Name__________________________

Class______

Date___________________________

Essay Writing Information

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement
1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue
or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific
evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect
statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience
that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text which does not fall under these three categories (ex. a narrative), a thesis
statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.
2. Your thesis statement should be specificit should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and
should be supported with specific evidence.
3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.
4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect
exactly what you have discussed in the paper.
Thesis Statement Examples
Example of an analytical thesis statement:
An analysis of the college admission process reveals two principal problems facing counselors: accepting
students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.
The paper that follows should:

explain the analysis of the college admission process

explain the two problems facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and
socializing with peers.
The paper that follows should:

explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

IN THAT ORDER
Example of an argumentative thesis statement:
High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects
before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.
The paper that follows should:

present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue
community projects before entering college

Developing Strong Thesis Statements

The Thesis statement or main claim must be debatable
An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other
words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your
thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to
persuade people.
Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:
Pollution is bad for the environment.
This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution means that something is bad or negative
in some way. Further, all studies agree that pollution is a problem, they simply disagree on the impact it
will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is good.
Example of a debatable thesis statement:
At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution.
This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people
might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be
spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government,
should be paying to limit pollution.
Another example of a debatable thesis statement:
America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars.
In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might
think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.
The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the
thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence.
The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is
right.
Example of a thesis that is too broad:
Drug use is detrimental to society.
There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category
"drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol
and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is
drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug
related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally,
what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global
population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are
just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed
above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.
Example of a narrow or focused thesis:
Illegal drug use is detrimental because it encourages gang violence.
In this example the the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has
been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.
We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:
Narrowed debatable thesis 1:
At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade business to clean
technologies, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to control or
eliminate pollution.
This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also
how the money could actually help to control pollution.
Narrowed debatable thesis 2:
America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars because it would allow most
citizens to contribute to national efforts and care about the outcome.
This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national antipollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.
Qualifiers such as "typically," "generally," "usually," or "on average" also help to limit the scope of your
claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

The Expository Essay

What is an Expository Essay?
The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate
evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise
manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, exempla, the analysis of
cause and effect, etc.

Please note: This genre is commonly assigned as a tool for classroom evaluation and is often found in
various exam formats.
The structure of the expository essay is held together by the following:

A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay.
It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in
the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to
compose an effective or persuasive essay.

Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression
of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essays argument, and the structure will collapse.

Body paragraphs that include evidential support.

Each paragraph should be limited to the exposition of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and
direction throughout the essay. What is more, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for ones
audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical
connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph.

Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal).

Often times, students are required to write expository essays with little or no preparation; therefore,
such essays do not typically allow for a great deal of statistical or factual evidence.

A bit of creativity!
Though creativity and artfulness are not always associated with essay writing, it is an art form
nonetheless. Try not to get stuck on the formulaic nature of expository writing at the expense of
writing something interesting. Remember, though you may not be crafting the next great novel, you are
attempting to leave a lasting impression on the people evaluating your essay.

A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence
provided.

It is at this point of the essay that students will inevitably begin to struggle. This is the portion of the
essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be
effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize and
come to a conclusion concerning the information presented in the body of the essay.
A Complete Argument
Perhaps it is helpful to think of an essay in terms of a conversation or debate with a classmate. If I
were to discuss the cause of the Great Depression and its current effect on those who lived through the
tumultuous time, there would be a beginning, middle, and end to the conversation. In fact, if I were to
end the exposition in the middle of my second point, questions would arise concerning the current
effects on those who lived through the Depression. Therefore, the expository essay must be complete,
and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its intent or argument.
The Five-Paragraph Essay
A common method for writing an expository essay is the five-paragraph approach. This is, however, by no
means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is because it is; in
fact, the method consists of:
1. an introductory paragraph
2. three evidentiary body paragraphs
3. a conclusion
On Paragraphs
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. Learning to write good
paragraphs will help you as a writer stay on track during your drafting and revision stages. Good
paragraphing also greatly assists your readers in following a piece of writing. You can have fantastic
ideas, but if those ideas aren't presented in an organized fashion, you will lose your readers (and fail to
achieve your goals in writing).
The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph
The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is to keep one idea to one paragraph. If you begin to
transition into a new idea, it belongs in a new paragraph. There are some simple ways to tell if you are on
the same topic or a new one. You can have one idea and several bits of supporting evidence within a single
paragraph. You can also have several points in a single paragraph as long as they relate to the overall
topic of the paragraph. If the single points start to get long, then perhaps elaborating on each of them
and placing them in their own paragraphs is the route to go.
Elements of a Paragraph

To be as effective as possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A
Topic Sentence, and Adequate Development. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Using and
adapting them to your individual purposes will help you construct effective paragraphs.
Unity
The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major
point of discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas.
Coherence
Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create
coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges.
Logical bridges

The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence

Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

Verbal bridges

Key words can be repeated in several sentences

Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences
Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences
Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences

A topic sentence
A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going
to deal with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic
sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere
in the middle), an easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put
your topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph. (This is a good general rule for less
experienced writers, although it is not the only way to do it). Regardless of whether you include an
explicit topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about.
Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed:

Use examples and illustrations

Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others)
Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases)
Use an anecdote or story
Define terms in the paragraph
Compare and contrast
Evaluate causes and reasons
Examine effects and consequences
Analyze the topic
Describe the topic
Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)

How do I know when to start a new paragraph?

You should start a new paragraph when:

When you begin a new idea or point. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. If you
have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each new point within that idea should have
its own paragraph.
To contrast information or ideas. Separate paragraphs can serve to contrast sides in a debate,
different points in an argument, or any other difference.
When your readers need a pause. Breaks in paragraphs function as a short "break" for your
readersadding these in will help your writing more readable. You would create a break if the
paragraph becomes too long or the material is complex.
When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion. Your introductory and
concluding material should always be in a new paragraph. Many introductions and conclusions have
multiple paragraphs depending on their content, length, and the writer's purpose.