Writing
a thesis statement doesn't have to be agony for you or your students.
They can do most of the work without your supervision if you
give them the right tools.
Think of teaching the thesis sentence as sending students to
dig for buried treasure: If you give them a good map, they ought
to be able to find the treasure on their own.
You can help students learn the craft of thesis creation
two ways. You can either . . .
-
Have students select their main point from those you
prepare, or
-
Have students invent an assertion on a topic you give
them.
The first option should be a no-brainer for students. All they
have to do is take one you give them. How hard is that?
Hard enough that some will miss it entirely.
Been there.
Done that.
Give students a thesis
I recommend you use the no-brainer option for your beginning
students. It's easier for them to understand how to use
a thesis if they don't simultaneously have to figure out how to
write one.
Let’s look at an example of a thesis sentence built from
a no-brainer prompt.
Write this—or else
Sometimes writers have no choice what to write about. This English
class writing prompt, for example, requires everyone to use the
same thesis:
Many everyday words have very specialized
words when they are used in a discussion of grammar. Pick three
such terms. Show how their everyday meaning and their grammatical
meanings differ.
In that example, the opening sentence states the point that
the entire essay must support. Since the assignment clearly specifies
that students are to select three terms, the only possible thesis
for the papers is
Three everyday words have very specialized
words when they are used in a discussion of grammar.
The closest students get to a choice of thesis is “like it
or lump it.”
Even though all students write on the same thesis, their
responses may be very different because of the terms they choose
to discuss.
Two options, pick one
More often, students can choose one of two assertions suggested
in the writing prompt.
For example, if you were to ask, "Is Atticus the hero of To
Kill a Mockingbird?" you'd be giving students two alternative
assertions: He is or he is not.
In other words, they could choose to develop the idea that
Atticus is the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Or they could choose the opposite thesis
Atticus is not the hero of To Kill
a Mockingbird.
As soon as students choose either option, the thesis statement
begins to restrict what can and cannot go into their essays.
Even the dullest will realize that the story of her experience
in a third grade pageant doesn't belong in either of those essays.
That doesn’t, however, mean the dummy won’t write about
her third grade pageant. A thesis is a great writing tool, but it’s
not a magic wand!
Guessing takes some brains
Next to copying directly from the writing prompt, the next easiest
way to write a thesis statement is to take
a guess. As long as you provide authentic
writing prompts, average middle school and high school students
who have had some practice writing essays can invent an assertion
that produces a good, working thesis
sentence.
Published 12-Feb-2008; updated:
20-May-2010
