Writing the Thesis Statement

NETA PowerPoint® Slides
to accompany
Copyright © 2015 by Nelson Education Ltd.
prepared by
Rhonda Dynes
Mohawk
College
6-1

Writing the Thesis Statement
Chapter 6
6-2

The Thesis Statement
The thesis statement appears near the beginning of
your paper and announces the paper’s subject and
scope—all the prewriting work you have done and
organized into your outline.
A thesis statement is one or more sentences that indicates
the subject of your paper, the main points you will discuss,
and the order in which you will discuss them.
6-3

Writing the Thesis Statement
A thesis statement in a short paper is usually a single
sentence at the end of the first paragraph, but in a
lengthy paper on complicated issues, it might be
several sentences or even a paragraph long. To write
a thesis statement, you combine your subject and
your main points.
6-4

Phrasing Your Statement of Subject 1
The first part of a thesis statement is
the statement of subject. It identifies
your idea about or your approach to
your subject and states a viewpoint
that must be explained or proved.
The main points provide the
explanation or proof.
6-5

Phrasing Your Statement of Subject 2
Your statement of subject should be
as clear and concise as you can make
it. It should also grab your reader’s
attention or provide a provocative
idea.
Poor: In this essay, I am going to discuss
violence in hockey. (What about it?)
Better: Violence in hockey is
misunderstood by the non-playing public.
6-6

Phrasing the Main Points
When you combine your statement
of subject with your main points to
form a thesis statement, be sure that
your points are in grammatically
parallel form.
6-7

Phrasing the Main Points: Example
Poor: Of the many qualities that combine to make a
good nurse, the three most important are strength,
intelligence, and she must be compassionate.
Better: Of the many qualities that combine to make a
good nurse, the three most important are strength,
intelligence, and compassion.
6-8

Thesis Statement Process
1. Select a subject (or consider the
one you were given).
2. Test whether your subject is
significant, single, specific, and
supportable.
3. Using either a bottom-up or a top-down
approach to generate ideas,
identify three to five main points
in support of your subject.
6-9

Thesis Statement Process cont’d
4. Test whether your main points are
all significant, distinct, and clearly
related to your subject.
5. Arrange your main points in the
order that is most likely to guarantee
your readers’ understanding of your
subject: chronological, climactic,
logical, or random.
6-10

Thesis Statement Process cont’d
6. Rewrite your main points so that
they are grammatically parallel:
all single words, all phrases, or all
clauses.
7. Combine your statement of
subject with your main points to
produce a thesis statement.
6-11

Putting the Thesis Elsewhere
As a beginning writer, you are best
advised to start your paper with your
controlling ideas up front. Some
advanced and highly experienced
writers move their thesis around a bit
to the middle or even at the end of
the paper. These essays are usually
written as part of longer works.
6-12

Summary
You’ve learned how to
•phrase the subject and main points of your paper
•learn the thesis statement process
•incorporate your topic and main idea into a thesis
statement
•revise your thesis and make it parallel
6-13

Writing the Thesis Statement

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