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How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

  • Start with a question
  • Write your initial answer
  • Develop your answer
  • Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

  • Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
  • Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
  • Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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thesis statement practice answer key

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

  • Why you hold this position
  • What they’ll learn from your essay
  • The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

  • In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
  • In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

  • Ad hominem fallacy
  • Post hoc fallacy
  • Appeal to authority fallacy
  • False cause fallacy
  • Sunk cost fallacy

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

  • It gives your writing direction and focus.
  • It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

  • Ask a question about your topic .
  • Write your initial answer.
  • Develop your answer by including reasons.
  • Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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ENGL000: Pre-College English

thesis statement practice answer key

Activity: Thesis Statement Writing

After learning about how to write a thesis statement, get some practice by doing this activity. Answers will vary, but you can compare yours to the answer key when you are finished.

Thesis Statement Writing Activity

  • Hard work, a great coach, and teamwork led to winning the state championship football game my senior year.
  • Love has had a number of meanings in my life such as love of the inanimate, love of friends and family, and romantic/sexual love.
  • My mother is an incredibly strong person because she has made numerous sacrifices for her family, she is constantly working to improve herself, and she has kept the family together through some very hard times
  • I chose to attend the college I did because of its proximity, reputation, and programs.
  • Making chocolate chip cookies involves preparation, making the dough, and finishing the cookies.

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

How to Write a Thesis Statement

About this worksheet:.

Practice developing thesis statements with this writing introduction worksheet! Students will learn how to improve their writing with a strong, attention grabbing thesis statement. This activity helps build writing skills by asking students to create a statement for the topics provided, such as: “What was the greatest challenge in your life?”.

How to Write a Thesis Sentence Activity

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9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

Learning objectives.

  • Develop a strong, clear thesis statement with the proper elements.
  • Revise your thesis statement.

Have you ever known a person who was not very good at telling stories? You probably had trouble following his train of thought as he jumped around from point to point, either being too brief in places that needed further explanation or providing too many details on a meaningless element. Maybe he told the end of the story first, then moved to the beginning and later added details to the middle. His ideas were probably scattered, and the story did not flow very well. When the story was over, you probably had many questions.

Just as a personal anecdote can be a disorganized mess, an essay can fall into the same trap of being out of order and confusing. That is why writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they are about to discuss in the body.

Just like a topic sentence summarizes a single paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes an entire essay. It tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, while the essay itself supports that point. It is like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.

Elements of a Thesis Statement

For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea. This idea stems from a topic you have chosen or been assigned or from a question your teacher has asked. It is not enough merely to discuss a general topic or simply answer a question with a yes or no. You have to form a specific opinion, and then articulate that into a controlling idea —the main idea upon which you build your thesis.

Remember that a thesis is not the topic itself, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic your professor gives you, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful and confident.

A thesis is one sentence long and appears toward the end of your introduction. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that are able to be demonstrated in the body. It forecasts the content of the essay and suggests how you will organize your information. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize an issue but rather dissects it.

A Strong Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities.

Specificity. A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic. For example, health care is a broad topic, but a proper thesis statement would focus on a specific area of that topic, such as options for individuals without health care coverage.

Precision. A strong thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and to remain focused on the topic. If the specific topic is options for individuals without health care coverage, then your precise thesis statement must make an exact claim about it, such as that limited options exist for those who are uninsured by their employers. You must further pinpoint what you are going to discuss regarding these limited effects, such as whom they affect and what the cause is.

Ability to be argued. A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.

Ability to be demonstrated. For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion. You can rely on personal observations in order to do this, or you can consult outside sources to demonstrate that what you assert is valid. A worthy argument is backed by examples and details.

Forcefulness. A thesis statement that is forceful shows readers that you are, in fact, making an argument. The tone is assertive and takes a stance that others might oppose.

Confidence. In addition to using force in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as I feel or I believe actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing. Taking an authoritative stance on the matter persuades your readers to have faith in your argument and open their minds to what you have to say.

Even in a personal essay that allows the use of first person, your thesis should not contain phrases such as in my opinion or I believe . These statements reduce your credibility and weaken your argument. Your opinion is more convincing when you use a firm attitude.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a thesis statement for each of the following topics. Remember to make each statement specific, precise, demonstrable, forceful and confident.

