• Better
• Ritalin is being over prescribed to American
  elementary school children.
• The first statement is nothing but facts the
  writer needs to state a viewpoint concerning the
  facts!

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Introductory Paragraphs

• An introduction should bring your readers into
  your text, spark their interest, and acquaint
  them with your topic.
• Your Type IV essay must
• give the author
• give the title
• Give an overview of the story

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Introductory Paragraphs

• Some introductory paragraphs describe a general
  topic, problem, or solution and then move to a
  thesis concerning it
• By August 15, many college students have finally
  finished that guelling summer chemistry class or
  construction job. They see those back-to-school
  ads in newspapers across North Carolina as
  indicators that all those children and their
  parents are easing into their school-year
  regimens. These college students might conclude
  that the last weeks of August would be the
  perfect time for a beach trip before their own
  fall term begins. But they might do better
  heading for the mountains or lakes. Because of
  enviornmental changes that have occurred in the
  past three years, tourists should avoid the North
  Carolina beaches in late August.

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Introductory Paragraphs

• Many authors introduce the thesis through a
  relevant quotation or paraphrase
• To be, or not to be that is the question.
  When you go to see a movie of Hamlet, you expect
  to hear this famous line. In the new version out
  this year, directed by Michael Almereyda, Ethan
  Hawke utters the line while walking through the
  action section of a Blockbuster Video store. He
  records his own subsequent inaction on video and
  computer as he finds himself unable to begin a
  campaign against his uncles corrupt corporate
  empire, called Denmark. In this film, the
  portrayal of Hamlet as a tentative and tortured
  member of Generation X gives the famous question
  and the entire story new meaning.

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Introductory Paragraphs

• Heres an example from one of your peers
• In the film The Dead Poets Society, a variety
  of conflicts are presented. Two such conflicts
  are man versus man and man versus self. These
  conflicts help to build the plot of the story.