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How to Write a Thesis Statement in Middle School

How to Write a Thesis Statement in Middle School

You should know how to write a thesis statement in middle school because you will be assigned essays and papers that require writing and supporting thesis statements in middle school. A thesis statement refers to the sentence or sentences that contain the paper or essay’s focus which tells readers what the paper or essay is about- grammar.ccc.commnet.edu. An essay that does not have a thesis statement lacks focus.

Knowing how to write a concise and clear thesis statement is among the fundamental skills that are required to write great papers and essays. This is because a strong thesis statement gives an essay or paper direction while establishing the foundation on which the argument will be based.

A step-by-step guide on how to write a thesis statement in middle school

  • Preparation

Before you write a thesis statement in middle school, you need to prepare yourself. This entails knowing the purpose for writing your essay or paper and the intended audience. If you do not prepare yourself before writing a thesis statement, you will come up with an unclear thesis statement.

Therefore:

Come up with a clear position that you can support in your essay or paper.

Consider the sides that reasonable people can argue from in relation to the topic.

Form a relevant opinion about the topic and state it in a clear, concise manner.

Start by understanding your writing prompt and exploring the topic.

  • Answer the question

Forming and writing an opinion about the topic alone is not enough. Ensure that your opinion answers the essay or paper writing assignment question. You can do this by taking a side about the issue or topic that you can support with adequate evidence. After writing your opinion about an issue or topic, read it and ask yourself if it adequately responds to the writing prompt or question.

  • Write down your main points

Your main points should support the position that you take in the paper or essay. To determine your main points, consider your opinion or argument, how you intend to argue it and the supporting evidence that you have. Summarize the main points or evidence and include it in your thesis statement.

  • Be specific and arguable

Everybody who knows how to write a thesis statement in middle school knows that a narrow, specific and arguable thesis statement makes a more effective argument- owl.english.purdue.edu. Therefore, include an arguable opinion regarding the topic but be more specific. If after including your opinion you realize that your thesis statement becomes too broad, narrow it down so that it can be more specific, focused and arguable.

  • Revise your thesis statement

Once you have written your thesis statement, revise it to ensure that it is not too general or too broad. Make sure that only enough and necessary information is included in the thesis statement. Your thesis statement should shape your paper or essay without requiring you to struggle too much. Make sure that your grammar is correct and that your thesis statement meets all the requirements of the writing assignment. For instance, if you were required to state your opinion on an issue, make sure that your thesis statement meets this requirement.

More on how to write a thesis statement in middle school

Use specific words

A thesis statement is a road map for an essay or paper. Therefore, it ought to be direct in telling your readers what you will address in the paper or essay. Therefore, avoid vague words such as “different”, “same”, “good” or “bad”. Instead, use words that explain what you mean by “good” or “bad”. For instance, when writing a paper or essay on differences and similarities of characters in two novels, do not simply write, “character X and Character Y were different and alike in various ways.” In that case, be specific in explaining their contrasting and shared attributes.

Answer the question

An effective thesis statement for a middle school paper or essay must answer the question that prompted you to write the paper or essay- writingcenter.unc.edu. There are cases when answering a question through a thesis statement becomes easy especially when a question is provided by the teacher. However, if you have not been given a question to answer, try composing a question around the topic that you want to write a paper or essay on before you formulate a thesis statement.

Pass the “why” or “how” test

This is an effective way of determining if your thesis is effective. For example if readers ask “why” you are stating a position, then your thesis statement is not strong and you have to revise it. For instance, if your thesis is, “Martin Luther Jr. was a great leader,” readers can wonder how was he a great reader and why do you feel that way about him. Therefore, you can revise your thesis by adding a statement that starts with “because.” This addition will also enable you to avoid the word “good” which makes your thesis statement vague.

Answer the “so what” question

Everybody who knows how to write a thesis statement in middle school knows that a great thesis statement must answer the “so what” question. Simply put, after reading your thesis statement readers should not ask, “so what?” To answer this question, come up with a thesis statement that provides an explanation for a broader issue that will be addressed in the paper or essay. Also make your thesis statement more descriptive and clearer.

Examples of thesis statements for middle school papers and essays
Example 1:

The Seven Group has revitalized the landscape painting art in Canada through its use of bold shapes and vibrant colors.

This is an effective thesis statement because apart from referring to some facts, it interprets them. One can clearly see the implication of the writer is that the paintings have a visual style that enables them to influence viewers. This thesis statement is also arguable because another writer can argue that gender and ethnicity of the artists, since all were white males from Europe influenced the group more than style innovations. Provided that both points are argued clearly and convincingly, they can be effective as thesis statements.

Example 2:

Illegal use of drugs has detrimental impacts since it encourages gangs to perpetrate violence.

This is a good example of a thesis statement since it is narrow. It also indicates what the writer will be arguing about which are the detrimental impacts of illegal use of drugs which is encouraging gang violence. The thesis is manageable since it is focused and narrow.

Example 3:

Americans ought to eliminate regular fast foods’ consumption because fast foods cause expensive and preventable health issues that include obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

This is a good thesis statement because it narrows down the argument to specific health consequences that relate to fast foods. It also focuses on the Americans only instead of all people in the world. This is very important because there are people in the world who need foods with fat and starch to survive in their habitats.

By reading more sample thesis statements, you will easily know how to write a thesis statement in middle school. Nevertheless, you need to know how to examine every thesis statement that you write to determine if it qualifies to be a good thesis statement.

Evaluating your thesis statement

To determine if you have written an effective and strong thesis statement for your paper or essay, ask these questions- cws.illinois.edu:

  • Is my thesis statement extremely general?

If your thesis statement does not reflect what you will accomplish in a paper or essay of specific pages or scope, then rewrite it.

  • Is my thesis statement narrow and specific?

A good thesis statement should be narrow and specific. Normally, a thesis statement should be refined continuously while writing the paper or essay to suit the argument but a narrow and specific thesis statement will guide you throughout the writing process.

  • Do I have a clear thesis statement?

A clear thesis statement enables readers to understand what exactly you mean and intend to argue in support of or against in the paper or essay.

  • Does my thesis statement include my position regarding an issue or topic?

A strong thesis statement should reveal your position regarding the topic or issue as well as how you intend to evaluate or analyze the issue.

  • Do I have an original thesis statement?

Revise your thesis statement thoroughly to ensure that it is not a formula statement or a generic argument. A generic thesis statement will not interest your readers.

Get online help with a thesis statement in middle school

If you face difficulties while writing a thesis statement or if you need assistance in writing a thesis statement for your paper or essay in middle school, talk to us any time for immediate assistance. You can also visit the home page of our website for more information regarding our writing services. Alternatively, keep reading for more guidelines on how to write a thesis statement in middle school and sample thesis statements on our blog.

Sources

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/thesis.htm

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/1/

http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/

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