Hello everyone, it is Ms. Copley here, and today we are looking at Lesson 2 in our Argumentative Writing Unit, and it's all about thesis statements. So let's get started. What is a thesis statement?
It sounds really fancy, and it kind of is, but it drives your whole paper. So a thesis statement is a one-sentence statement that summarizes what your essay is about, and then it proposes a sentence that you can use to describe your essay. So prepares the reader for what's to come. So there's three steps to develop your thesis.
Step one, you're going to start with a question. So for example, is bottled water better than tap water? And then you'll take that question and you'll pick a side.
So for example, people should choose tap water over bottled water. That's the position I took. That's the side I chose.
And then you're going to add in key. arguments. So here's an example of a thesis statement. People should choose tap water over bottled water because it's less expensive, more environmentally friendly, and less likely to contain microplastics.
I have three key arguments there of why people should choose bottled water. And that, my friends, is your thesis statement. And it goes at the end of your introduction paragraph. So what's the purpose?
Why do we... Why do I even care if you write a thesis statement? Why do we ask that of you? So your thesis should take a strong position.
The purpose of your essay is to convince your reader of the thesis based on the strong evidence you provide. So it lets the reader know your position and why you feel that way. It's also kind of like the roadmap for the rest of your paper. So here's some important notes about thesis statements. Your statement should be debatable.
It will make a claim that people can agree or disagree with. So, for example, if you say pollution is bad, well, everybody agrees with that. It's not really debatable. So, all of your thesis statements should be debatable.
Number two, it should be assertive. It will show your stance on the topic. You're not like, maybe we should...
maybe use bottled water over tap water because I think it might be a good idea. No, you say tap water is better than bottled water. It's assertive.
So we have no like question about what your stance is. And third, your statement should be evidence-based. That means there's some like things that you can back it up with some facts, statistics, quotes.
It should avoid value or moral beliefs that cannot be true. be supported by evidence. So we're always going to be looking for evidence to back up your claim because that's what makes it a thesis statement and not an opinion. So some main points here.
Your thesis statement should briefly outline your main points. It gives your reader a clear idea of what you're going to discuss in your essay. And the main points will also serve as the road map that will keep you organized and on track while you're writing. So let's practice this.
Let's dissect this thesis statement. So I want us to look for the claim and the main points in this example. So here it is.
Cats are better pets than dogs because cats are independent, are quieter, and can care for themselves. So what I want you to do is figure out the author's claim and the three main points. You might have to pause it. That's okay. So pause and figure this out.
So let's look at this. What is the claim here? Cats are better pets than dogs.
So that is our claim. I'm going to highlight it in green. And then why are they that? What are the main points here?
Cats are independent. I'm going to put that in bold. Are quieter.
Bold. And can even care for themselves. Bold.
So we have the claim with. three main points and this is what's gonna drive our paper so that's how to write an effective thesis statement if you want more help with this if you will look at the links below you can get the rest you can get the activities that go with this lesson and the seven other lessons which help you write a quality argumentative paper until lesson three