Thesis Statements

Thesis Statements

• Thesis statements are declarative sentences. • What are the characteristics of declarative sentences?

• What are some famous declarations?• Declaration of Independence• Declaration of World Peace• Declaration of Human Rights http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE

Declarative Statements

• Topics:• School• Music• Travel• Art• Sports

• Examples: • School provides an

opportunity to gain multiple perspectives on one topic.

VS.• I think school is a place you

could learn different things and meet people.

Thesis statements

• Thesis statements declare what your paper will be about

• They are forceful statements which the remainder of the essay backs up.

• It is one sentence and must not be confused.

Topic of your Thesis

• For your upcoming assignment you will be asked to connect theme and literary device.

• What is the theme of the story?• What is the most striking literary term? Metaphor/ satire/

diction??

• Example: The theme of the loss of innocence is best conveyed through the author’s diction.

Theme and literary term

• The theme of the loss of innocence is best conveyed through the author’s diction.• The body of the essay will provide examples of diction which

convey a loss of innocence.

•Example: “My hear was pounding. This was not from fear or from running but was due to anxiety and a feeling of embarrassment about the meeting that lay ahead.

Theme and literary term

1. Choose your short story.2. What is the theme of the

short story?3. What was your favorite

literary term/clearest one?

4. How do they come together?

Introduction

• The Introduction does not have to be long and should be able to introduce the ideas which you will be talking about through the rest of your paper. You may use one or two quotes just to give a preview, but ultimately you want to save them for the body of your essay.

• Your thesis statement should be your first sentence. • *****Some essays have their thesis statements at the end

of the introduction. The ones I wrote in university did, but they were harder to begin.

Body Paragraphs

• Your body paragraphs DO NOT summarize the story. • It is an analytical paper and you must assume that

everyone has read the story and is ready to dive into your thought process.

• The first sentence of your body paragraphs is your topic sentence!

• This topic sentence should be a mini-thesis of what you will talk about in this paragraph.

First Body Paragraph….• Thesis= The theme of the loss of innocence is best conveyed through

the author’s diction. •     The author of The Persian Carpet is wise to begin using certain words at

the beginning of the story to invoke a sense of maturity in the narrator. The feelings of "embarrassment" and "anxiety" in the narrator are not feelings that a young child would experience for her mother, but rather a daughter who is beginning to come to grips with the reality of flawed parents. The narrator's feelings are not straight forward and the author ensures that the reader is committed to her emotional roller coaster from the beginning of the story. The loss of innocence is even more starkly drawn out when the young girls are "plaiting" each others hair. The childish act of plaiting and playing with each others hair is juxtaposed against the emotional feelings which are detailed in the next paragraph. There is an internal struggle drawn out through tense and anxious language which gives the reader a sense of the complications this meeting will arouse.