Coverage

 Defining the Thesis Statement

 Formulating a Thesis Statement
 Characteristics of an Effective Thesis
Statement
 More Guidelines on Thesis Statements
 Overview
Have you ever been to a different province of a
foreign country? Recall a time you travelled to an
unfamiliar destination with your family or friends.
How did you prepare for such an excursion?
There are many ways to plan for a trip to a new
place. First, you can do some research on the
internet about things to do and places to see. Next,
you can also consult a guidebook. Also, you can
ask a friend about their experience in going to that
certain location.
 Overview
Whatever it is you decide to do, your goal is to
get information about that destination so that you
will not get lost on your way there and you can
make the most of your time travelling.
In a similar way, a thesis statement prepares
you for writing your essay. It serves as a guide and a
roadmap to your destination. The process of pre-
writing that you studied in your previous lessons
[especially in EAPP class] helps you get ready to
create a thesis statement for your paper.
 Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is the central idea of an
essay, around which all other ideas revolve. It
is not just the most significant idea; it also
controls the essay by determining what you
should or should not include in your work. In
one sentence, it reveals and summarizes the
argument you intend to develop and defend.
 Thesis Statement
The thesis statement reflects your purpose
for writing. It is a constant reminder of your
main point and your stand, directing the entire
flow of your writing.
It should be clear that the thesis statement is
not the subject or topic itself, but an
interpretation of the topic.
Example:
If you were asked, to write an essay on Noli
Me Tangere or Martial Law during President
Marcos’ time, your thesis statement would
inform the reader of how you understand such
a topic and what you deem to be significant or
debatable about it.
 Formulating a Thesis Statement
The thesis statement comes as a result
of pre-writing. It is the product of thinking
about your ideas, seeking evidence, and
looking for relationships between these. At
times a potential thesis statement may
become clear to you, especially if an
interesting angle on an issue catches your
attention.
 Formulating a Thesis Statement
Other times, you may need to ask the
following questions to help you find out a thesis
statement:
 What main idea does most of my pre-writing
support?
 What are the relationships that exist among my
ideas?
 Which aspect of the topic seems to be given the
most detail?
 Where does my stand seem to be the most
consistent?
 Formulating a Thesis Statement
Whatever thesis statement you come up
with initially is called a working thesis
statement, an argument containing your
stand and that you intend you prove with
evidence in the essay. It is called such
because you may have to adjust your
thesis statement depending on your
research and writing.
 Formulating a Thesis Statement
As you can see, creating a thesis statement
results from looking at your paper’s general
subject and narrowing it down to something
specific.
A helpful way to decide if your thesis
statement is too broad or too narrow would be
to go back to your pre-writing and draft a list of
the contents of your essay. Adjust your thesis
statement accordingly to reflect majority of the
contents and the requirements of the essay.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
Below are the characteristics of an effective
thesis statement:
 Responds to the assignment by following
instructions
 Going back to the instructions can
assure you that your thesis statement is
relevant and addresses what your teacher
has prescribed. It can also refocus your
argument if needed.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Expresses the main idea in one to two
sentences
 A thesis statement should be
comprehensive yet concise because you
will be spending the rest of the paper
proving your point.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Focuses on a specific issue
 Your thesis statement should be
sufficiently narrowed based on the
boundaries of the assignment, and
should only discuss one or a few related
issues so that your paper remains
focused and you do not ramble or leave
some parts undeveloped.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 States a stand on the topic
 A thesis statement must reveal your
attitude toward the topic. Your attitude
will show how you intend to interpret or
discuss the issue, and this is what
differentiates you from other writers who
may be writing about the same topic.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Your attitude also is what helps you
elaborate on a topic, because there is
only so much that can be said about
something factual.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Says something meaningful by answering the
questions: “So what?” “How?” “Why?”
 A good thesis statement shows why the
reader should care about your work. The
significance of your paper is clear to the
reader if your thesis statement is able to
answer the question, “So what?”
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Next, your thesis statement should be
able to substantiate your claims by
providing the reader evidence, or an idea
of how you intend to support your stand.
This is usually answerable by addressing
“how” and “why.”
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Previews the rest of the essay by being
placed in the introduction
 A thesis statement is usually placed in
the introduction so that the reader knows
what to expect in reading your essay.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Thesis Statement
 Reflects a tone and point-of-view appropriate
to the identified purpose and audience
 Your thesis statement should consider
the writing situation you find yourself in.
This requires thinking about why you are
writing and who you are writing for. Does
the way your thesis statement is written,
reflect these concerns adequately?
 More Guidelines on
Writing Thesis Statements
 Avoid making overly-opinionated stands
 While a thesis statement needs to reveal
your attitude toward the topic, be careful
not to go to the extremes and write a
thesis statement with an exaggerated
claim. This is because you need to prove
your thesis statement first, and avoid
imposing your opinion on the reader, lest
you affect their disposition toward you.
Example:
Instead of saying, “The officers of the Reserve
Officers Training Corps are merciless slave
drivers who abuse their fellow students,” you
might say, “The officers of the Reserve Officers
Training Corps should exercise more
responsibility toward their authority by being
sensitive to how they lead their fellow students.”
The way this statement is worded makes the
same point without coming on too strongly.
 More Guidelines on
Writing Thesis Statements
 Avoid making announcements
 Sometimes, it’s easier just to tell your
reader what you intend to write about.
You might say, “In this essay, I will be
discussing the benefits of joining the
Reserve Officers Training Corps.” The
problem with this statement is that it
does not specify what those benefits are
or what your attitude toward the subject
is.
 More Guidelines on
Writing Thesis Statements
 Avoid stating only facts
 As previously mentioned, your thesis
statement must reveal your attitude
toward the topic. This is what allows your
topic to be developed. If you rely only on
facts in your thesis statements, you will
not have much room for discussion,
because facts are generally not as
debatable as opinions.
 More Guidelines on
Writing Thesis Statements
 Your thesis statement must contain a
position that your readers can oppose.
Thus, a thesis statement like “The
Reserve Officers Training Corps is a
program that prepares students to serve in
the military” does not invite much debate
from a reader because that statement is
generally accepted.
 Quiz 6
Directions: In the table below, examples of a
general subject, specific topic, and thesis
statement are provided. Fill in the blanks by
deriving either a general subject, specific topic,
or thesis statement depending on the given
details.
General Subject Specific Topic Thesis Statement
1. Sports Being part of a high school
basketball team is a good
training ground for an athlete
who wants to play for a college
basketball team.
2. Facebook interactions Face-to-face conversations are
more meaningful than
Facebook interactions because
they are more personal.
3. Music Original Pilipino Music
(OPM)
 General Subject Specific Topic Thesis Statement
4. Education The K to 12 Program
5. Transportation The Metro Rail Transit 3
(MRT-3) fare hike is a
reasonable measure
because the additional
revenue generated can go
to the much-needed
improvement of the train’s
coaches.