  • Texting while driving
  • The legal drinking age in the United States
  • Steroid use among professional athletes

Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements

Each of the following thesis statements meets several of the following requirements:

  • Specificity
  • Ability to be argued
  • Ability to be demonstrated
  • Forcefulness
  • The societal and personal struggles of Troy Maxon in the play Fences symbolize the challenge of black males who lived through segregation and integration in the United States.
  • Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.
  • Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet spoils the outcome for the audience and weakens the plot.
  • J. D. Salinger’s character in Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caulfield, is a confused rebel who voices his disgust with phonies, yet in an effort to protect himself, he acts like a phony on many occasions.
  • Compared to an absolute divorce, no-fault divorce is less expensive, promotes fairer settlements, and reflects a more realistic view of the causes for marital breakdown.
  • Exposing children from an early age to the dangers of drug abuse is a sure method of preventing future drug addicts.
  • In today’s crumbling job market, a high school diploma is not significant enough education to land a stable, lucrative job.

You can find thesis statements in many places, such as in the news; in the opinions of friends, coworkers or teachers; and even in songs you hear on the radio. Become aware of thesis statements in everyday life by paying attention to people’s opinions and their reasons for those opinions. Pay attention to your own everyday thesis statements as well, as these can become material for future essays.

Now that you have read about the contents of a good thesis statement and have seen examples, take a look at the pitfalls to avoid when composing your own thesis:

A thesis is weak when it is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay.

Weak thesis statement: My paper will explain why imagination is more important than knowledge.

A thesis is weak when it makes an unreasonable or outrageous claim or insults the opposing side.

Weak thesis statement: Religious radicals across America are trying to legislate their Puritanical beliefs by banning required high school books.

A thesis is weak when it contains an obvious fact or something that no one can disagree with or provides a dead end.

Weak thesis statement: Advertising companies use sex to sell their products.

A thesis is weak when the statement is too broad.

Weak thesis statement: The life of Abraham Lincoln was long and challenging.

Read the following thesis statements. On a separate piece of paper, identify each as weak or strong. For those that are weak, list the reasons why. Then revise the weak statements so that they conform to the requirements of a strong thesis.

  • The subject of this paper is my experience with ferrets as pets.
  • The government must expand its funding for research on renewable energy resources in order to prepare for the impending end of oil.
  • Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who lived in Baltimore during the nineteenth century.
  • In this essay, I will give you lots of reasons why slot machines should not be legalized in Baltimore.
  • Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation.
  • Because many children’s toys have potential safety hazards that could lead to injury, it is clear that not all children’s toys are safe.
  • My experience with young children has taught me that I want to be a disciplinary parent because I believe that a child without discipline can be a parent’s worst nightmare.

Writing at Work

Often in your career, you will need to ask your boss for something through an e-mail. Just as a thesis statement organizes an essay, it can also organize your e-mail request. While your e-mail will be shorter than an essay, using a thesis statement in your first paragraph quickly lets your boss know what you are asking for, why it is necessary, and what the benefits are. In short body paragraphs, you can provide the essential information needed to expand upon your request.

Thesis Statement Revision

Your thesis will probably change as you write, so you will need to modify it to reflect exactly what you have discussed in your essay. Remember from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that your thesis statement begins as a working thesis statement , an indefinite statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process for the purpose of planning and guiding your writing.

Working thesis statements often become stronger as you gather information and form new opinions and reasons for those opinions. Revision helps you strengthen your thesis so that it matches what you have expressed in the body of the paper.

The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.

Ways to Revise Your Thesis

You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps:

1. Pinpoint and replace all nonspecific words, such as people , everything , society , or life , with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.

Working thesis: Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

Revised thesis: Recent college graduates must have discipline and persistence in order to find and maintain a stable job in which they can use and be appreciated for their talents.

The revised thesis makes a more specific statement about success and what it means to work hard. The original includes too broad a range of people and does not define exactly what success entails. By replacing those general words like people and work hard , the writer can better focus his or her research and gain more direction in his or her writing.

2. Clarify ideas that need explanation by asking yourself questions that narrow your thesis.

Working thesis: The welfare system is a joke.

Revised thesis: The welfare system keeps a socioeconomic class from gaining employment by alluring members of that class with unearned income, instead of programs to improve their education and skill sets.

A joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience. By asking questions, the writer can devise a more precise and appropriate explanation for joke . The writer should ask himself or herself questions similar to the 5WH questions. (See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information on the 5WH questions.) By incorporating the answers to these questions into a thesis statement, the writer more accurately defines his or her stance, which will better guide the writing of the essay.

3. Replace any linking verbs with action verbs. Linking verbs are forms of the verb to be , a verb that simply states that a situation exists.

Working thesis: Kansas City schoolteachers are not paid enough.

Revised thesis: The Kansas City legislature cannot afford to pay its educators, resulting in job cuts and resignations in a district that sorely needs highly qualified and dedicated teachers.

