Creating Excellent Thesis Statements Worksheets

Creating Excellent Thesis Statements Worksheets
Part I: Subject and Commentary

A topic sentence is the sentence that conveys a central position of a paragraph.
Like a topic sentence, a thesis statement is a sentence that conveys your central position for a multi-paragraph essay.
In order to be a thesis statement, it must be a complete sentence with a subject (topic) and a commentary (also called a position or opinion). Example: Australia is the best country of all for a vacation.

1. Fill in the blanks:  A thesis statement is a complete sentence with
a ________________  and ______________.

2. For each of the following thesis statements, underline the subject once and the opinion (commentary) twice:
Example:  Westmont is a wonderful place to go to school.
a)    Cycling is fun to do with friends.
b)    History is my favorite class
c)    It’s exciting to go to college.
d)    Lasagne is my favorite food
e)    I like movies more than any other form of entertainment.

Brainstorm one subject idea of your own ideas: getting a driver’s license, favorite hobby, getting a job…

3. Write down your subject (topic):_____________________________________

Next, you will write a thesis statement for your subject. Example for getting braces: Getting braces was one of the worst things that could have ever happened to me. This is a thesis statement because it has a subject (getting braces) and a commentary or position (was one of the worst things that could have ever happened to me).

4. Now write a thesis statement for your subject here:

5. In the sentence you just wrote above, underline the subject once and the commentary twice.

Think of four more subjects that you know something about and write them down. Then, write a thesis statement for each of your four subjects here:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

10. In the four sentences you just wrote above, underline each subject once and each opinion twice.

Tips for good commentary:

Is the commentary an opinion or just stating a fact?
The commentary should be an opinion, but stated like a fact.
Is it specific enough to be interesting?
Not specific enough: School is good.
Specific: Attending school regularly is the best way to become a successful communicator.
Is it concise? Can you say it more briefly?
Is it written in present or past tense? Writing about literature should be in present tense. Writing about history should be in past tense.
Does it use I, my, me, or other first person? It shouldn’t! All formal expository writing MUST be in the Third Person. She writes, They write, etc…
Is there enough “meat” to develop the idea? Test: Brainstorm…list three or four main ideas that could support your thesis statement

11. REVIEW. Fill in the blanks for the two main parts of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a complete sentence with a __________________ and _________________ (also called a position or an opinion).

Writing an Excellent Thesis Statement
Part II: Developing Divisions of Proof

· For this class, your thesis statements must have a third part (divisions of proof).

· An excellent thesis statement should include brief reasons WHY your commentary is true. These are also known as DIVISIONS OF PROOF.

Take a close look at one of your thesis statements. Pick one that you think you can back up with evidence.

Example: A theme of Night is people cannot control their own destiny.

12. Brainstorm. What support can you find to validate your thesis statement or prove it to be true?

13. As briefly as possible, summarize two or three points that would support your thesis statement and connect them to it.
Example: The theme of Night is people cannot control their own destiny because the people of Sighet are forced into the concentration camps and to their deaths despite their wills.

14. Write one excellent thesis statement about any aspect of Night or another book you read recently. It must include a subject, commentary, and divisions of proof (reasons) that can be proven with evidence from the text. Your sentence must say more than a general description of the book or a summary of the plot.

· Bad example: Pesticides are bad because they are used to kill bugs and they smell.

· Good example: The government should ban the use of pesticides because they endanger the lives of farm workers and can cause cancer in people who eat food treated with pesticides.

· Tip: A good thesis statement is based on a close reading of the text. This means that you might have to go back over the work to come up with an interesting idea to write about, taking notes as you reread.

English II Night Expository Essay Assignment

This is your first expository 3-5 paragraph essay assignment for Wider World English II. You can choose one of the following topics to discuss in your expository essay. Remember that your thesis (essay topic sentence) will have some of your opinion in it, but avoid using first person (e.g. I think…).

Topic 1: Value. Night shows us that an item's value is relevant to the context of the situation. Gold, moral, social customs, and even words will all lose value when society has fallen apart and death is around the corner. Discuss the following facets of society and the lack of meaning they have during the Holocaust: material possessions (15), Morals/social customs (24-25), words (36), Distinction between social roles (14).

Topic 2: Apathy. Night shows the world that apathy was the leading cause of the Holocaust. Discuss the following scenes and the characters who do not take an active part in the world around them. Why do you think so many people look the other way when horrible acts are committed? Pages 5, 6, and 43.

Topic 3: Humanity. Describe Wiesel's image of humanity and discuss why he describes people the way he does. What does this description say about the author? Does he admire the person, despise him, love him, hate him, empathize with him? Moshe the Beadle (1), Wiesel's father (2), Tzipora (16), Madame Schachter (22-24), Bela Katz (33), the French girl (51), Angelic boy (62).

Topic 4: Accountability. Without accountability (checks and balances), when there are no consequences for immoral behavior, normal people will behave in evil ways. Analyze the passage on pages 21, 24, 46, and 60. Compare these two passages to the behavior of the Nazis. What is similar about the behavior? Is it vicious? Evil? Why do you think people behave in evil ways? What happens when society's rules no longer apply? Find some examples of vicious behavior by the Nazis or Hungarian police and compare that behavior with the behavior of the Jews in these two instances.

Topic 5: Deception. Discuss the complex level of deception throughout Night. Why was deception so important to the Nazis? How did they keep the truth from the Jews?

Topic 6: Insult to injury. Discuss the non-life-threatening offensive acts committed against the Jews (especially against their religion). Why were these particular acts committed? Do these acts have more significance that they were done to the Jews or would they be equally demeaning and insulting to other groups of people. Possible ideas: pages 39, 47, 49, 60.