Reading: Thesis Statements

The thesis statement* is the backbone of the essay, and therefore, writers often feel a lot of pressure to come up with a final, polished version of the statement right from the start. In fact, in previous coursework, you were probably asked to come up with a thesis statement before drafting an essay. The problem with that method is that our perceptions and writing changes over time, so a thesis statement that was written at the start of the writing process may not end up aligning with ideas in the most recent draft.

Now that you have already begun the process of drafting your critical analysis essay, you are ready to construct your thesis statement. In Assignment 2, Milestone 1, you identified your claim*, an opinion about your selected article. This claim will now become the basis for your thesis statement. Thesis statements not only announce the main claim of the essay, they also often provide the specific examples the essay will address in order to support the main claim.

When you first begin writing essays, it can be helpful to think of thesis statements as having two parts:

1. identifies the main topic of the essay
2. states the main point of the essay

For example:

The life of a working parent is often complicated.

In this thesis,

• “The life of a working parent” presents the main topic of the essay.
• “Is often complicated” introduces the main point being made about the topic of the essay. This is the claim, the heart of the thesis statement.

The next step is to take the standard two-part thesis statement and add an additional element: show the specific reasons a working parent’s life is often complicated.

For example, consider the following thesis statement that is made up of the main topic, the claim, and the specific reasons that support the claim:

The thesis statement for your critical analysis essay should follow a similar pattern. First, you should clearly state your claim, which is what you believe is the author’s intent in writing his or her article. Then you should explain three specific reasons to support your claim. (Keep in mind that you have started to develop these supporting reasons when discussing your key points* in 5-3.) You can use the framework below to help you construct your thesis statement:

The article’s theme of __________________ is ___________________ because ______________, ______________________, and ______________________.

For example, after reading an article about the benefits of yoga, I might construct the following thesis statement:

The article’s theme of yoga as the best form of exercise for both mind and body is well argued because the author includes medical research, provides compelling personal stories, and acknowledges the point of view of “non-yogi’s.”

A reminder: The thesis statement should appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.

 

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ENG 123 Assignment 2, Milestone 1 Guidelines and Rubric 5-6 Draft Overview: Persuasion is a constant in each and every one of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of what we should feel about events. We are put into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion. Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one’s thoughts, and also the ability to change one’s mind about a particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal opportunity to support an opinion on an issue utilizing researched facts and information. This also gives the chance to recognize that there is an opposing viewpoint to a position and to refute the opposing argument, noting that those who hold the opposing viewpoints are the intended audience of the piece. Prompt: For this milestone, you will submit a draft of your persuasive essay. At this point in the course, if you have completed the previous milestone guided activities, the text boxes should be combined and transformed into a draft. This milestone will help you address the critical elements from Sections I–III below, which will ultimately inform your final submission of the persuasive essay. You have until the deadline to work on this draft. Whatever is completed by the deadline will be submitted to your instructor for grading and feedback. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your argument. A. Provides an overview of the issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your argument. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the argument that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and should be well thought out. II. Body The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a right or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used. C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your own. III. Conclusion Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you. A. Review your argument. This section should consist of a review of your main points employed to support your argument. Think of this as your last chance to prove your point or your closing arguments. B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about your argument established through your essay. This should follow logically from your essay, referring to key points or quotes used to support your argument. Rubric Guidelines for Submission: This milestone will be completed and submitted through the interactive activity provided in your MindEdge eLearning materials. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions. Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value Introduction: Overview Provides an overview of the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument Provides an overview of the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument but contains issues regarding accuracy Does not provide an overview of the issue being analyzed 10 Introduction: Thesis Composes a thesis that states the argument that will be supported and proven throughout the essay Composes a thesis but contains issues related to clarity or relevancy Does not compose a thesis 10 Body: Intent Writes multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and build the thesis argument Writes multiple paragraphs but writing does not build the thesis argument Does not write multiple paragraphs 10 Body: Body Paragraphs Body paragraphs communicate argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence Body paragraphs communicate argument but do not combine thoughts and ideas with evidence Does not communicate argument through body paragraphs 30 Body: Opposing Viewpoints Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints in a way that strengthens the argument Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints but not in a way that strengthens the argument Does not address or refute opposing viewpoints 10 Conclusion: Review Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points of essay Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points but contains issues regarding alignment to the intent of the thesis Does not review claim 10 Conclusion: Insights Articulates insights about argument established through the analysis, following argument logically, referring to key points or quotes used to support argument Articulates insights about argument established through the essay, but does not follow argument logically or does not refer to key points or quotes used to support claim Does not articulate insights about argument 10 Articulation of Response Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 10 Earned Total 100%

 

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