The linking verb in this working thesis statement is the word are . Linking verbs often make thesis statements weak because they do not express action. Rather, they connect words and phrases to the second half of the sentence. Readers might wonder, “Why are they not paid enough?” But this statement does not compel them to ask many more questions. The writer should ask himself or herself questions in order to replace the linking verb with an action verb, thus forming a stronger thesis statement, one that takes a more definitive stance on the issue:

  • Who is not paying the teachers enough?
  • What is considered “enough”?
  • What is the problem?
  • What are the results

4. Omit any general claims that are hard to support.

Working thesis: Today’s teenage girls are too sexualized.

Revised thesis: Teenage girls who are captivated by the sexual images on MTV are conditioned to believe that a woman’s worth depends on her sensuality, a feeling that harms their self-esteem and behavior.

It is true that some young women in today’s society are more sexualized than in the past, but that is not true for all girls. Many girls have strict parents, dress appropriately, and do not engage in sexual activity while in middle school and high school. The writer of this thesis should ask the following questions:

  • Which teenage girls?
  • What constitutes “too” sexualized?
  • Why are they behaving that way?
  • Where does this behavior show up?
  • What are the repercussions?

In the first section of Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , you determined your purpose for writing and your audience. You then completed a freewriting exercise about an event you recently experienced and chose a general topic to write about. Using that general topic, you then narrowed it down by answering the 5WH questions. After you answered these questions, you chose one of the three methods of prewriting and gathered possible supporting points for your working thesis statement.

Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write down your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

In your career you may have to write a project proposal that focuses on a particular problem in your company, such as reinforcing the tardiness policy. The proposal would aim to fix the problem; using a thesis statement would clearly state the boundaries of the problem and tell the goals of the project. After writing the proposal, you may find that the thesis needs revision to reflect exactly what is expressed in the body. Using the techniques from this chapter would apply to revising that thesis.

Key Takeaways

  • Proper essays require a thesis statement to provide a specific focus and suggest how the essay will be organized.
  • A thesis statement is your interpretation of the subject, not the topic itself.
  • A strong thesis is specific, precise, forceful, confident, and is able to be demonstrated.
  • A strong thesis challenges readers with a point of view that can be debated and can be supported with evidence.
  • A weak thesis is simply a declaration of your topic or contains an obvious fact that cannot be argued.
  • Depending on your topic, it may or may not be appropriate to use first person point of view.
  • Revise your thesis by ensuring all words are specific, all ideas are exact, and all verbs express action.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

  • Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
  • Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
  • Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
  • Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
  • Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

  • Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
  • Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.
  • The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
  • The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

  • This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
  • I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

  • nature = peaceful
  • war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
  • need for time and space to mourn the dead
  • war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

  • although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
  • _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
  • phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

  • Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
  • Question each part of your draft thesis
  • Clarify vague phrases and assertions
  • Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

  • Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.
Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.
Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.
While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.
While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

  • Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
  • As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
  • Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
  • Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

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How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

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What is the purpose of a thesis statement, writing a good thesis statement: 4 steps, common pitfalls to avoid, where to get your essay edited for free.

When you set out to write an essay, there has to be some kind of point to it, right? Otherwise, your essay would just be a big jumble of word salad that makes absolutely no sense. An essay needs a central point that ties into everything else. That main point is called a thesis statement, and it’s the core of any essay or research paper.

You may hear about Master degree candidates writing a thesis, and that is an entire paper–not to be confused with the thesis statement, which is typically one sentence that contains your paper’s focus. 

Read on to learn more about thesis statements and how to write them. We’ve also included some solid examples for you to reference.

Typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph, the thesis statement serves as the roadmap for your essay. When your reader gets to the thesis statement, they should have a clear outline of your main point, as well as the information you’ll be presenting in order to either prove or support your point. 

The thesis statement should not be confused for a topic sentence , which is the first sentence of every paragraph in your essay. If you need help writing topic sentences, numerous resources are available. Topic sentences should go along with your thesis statement, though.

Since the thesis statement is the most important sentence of your entire essay or paper, it’s imperative that you get this part right. Otherwise, your paper will not have a good flow and will seem disjointed. That’s why it’s vital not to rush through developing one. It’s a methodical process with steps that you need to follow in order to create the best thesis statement possible.

Step 1: Decide what kind of paper you’re writing

When you’re assigned an essay, there are several different types you may get. Argumentative essays are designed to get the reader to agree with you on a topic. Informative or expository essays present information to the reader. Analytical essays offer up a point and then expand on it by analyzing relevant information. Thesis statements can look and sound different based on the type of paper you’re writing. For example:

  • Argumentative: The United States needs a viable third political party to decrease bipartisanship, increase options, and help reduce corruption in government.
  • Informative: The Libertarian party has thrown off elections before by gaining enough support in states to get on the ballot and by taking away crucial votes from candidates.
  • Analytical: An analysis of past presidential elections shows that while third party votes may have been the minority, they did affect the outcome of the elections in 2020, 2016, and beyond.

