Thesis Statement Worksheet
A thesis statement worksheet is an important tool that can help you in developing a good thesis for your essay. The thesis provides an outline of your discussion to the readers so that they are able to know and understand the context of the essay. Keep reading for great insights on how to use a thesis statement worksheet for generating the main claim for an essay paper.
What is a thesis statement worksheet?
A thesis statement worksheet can be defined as a ‘blueprint’ for the thesis of a paper. The main purpose of the worksheet is to help you in brainstorming the ideas to use in developing a good thesis statement for your paper. Besides, it will also help you in making a quick analysis on the outlined points in order to come up with a compelling thesis.
The worksheet clearly outlines all the ideas that you intend to discuss in the thesis. All the points that will be used in developing the main claim of the paper should be vividly indicated in the worksheet for easy reference.
A good thesis worksheet will enable you as the writer, to easily master how to craft a unique argument for the paper. In fact, the skills will be useful in all academic papers, including essays, dissertations, research papers, reports among others.
Understanding the role played by a thesis in a paper is also important. One of the main tasks of a thesis is to introduce the topic to readers. Besides, it should also reflect your judgment about the subject of the paper.
Guidelines on how to use a thesis statement worksheet
In order for you to deliver a good thesis statement from the worksheet, below are some of the points that you should consider. With the ideas that you need at hand, you can now easily apply them in writing the thesis statement.
The following guidelines will help you on how to use a thesis statement worksheet for formulating a thesis.
Understand the type of essay
There are various kinds of essays that you can be asked to write and this will dictate how the thesis statement and worksheet should be appear. However, it should be noted that there are only slight differences.
If you are asked to write an analytical essay, your thesis will be created in a way that describes the main conclusions of the analysis.
In case the paper is an expository one, you will need to develop a thesis worksheet that outlines the key causes and effects as identified in the essay.
On the other hand, comparative or contrasting essays require a thesis statement that describes the main differences or similarities of the topic.
For argumentative essays, the thesis statement worksheet should clearly show the main claim or argument about the topic and the supporting points based on evidence as they will be presented in the final paper.
Try out these pre-writing techniques
In order to come up with a good claim that you can comprehensively discuss and support in the paper, you have to take some time to think of what to write.
One of the best approaches for pre-writing that you can try out is word map. Create circles on related ideas that you think can develop your claim. From those words, highlight the key ones that can frame the various ideas into one.
However, do not stop at that, go on to list other ideas about the subject that you can think of. While doing this, ask questions in order to determine the best approach.
Develop the main argument
In creating the main claim or thesis for your paper, it is important to note that that a thesis can either be narrow or broad. However, both have to play the role of a thesis statement.
Using the ideas that you have generated, try to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each in order to establish the best that can explain your argument as intended.
Write the thesis statement
Start by writing the main points that highlight the chief claim of the paper. Every point should matched with an argument that is related to the requirements of the paper or type of essay that you will be writing.
As you create the arguments, bear in mind that a thesis should introduce the topic so you have to be informative. It should bring into focus, the points that will be discussed in the essay so that readers are well informed on the context of the paper.
For every statement or idea that is included in the worksheet, write a short comment about it to indicate the approach that you will be pursuing.
Your main argument should be more detailed and outline all your thoughts on the topic or how you plan to frame the discussion. Remember, you should also indicate in the thesis statement, the direction of the argument in the paper to conclusion. This implies all the supporting information for the claim in the worksheet should be highlighted in the thesis.
However, a thesis should be very precise and straight to the main points of the paper. Try to always avoid too much words that might end up confusing the readers and messing up the entire thesis. Only include what is necessary and important for the thesis.
Ideas always come up in the writing process so do not be surprised if you have to re-phrase or deviate from some ideas expressed in the worksheet. The worksheet is to assist you in the generation of ideas for the main argument of the paper and there is no mistake in changing a few things therein.
While using the worksheet to draft a claim, always ensure that the topic of your paper and commentary are clearly shown. Besides, always remember to take time to proofread what you have written to ensure that it meets the required expectations.
A worksheet usually contains a collection of ideas, thus, your thesis needs to be refined in a way that it portrays a specific idea. However, this does not mean that all the information contained in the worksheet should be used in writing the thesis. You have to be selective and only use key points that will effectively address your main agenda in the paper.
Examples of thesis statement worksheet
Looking at a typical sample of a thesis statement worksheet is also important if you want to know how to deliver good thesis statements. The following samples will help you to know how a worksheet should look and also apply it in crafting a good thesis.
Example 1
Materials you will need: Paper and pen
Procedure:
Step 1– Read the following definition of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is an opinion-based sentence that names the topic of your paper. In most cases, this sentences comes last in the introduction of the paper.
Step 2– Write a sample thesis statement of your choice. Ask yourself, ‘’How do I know it is a good thesis?
Use the following tools or test questions:
- Is it an opinion?
- Is it debatable?
- Is it specific?
Step 3- Write a belief statement about your topic. For example, (I believe that the SAT tests should be eliminated)…’’
Read the rest of this worksheet here.
Example 2
Sample worksheet for thesis statement
Directions: State if the following thesis is weak or strong. Why?
Example: Crime must be stopped
Weak because it is a general statement. What crime? Where?
- The court needs to implement stronger sentences
Weak because it lacks specifics; what type of sentences?
- Charles Dickens is a good author.
Weak because it is obvious; this is a widely accepted opinion. What about his style of writing makes him a good author?
- History is an important subject.
Weak because it is too general; why is history an important subject? What kind of history?
- Charles Dickens uses the settings of his novels to emphasize the theme of class division.
Strong because it provides a specific aspect of the work of Dickens to be discussed.
View the entire worksheet here.
Example 3
Worksheet for thesis statement
Below is a list of strong thesis statements. While they are all different, they share certain traits such as specifity and clarity.
- Compared to the 1970s, eating disorders have reached epidemic proportions among adolescents today.
- Unless the university administration enforces a strong anti-hazing policy in both fraternities and sororities, the wellbeing of many of its students will be endangered.
- A young woman in the Middle Ages had few options for marriage, freedom and personal privacy.
All of these thesis statements would lead to very different types of essays. Can you outline how you would approach writing an essay based on one of these thesis statements?
Follow this link for more of the above thesis statements.
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References
https://www4.csudh.edu/Assets/CSUDH-Sites/TLC/docs/thesis-statements-worksheet.pdf
http://alexandercollege.ca/beta/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Writing-Guide-Worksheet-Thesis-Statement.pdf
http://catpages.nwmissouri.edu/m/WC/thesis2.html