Some Tips for Writing Effective Thesis Statements

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Some Tips for Writing Effective Thesis Statements
Adapted from a presentation by Barbara Toth
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Effective Thesis Statements

• Suggest a mode of organization and provide
  direction for a reader.

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Does this thesis suggest a mode of organization
and provide a sense of direction for a reader?

• Even though many history texts have primarily
  focused on accomplishments of white males, women
  of various backgrounds have also made significant
  contributions.

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Some tips for revising your thesis statement--

• Ask yourself what your subject is.
• Then what is the significant thing you want to
  say about your subject.

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Examples
Subject POS
Video Games, if properly managed by parents, offer many educational benefits to children.
Our familys view of career success has been shaped to some extent by several cultural codes.
Czech and Slovak television during the last three years have produced immense cultural wealth and reinforced important regional traditions.
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Try thinking of your thesis in these
terms--SUBJECT POINT OF SIGNIFICANCE THESIS.
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How effective do you think this thesis statemnt
is?SubjectDespite their being omitted from
many history books thus far, many African
Americans, particularly X, Y, and Z,

• POS
• have significantly contributed to the American
  story.

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Effective Thesis Statements are

• Limited in Scope.

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Effective thesis statements

• contain qualifiers that make the thesis
  manageable for the writer and credible to the
  readers.

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Qualifiers are very important in thesis
statements.

• Avoid words like all none, always,
  never.
• Remember if you use a word like Americans
  without a qualifier, it means all Americans by
  default.

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Some examples of qualifying words--

• Often
• Primarily
• Frequently
• Too often
• Regularly
• Some
• Many
• Most

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Effective Thesis Statements are--

• Debatable and argumentative.
• One test
• Ask yourself if reasonable, generally
  knowledgeable readers might not have the same
  position on your issue.
• If so, your thesis may be argumentative.

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PURPOSES Remember that your purpose in writing
is to sway readers to your way of viewing the
topic or issue. P.S. The word persuade derives
from the word sway.
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Thesis Statements are

• A contract between you and your readers.
• A promise that you will follow through on what
  you say.
• A commitment.
• How true you are to that commitment determines
  how effective your essay is.
• MORAL Pick a thesis you can be true to.

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Create Your Own

• Write a thesis statement for each of the
  following topics. Then share your ideas with a
  classmate. Be prepared to share out.
• Gun safety
• Student motivation
• Universal healthcare
• Sports teams with Native American mascots
• Gender-specific toys