Step 2: Figure out what point you want to make

Once you know what type of paper you’re writing, you then need to figure out the point you want to make with your thesis statement, and subsequently, your paper. In other words, you need to decide to answer a question about something, such as:

  • What impact did reality TV have on American society?
  • How has the musical Hamilton affected perception of American history?
  • Why do I want to major in [chosen major here]?

If you have an argumentative essay, then you will be writing about an opinion. To make it easier, you may want to choose an opinion that you feel passionate about so that you’re writing about something that interests you. For example, if you have an interest in preserving the environment, you may want to choose a topic that relates to that. 

If you’re writing your college essay and they ask why you want to attend that school, you may want to have a main point and back it up with information, something along the lines of:

“Attending Harvard University would benefit me both academically and professionally, as it would give me a strong knowledge base upon which to build my career, develop my network, and hopefully give me an advantage in my chosen field.”

Step 3: Determine what information you’ll use to back up your point

Once you have the point you want to make, you need to figure out how you plan to back it up throughout the rest of your essay. Without this information, it will be hard to either prove or argue the main point of your thesis statement. If you decide to write about the Hamilton example, you may decide to address any falsehoods that the writer put into the musical, such as:

“The musical Hamilton, while accurate in many ways, leaves out key parts of American history, presents a nationalist view of founding fathers, and downplays the racism of the times.”

Once you’ve written your initial working thesis statement, you’ll then need to get information to back that up. For example, the musical completely leaves out Benjamin Franklin, portrays the founding fathers in a nationalist way that is too complimentary, and shows Hamilton as a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that his family likely did own slaves. 

Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing

Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and that you feel like you can truly write a paper on the topic. Once you’ve done that, you can then begin writing your paper.

When writing a thesis statement, there are some common pitfalls you should avoid so that your paper can be as solid as possible. Make sure you always edit the thesis statement before you do anything else. You also want to ensure that the thesis statement is clear and concise. Don’t make your reader hunt for your point. Finally, put your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph and have your introduction flow toward that statement. Your reader will expect to find your statement in its traditional spot.

If you’re having trouble getting started, or need some guidance on your essay, there are tools available that can help you. CollegeVine offers a free peer essay review tool where one of your peers can read through your essay and provide you with valuable feedback. Getting essay feedback from a peer can help you wow your instructor or college admissions officer with an impactful essay that effectively illustrates your point.

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Do your students need extra practice writing thesis statements? Then this printable worksheet packet is for you! Included are seven practice sheets perfect for bellwork, stations, remediation, homework, subwork, extra practice, and more! Simply print and go - answer keys included!

This product includes:

•Create a Thesis Statement

•Thesis: Strong or Weak?

•Why Is It Weak?

•Attention Grabber or Thesis?

•Thesis Test Prep Practice

•Good vs. Bad Thesis

•Essay Planning

•Answer keys

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♥ Thesis Statement Task Cards

♥ Context Clues Task Cards Set #1

♥ Active & Passive Verb Voice Task Cards

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Deepfakes and Digital Deception: Exploring Their Use and Abuse in a Generative AI World

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thesis statement practice answer key

What if you were put on trial for a crime you didn’t commit, but the video presented in the case clearly showed you doing it? This is potentially a future deepfakes development to watch, especially because right now, the most common application of deepfakes is to convincingly replace one person’s digital likeness with that of another. Usually this is for purposes of entertainment or satire — but like most things in society, tools that can be used for good can also be used for evil.

In our new BlackBerry white paper, Deepfakes Unmasked , we take a closer look at deepfake technology, discuss its evolution and risks, mitigations, governance issues, and the cornucopia of challenges it poses to society and how we, as defenders, may combat those in the future.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through some of the key topics we cover. Watch the video below with Ismael Valenzuela, BlackBerry Vice President of Threat Research and Intelligence, for his perspective on deepfakes challenges and why he believes this new report is so valuable.

How Do We Define a Deepfake?

Deepfakes are highly realistic and convincing synthetic digital media created by  generative AI , typically in the form of video, still images, or audio. While deepfakes are often used for creative or artistic purposes, they are also deliberately misused by those with malicious intent to deceive through cybercrimes, online scams, political disinformation, and more.

How are Deepfakes Created?

