The document is notes from a 7th grade language arts class on February 18, 2014. It discusses thesis statements, including that a thesis statement should tell the reader the topic and position and is not a promise, question, or few words about the topic. It provides examples of effective thesis statements and explains that a thesis statement fits in the introduction of a paper and ties together the body paragraphs. The notes also cover identifying number statements and dependent clause (DC/IC) statements and determining strong versus poor thesis statements.

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2/18/14
7th Grade Language Arts
Assignments
• Thesis Statements (W)
Agenda:
• Spelling Post Test (F)
1. Independent Reading
• Vocab Unit 11 (F)
2. Spelling Pretest
3. Thesis Statements
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What is a thesis statement?
Next
A thesis statement...
is the heart of your paper. Without it, your piece
will not survive.
lets the reader know what your paper will
be about.
is like a giant umbrella. Everything in your paper
should fit underneath it (be related).
lets the reader know what position you're taking
(persuasive essay).
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What is a thesis statement?
Next
A thesis statement should tell the reader two things:
Thesis Statement
Topic
Position
There are several reasons why our school should have
vending machines.
Pull
T: Vending machines P: For
Even though murder is a heinous crime, the death
penalty is not the answer.
Pull
T: Death penalty P: Against
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A Thesis Statement is Not:
• A promise or a statement of purpose
• A question
• Just a topic sentence
• A Few words about the topic with no complete
thought
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Draw a diagram to illustrate how your thesis statement fits into
your report
Body Paragraph
2 Details
Thesis Statement
Body Paragraph 4
Details
Body Paragraph
1 Details
Body Paragraph 3 Details
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What is a thesis statement?
February 18, 2014
Agenda
With your partner, determine which of the following are
thesis statements.
1. There are many reasons why I should have a cell
phone.
2. I could pay for it myself.
3. In order to decrease fatigue during instruction, we
should have shorter class period.
4. It is imperative that we have vending machines
in school.
5. They could have healthy snacks only.
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Number Statements
Next
Number statements can be short or long; in fact, they can
be any grammatical structure you need or want. A Number
statement is a sentence that contains a number word. (two,
three, four, several, many, some, a few, numerous, a couple
of, a number of, a myriad, various, plenty…)
There are many reasons why every teenager
should have a cell phone.
#
Voting for John Doe will benefit you in four
different ways.
#
Uniforms in school are a must for several reasons.
#
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DC, IC Statements
February 18, 2014
Examples
Agenda
A DC,IC statement is a complex sentence that begins
with one of these dependent words.
If
Even though
Until
After
Although
Where
Since
Unless
Though
Before
While
Even if
So that
When
Because
Whenever
Even
Wherever
As long as
As if
As soon as
As
Whether
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DC, IC Examples
If you are looking for an excellent school year, vote
John Smith for class president.
Even though murder is a heinous, inexcusable
crime, capital punishment is not the answer.
For my birthday, you should consider buying me a
cell phone.
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Are these Poor thesis statements or good thesis
statements?
1. It seems to me that probably one of the seriously important decisions almost all teenagers
face today is deciding what jobs they might have someme in the future.
2. The most important dilemma today’s teenagers face is making informed career decisions:
choosing a type of work that will sustain them and preparing adequately for that career.
3. In this community crime is a problem that people can work together to overcome.
4. Crime Watch, a community based resident patrol is a praccal, effecve way for cizens of all
ages to cooperate in protecng themselves and their community from crime.
5. Dogs can be trained to help disabled people.
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Are these Poor thesis statements or good thesis
statements?
6. For thousands of disabled Americans, “service dogs” improve the emoonal, social, and
economic quality of life.
7. How can high school students start a school radio staon?
8. With as lile as $500, high school students can create and staff a “drive‐by” radio staon,
benefing both the students and the school in significant ways.
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