March 24, 2016 Agenda

1)Brain Buzzer: Take out a notebook and something to

write with.
2)

Learning target: I can write a thesis

statement.
3)I-assignment
4)Review: What is a thesis statement?
5)Tips for writing a thesis statement.
6)Add a thesis statement activity.
7)You try it
8)Work on informative essay

Whats a thesis statement?

It is a short statement (usually one
sentence) that summarizes the main
point of an essay.
It appears in the first paragraph of an
essay usually as the last sentence of
the first paragraph.
Readers use this sentence as a road
map that lets them know what the
entire essay will be about.

 The thesis is developed, explained,

and supported in the essay itself with
examples and evidence.

Tips for writing a thesis:

1. Avoid burying a great thesis

statement in the middle of a
paragraph or late in the paper.
2. Use strong word choice.
3. Indicate the point of your paper
but avoid sentence structures like,
The point of my paper is

EXAMPLE:

The Holocaust was a dark and devastating time in

our worlds history. Over 6 million Jews were slaughtered
by the Nazi regime during an eight year period. An
additional five million people, not of the Jewish faith, are
reported to have also been murdered.
Elie Wiesel was sent to a concentration camp when
he was only 15 years old. Upon arriving, he was
separated from his mother and sisters

PROBLEM: The first paragraph leads the

reader to believe that the paper could be about the
Holocaust, six million Jews killed, the Nazi regime, 5
million other non-Jewish victims.

Your job is to make it VERY clear what the essay is going

to be about.
In the above example, where the paper is headed IS NOT
CLEAR.
YOU NEED A THESIS STATEMENT!

THESIS added:

The Holocaust was a dark and devastating time in

our worlds history. Over 6 million Jews were slaughtered
by the Nazi regime during an eight year period. An
additional five million people, not of the Jewish faith, are
reported to have also been killed. Elie Weisel, a Jew from
Transylvania, described how he survived this horrifying
event in his novel, Night.

Elie was sent to a concentration camp when he was

only 15 years old. Upon arriving, he was separated from
his mother and sisters

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
Evil and hatred was the basis of the Nazi
belief system. This hatred led to the death of
over 6 million Jews. The Nazis brainwashed
an entire nation to believe their claims that
the Jewish people needed to be eliminated.

???Where is this paper headed???

 Will it be about the hatred of the Nazis?

Will it be about the death of 6 million
Jews?
Will it be about the Nazis brainwashing a
nation to follow their ideas?
BOTTOM LINE: We arent sure!

THESIS added:

Evil and hatred was the basis of the Nazi belief

system. Although there will always be individuals with
bad intentions, this group brainwashed an entire nation to
believe their claims that the Jewish people needed to be
eliminated. The Nazi regime created one of the most

successful propaganda campaigns in the history of

mankind.

***Now we know that the essay will be about the

propaganda campaigns used by the Nazis!

You try it

Directions: Look at the paragraph below. The sentences

in the paragraph dont allow the reader to clearly
understand what the paper will be about. Your job it to
write a thesis statement that gives the paper a focus and
gives the reader a sense of direction.

Crunched soda cans litter the side of the highway.

Plastic shopping sacks cling to tree branches. Cigarette

butts and candy wrappers smother the grass and

sidewalks
_Thesis:__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_______________________________________.

You try it again

Childrens Miracle Network (CMN) is a

charity that raises millions of dollars each
year to help sick kids in the local
community. Through their fundraising

efforts, CMN is able to generously give

the money to help sick patients who could
otherwise not afford to help themselves.

Write a thesis statement which will appear as the

last sentence of this intro paragraph.

Try this

Follow these steps in order:

1)Take out the info sheet about Dr. Mengele that you
received Friday.

2)First, ask yourself what you want this Dr. Mengele

essay to be about specifically: Do you want your
essay to be about the reasons he got his nickname?
Do you want it to be about his experiments? Do you
want it to be about his fascination with twins?
3)Once youve decided the topic (or what the whole
essay will be about), you then will write the first 2 4
sentences of your intro. These sentences can be
about Dr. Mengele and they may be general in
nature. Remember the body of the essay is where
you will include evidence or details about the thesis.
a. Make sure that the sentences you write in your
intro have something to do with where your
paper is headed. For example, if you dont plan
on talking about the experiments Mengele did on
children anywhere in your paper, there is no
reason to bring those details up in the intro
paragraph.

4)Once the reader understands in the first 2 - 4

sentences that the paper is most likely going to be
SOMETHING about this man named Dr. Mengele, you
then add the thesis which will then focus the paper
and allow the reader to know specifically what about
Dr. Mengele the essay will be about.