Artificial intelligence itself is not new. In fact, BlackBerry® cybersecurity platforms are based on our long-standing and patented  Cylance® AI . Technologies like machine learning (ML), neural networks, computer vision, and so on, have been around for years. However, a new “flavor” of AI, called Generative AI, burst into public view and availability during late 2017. This type of artificial intelligence rapidly generates new, original content in response to a user’s request or questions.

Generative AI applications can generate text, images, computer code, and many other types of synthetic data. It even learns in a similar way to the way we learn things, by iterative practice, known as  training .

During training, the AI version, known as a  model , is fed vast quantities of data relating to the desired outcome. The goal of training is to produce an ML model capable of understanding and answering any question asked of it. The longer an AI model has been in existence and the longer it has been trained, the more “ mature ” it is said to be.

All generative AI applications are built using foundation models and large language models:

  • Foundation models  are large machine learning models that are pre-trained and then fine-tuned for more specific language understanding and generation tasks.
  • Large language models  (LLMs) are deep learning models trained on enormous datasets (in some cases on billions of pages of text). They can receive a text input from a human user and produce a text output that mimics everyday natural human language.

One of the most surprising aspects of generative AI models is their versatility. When fed enough high-quality training data, mature models can produce output that approximates various aspects of human creativity. They can write poems or plays, discuss legal cases, brainstorm ideas on a given theme, write computer code or music, pen a graduate thesis, produce lesson plans for a high-school class, and so on. The only current limit to their use is (ironically) human imagination.

The Uses of Deepfakes

The broader market for AI-based software and associated systems is growing as rapidly as public interest in them. According to a recent  cybersecurity fact sheet  — released as a joint venture between the FBI, the National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — the generative AI market is expected to exceed $100 billion by 2030 and will grow at a rate of more than 35% per year.

Major Hollywood studios are already using visual effects powered by AI in a myriad of creative ways, such as recreating famous historical figures or de-aging an older actor. For instance, the last  Indiana Jones  movie used proprietary “ FaceSwap ” technology to make the 82-year-old actor Harrison Ford look young again in a 25-minute flashback scene.

Everyday consumers can create both still and moving deepfakes using a large number of generative AI software tools, each with different capabilities. As one example, Deep Nostalgia Ai is an app created by MyHeritage that uses computer vision and deep learning to animate photos of your ancestors or historical figures.

As these models improve, so does their output. Fake images generated by such tools are gradually becoming more life-like and believable, with their ease of access and low barrier to entry.

thesis statement practice answer key

Figure 1: Deepfakes for artistic or creative purposes can be generated using one of a plethora of AI image generators.

There are also programs that let you perform what’s known as a “video-to-video” swap, where the software records your voice and facial expressions and replaces them with the voice and face of a different person.

In addition, audio-based deepfake creation apps known as deep-voice software can be leveraged to generate not just speech but emotional nuances, tone, and pitch to closely mimic the target voice.

Over the years, many political figures and celebrities have had their voices cloned to fabricate false statements or promote misinformation without their knowledge or permission. Though some have been generated for satire and parody, the potential for the abuse of such manipulations is profound and cannot be ignored.

Deepfake Scams

While social media platforms such as Facebook and X have made inroads to remove and even prohibit deepfake content, policing and efficacy varies due to the inherent difficulties in putting deepfake detection systems into place. In other words, if a human has difficulties telling a deepfake video from a real one, automated systems will similarly struggle.

When sophisticated real-time video motion-capture is combined with deepfake audio, the results can be so convincing that even the most skeptical among us can be fooled.

For example, in February, a finance worker at a multinational firm was tricked into initiating a $25 million payment to fraudsters, who used deepfake technology to pretend to be the company’s chief financial officer. According to Hong Kong police, the worker attended a videoconference with what he believed were real staff members, but who were in fact all deepfakes.

This is just the latest in a rash of recent cases where fraudsters have used the latest technology to bolster one of the oldest tricks in the book: the art of the scam.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) , nearly 234 million individuals were impacted by some sort of data compromise in the U.S. in the first three quarters of 2023. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network took in over 5.39 million reports in 2023, of which 48 percent were for fraud and 19 percent for identity theft.

In previous decades, Internet fraudsters cast the widest possible nets to dupe the masses, as in the case of malspam (spam with malware), but as digital trends have evolved, so too have the tactics and techniques of online scammers.

Deepfakes may be the tipping point of the game, as they allow fraudsters to laser-focus on a specific individual for a fraction of the previous price point.

Deepfake Attack Examples

As one of the world’s most instantly recognized faces, Elon Musk is regularly exploited by scammers. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is well known for his fascination with cryptocurrency, which has been weaponized in the past to create believable deepfakes that promote scam cryptocurrency schemes . These phishing sites con victims into clicking links or creating accounts, whereupon the fraudster deftly relieves them of their financial credentials and any money they may have in their crypto-wallets.

Scam calls are an ever-present menace. According to the latest statistics in Truecaller’s 2024 U.S. Spam & Scam Report , in the 12 months between April 2023 and March 2024, Americans wasted an estimated 219 million hours due to scam and robo-calls, and lost a total of $25.4 billion USD, with the loss per victim averaging $452. The company noted, “Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being used to make these scam calls and script scam texts, making them sound more realistic and effective.”

This newly expanded cyberattack surface is a very real threat to companies of all sizes. An example would be an attacker cloning the voice of a CEO by using samples of their voice found on the Internet.

This played out in a very real way recently in July, when an executive at Ferrari received a series of scam messages via the popular messaging platform WhatsApp, purporting to be from the CEO , Benedetto Vigna. The messages spoke of an “upcoming acquisition” by Ferrari, and requested the executive make a top-secret hedge-currency transaction.

The executive was suspicious as the number was different from Vigna’s usual business number. He then received a live call from the scammers using a “deep-voice” clone of the Italian CEO’s voice. The executive noticed additional red flags on the call, such as audio artifacts (similar to those you might hear on a low-quality MP3). To verify the caller’s identity, he asked a question about a book the real CEO recently recommended to him. The scammers couldn’t answer the question and hung up, foiled by the executive’s quick thinking.

Other companies aren’t so lucky. In 2021, a branch manager at a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a seemingly legitimate demand from a director of its parent business to authorize some financial transfers to the tune of nearly $35 million. Knowing the director’s voice and accustomed to such urgent demands from the director, the branch manager released the funding.

As deep-voice and generative AI voice alteration software improves, it’s likely these tools will be used more frequently in a growing number of targeted attacks.

Ethical Concerns

The use of deepfake software raises both legal and ethical concerns around topics such as freedom of use and expression, the right to privacy, and, of course, copyright. In June 2023, the FBI posted a new warning that cybercriminals were using publicly available photos and videos to conduct deepfake extortion schemes against private citizens.

In the current era of mass propaganda, deliberate misinformation through the doctoring of audio-visual media also benefits those with geopolitical goals and can perpetuate falsehoods spread by nation-states.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on through its third year, new forms of wartime propaganda are being wielded by both sides. In mid-2022, a deepfake video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to show the Ukrainian leader calling on his soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender. The falsified video was uploaded to compromised Ukrainian news outlets and circulated on pro-Russian social media and other digital platforms.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert in digital media forensics, said of the video, “It pollutes the information ecosystem, and it casts a shadow on all content, which is already dealing with the complex fog of war.”

The disruption and fear that a single piece of multimedia can potentially cause makes deepfake technology a valuable addition to the arsenal of warring nations. As more of the world adopts messaging platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp, disinformation spreads like wildfire and it becomes ever more difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Detecting Deepfakes

In May 2024, ChatGPT-4 passed the Turing test, marking a significant milestone in AI’s mastery of natural language. In tests, GPT-4 was able to convince 54 percent of people who interacted with it that it was human. The Turing test was proposed by Alan Turing in 1950 and involves a human “judge” talking with both a human and a machine via text. If the judge can’t tell the difference between the two, the machine is said to have passed the test.

thesis statement practice answer key

Figure 2: In May 2024, ChatGPT-4 passed the Turing test, marking a significant milestone in AI’s mastery of natural language.

So how can individuals and organizations guard against deepfakes? As with most modern cyber-threats, there is no singular technological solution to detect and/or thwart deepfakes. As we discuss in our new white paper , detection is a highly complex task, with a layered approach encompassing multiple techniques and methods to counter this growing threat. This is an active area of research and there is no silver bullet yet.

The Biden administration has recently suggested watermarks as a policy solution to deepfakes, suggesting that tech companies be required to digitally watermark AI-generated content. For example, in February, OpenAI announced it would be adding watermarks to its text-to-image tool DALL·E 3 but cautions that they could “easily be removed.”

In a similar vein, the embedding of cryptographic signatures in original content helps verify its legitimacy and origin. Blockchain-based verification is another growing method for authenticating digital creations. These types of blockchain-based solutions could prove crucial to distinguishing between real and fabricated content.

One of the strongest mitigation techniques is user awareness and education. Companies should implement a robust training program to educate employees about the threat of deepfakes, how they can be leveraged by cybercriminals, how to recognize them and what to do if suspicious, and the risks if a threat actor targets the organization using deepfakes. This user education can go a long way in reducing the deepfake attack surface.

Training resources for spotting deepfakes are already available from the following sources:

  • SANS Institute – “ Learn a New Survival Skill: Spotting Deepfakes ”
  • MIT Media Lab – “ Detect DeepFakes: How to counteract information created by AI ”
  • MIT – “ Media Literacy ”
  • University of Washington – “ Spot the Deepfake ”

Employees who work in sales, finance and HR should be particularly alert for fraudsters impersonating customers to access confidential client accounts and financial information.

Reporting Deepfake Attacks

Companies should report malicious deepfake attacks to the appropriate U.S. government agency. This includes the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center for the Department of Defense and the FBI (including local offices or [email protected] ). Advanced forensic recommendations on detecting deepfakes can be found in CISA’s recent joint advisory on deepfake awareness and mitigation. CISA’s role is to gather and disseminate all cybersecurity-related information to U.S. government agencies. Their report site can be found at https://www.cisa.gov/report .

The Future of Deepfakes

In the meantime, Generative AI continues to advance at a staggering rate . As this trend continues, so will the level of sophistication seen in future deepfake media of all types. Cyber criminals will soon leverage more advanced AI to create more convincing deepfakes for more intricate scams.

Says Shiladitya Sircar, Senior Vice President, Product Engineering and Data Science at BlackBerry, “Technology that can detect deepfakes is lagging far behind the pace that new AI software and systems are being produced. It is imperative that product designers, engineers, and leadership work together to define cryptographically secure authenticity validation standards for digital content.”

Until then, it is advisable to employ currently available strategies to mitigate the potential impact of deepfake scams on your organization.

Ready to learn more? Download our new Deepfakes white paper here. Related Reading:

  • The AI Standoff: Attackers vs. Defenders
  • AI and Data: A Powerful Partnership to Transform Cybersecurity
  • How AI is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity: Insights for Professionals

The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team

About The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team

The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence team is a highly experienced threat research group specializing in a wide range of cybersecurity disciplines, conducting continuous threat hunting to provide comprehensive insights into emerging threats. We analyze and address various attack vectors, leveraging our deep expertise in the cyberthreat landscape to develop proactive strategies that safeguard against adversaries.

Whether it's identifying new vulnerabilities or staying ahead of sophisticated attack tactics, we are dedicated to securing your digital assets with cutting-edge research and innovative solutions.

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  1. PDF Thesis Statements Lessons

    Thesis Statements. Lesson Objectives: 1. To understand the purpose of a thesis statement 2. To convey the importance of a one sentence thesis statement Preparation: 1. Review lesson plan, student handouts, and the activity answer key. 2. Check if there are enough copies of all student handouts. Make copies if necessary. Handouts: 1. Student Notes

  2. PDF ThesisStatement&Practice& Answer&Key&

    Answer Key. Decide if the following are good thesis statements or not. Write yes if it is a good one. Write no if it is a weak thesis statement. have a topic and a controlling idea. be arguable. not be too broad or vague. not be too narrow. not announce the topic.

  3. PDF Thesis Statements

    Thesis Statement Worksheet By Nancy Armstrong Directions: For each of the following statements, identify whether the statement is strong, too narrow, or too broad. If the statement is too narrow or broad, rewrite it to fix the problem. (Answers are attached at the end of this worksheet.) 1. Media violence is harmful to society. 2. The death ...

  4. PDF Tutorial #26: Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences

    The answer to such a question will be your thesis: what you think about a specific topic. The topic is your question, and the thesis your answer to that question. For this reason, as you write your paper, your thesis statement may change. In fact, in its initial stages, a thesis statement usually is rough and works only as a tentative planning ...

  5. PDF THESIS STATEMENT WORKSHEET

    A thesis statement is a sentence that tells your reader your topic, what you think about it, and possibly how you are going to prove it. ... for your research and writing. Create a 1-2 sentence answer to your research question that tells the reader the main idea of the essay. Thesis statements can always be changed if you add new ideas, !nd new ...

  6. Thesis Statement Practice Flashcards

    Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Where does the thesis statement go?, What is a thesis statement, What does ICE method stand for? and more. ... PSY 1001 Practice Final Questions. 258 terms. fong0090. Preview. CBS Timeline and Procedures. 7 terms. linkait055. Preview. English 2 definitions. Teacher 6 terms. porterami.

  7. PDF Thesis Statements

    Topic Sentences & Thesis Statements Read the following 3 paragraphs. Write a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you have completed the topic sentences, write one thesis statement that would be appropriate for an essay on the same topic. Answers will vary. For screen reader users, space to write is indicated with *. 1.

  8. Thesis Statement Answer Key

    Thesis Statement Answer Key. practice. Course. Writing Seminar II (ENG 200H) 14 Documents. Students shared 14 documents in this course. University University of Dayton. Academic year: 2020/2021. Uploaded by: Anonymous Student. This document has been uploaded by a student, just like you, who decided to remain anonymous.

  9. PDF Thesis Statement Worksheet

    Exercise 3: Order the following ideas from general (1) to narrow (5). Underline the topic, circle the controlling idea, and double underline the sub-topics in the following thesis statements. e.g. My roommate has her own unique systems for studying, writing essays, and cleaning our living room.

  10. How to Write a Thesis Statement Worksheet

    Step 2) Brainstorm some possible answers to your question. Step 3) Combine your best answer(s) and your question into a thesis statement. Academic Writing Tools: To outline your essay see our Outline: Short Essay (fewer than 5 pages) or Extended Essay (+ 5 pages). If your instructor has requested an annotated bibliography, see Writing Guide ...

  11. How to Write a Thesis Statement

    Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.

  12. Activity: Thesis Statement Writing: Answer Key

    Answer Key. Hard work, a great coach, and teamwork led to winning the state championship football game my senior year. Love has had a number of meanings in my life such as love of the inanimate, love of friends and family, and romantic/sexual love. My mother is an incredibly strong person because she has made numerous sacrifices for her family ...

  13. How to Write a Thesis Statement Worksheet Activity

    About this Worksheet: Practice developing thesis statements with this writing introduction worksheet! Students will learn how to improve their writing with a strong, attention grabbing thesis statement. This activity helps build writing skills by asking students to create a statement for the topics provided, such as: "What was the greatest ...

  14. What is a Thesis Statement: Writing Guide with Examples

    A thesis statement is a sentence in a paper or essay (in the opening paragraph) that introduces the main topic to the reader. As one of the first things your reader sees, your thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your entire paper—but also one of the hardest to write! In this article, we explain how to write a thesis ...

  15. PDF PRACTICE WORKSHEET A Writing a Thesis Statement

    me. citizens when th. Statement (Lesson 21 - Practice Worksheet B) irections: Read each outline for a composition. Then write an appropriate thesis state. ent on the lines for the composition described.1. a composition that discusses th. responsibilities involved in carin. for a pet.Topic: What pet ownership inv.

  16. 9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

    You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps: 1. Pinpoint and replace all nonspecific words, such as people, everything, society, or life, with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness. Working thesis: Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

  17. Developing a Thesis Statement

    A thesis statement . . . Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic. Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. Is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper. Is generally located near the end ...

  18. Thesis Statement Answer Key

    This document provides examples of thesis statements and identifies them as either weak or strong. Weak theses are too general and do not specify key details, while strong theses clearly state an argument and provide specific examples or evidence to support the claim. The document analyzes 9 sample thesis statements and determines that statements 2, 3, 7, and 9 are weak for lacking specificity ...

  19. Thesis statement practice

    Thesis Statement Practice Name. Directions: Carefully read the writing prompt and the Bad Thesis Statement. Then, rewrite a Good Thesis Statement. State the subject and tell the author's purpose for writing or the point to be proved. A good thesis statement will directly respond to each part of the writing prompt.

  20. WRITING THESIS STATEMENTS: PRACTICE WORKSHEET by Ms G

    The following worksheet is a guide to writing thesis statements. It explains what a thesis statement is, its purpose, and how to go about writing one by using a formula. It contains 8 practice questions, 2 of which ask students to create their own thesis statements for a mock informative and argumentative essay. This is a great resource for:

  21. How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement: 4 Steps + Examples

    Step 4: Revise and refine your thesis statement before you start writing. Read through your thesis statement several times before you begin to compose your full essay. You need to make sure the statement is ironclad, since it is the foundation of the entire paper. Edit it or have a peer review it for you to make sure everything makes sense and ...

  22. Thesis Statement Practice Worksheets by Teach With Erika

    Included are seven practice sheets perfect for bellwork, stations, remediation, homework, subwork, extra practice, and more! Simply print and go - answer keys included! This product includes: •Create a Thesis Statement. •Thesis: Strong or Weak?

  23. Writing a Thesis Statement worksheet

    practice activity. Liveworksheets transforms your traditional printable worksheets into self-correcting interactive exercises that the students can do online and send to the teacher. ... Writing a Thesis Statement Writing a Thesis Statement. e061204 Member for 3 years 7 months Age: 13+ Level: 9-12. Language: English ...

  24. Deepfakes and Digital Deception: Exploring Their Use and Abuse in a

    When fed enough high-quality training data, mature models can produce output that approximates various aspects of human creativity. They can write poems or plays, discuss legal cases, brainstorm ideas on a given theme, write computer code or music, pen a graduate thesis, produce lesson plans for a high-school class, and so on.