What impact did the invention of braille the raised-dot reading system used by blind and visually impaired people have.
Topic Sentence and Thesis Statement: The Keystones of Organized Writing
A thesis statement is the basic stand that an author takes, the opinion that he expresses, and the major point that he wishes to make about his subject. It contains the controlling idea of the essay, and therefore, gives the direction and the unity to all the separate elements of the writing. The purpose of the essay is to convince the reader that the thesis is indeed a valid one.
- The first step in writing an effective thesis statement involves the focusing, limiting, or narrowing of the topic. The scope of the thesis will depend on length, purpose, audience, occasion, and knowledge (see handout—Narrowing the topic)
- Each thesis will (a) state the subject clearly and specifically so that it can be broken into parts; (b) take a stand or attitude about the subject; and (c) provide the direction by indicating, implicitly or explicitly, the order in which the essay will develop the points.
- The controlling idea in the thesis is a word, phrase, or clause that states the opinion, attitude, or stand that the writer takes about the subject; it provides the angle from which the writer wishes to approach his subject.
- The thesis is always a single declarative statement:
| A thesis is not a title | ||
| Poor: | The Decline of Baseball | |
| Better: | Baseball, once a national pastime and even an addiction, has lost its popularity because of the new interest in more violent sports. | |
| Poor: | Homes and Schools. | |
| Better: | If parents want better education for their children, they must be willing to commit their time to working with the schools. | |
| A thesis is not an announcement of the subject | ||
| Poor: | I want to share some thoughts with you about our space program. | |
| Better: | Since the space program has yet to provide the American people with any substantial, practical returns, it is a waste of money and should be dissolved. | |
| A thesis is not a statement of absolute fact | ||
| Poor: | William Shakespeare wrote King Lear . | |
| Better: | King Lear exemplifies the finest development of Shakespeare’s dramatic talent. | |
| A good thesis is restricted: It limits the subject to a manageable amount |
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| Poor: | People are too selfish. | |
| Better: | Rush hour traffic exemplifies human behavior at its worst. | |
| Poor: | Crime must be stopped. | |
| Better: | To stop the alarming rise in the number of violent crimes committed every year, our courts must hand out tougher sentences. | |
| A good thesis is unified: It should express one major idea about one subject |
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| Poor: | Detective stories are not a high form of literature, but people have always been fascinated by them and many fine writers have experimented with them. | |
| Better: | Detective stories appeal to the basic human desire for thrills. | |
| A good thesis is specific | ||
| Poor: | The new Denver Art Museum is impressive. | |
| Better: | The new Denver Art Museum is a monument to human folly. | |
| Poor: | Hemingway’s war stories are very good. | |
| Better: | Hemingway’s war stories helped to create a new prose style. | |
Topic Sentence
The topic sentence and the thesis are analogous. In other words, the topic sentence is to the paragraph what the thesis is to the entire essay, chapter, or book. While the thesis gives unity to the essay, the topic sentence gives unity to the paragraph by developing one major point suggested in the controlling idea of the thesis. Like the thesis, the topic sentence is integral to the organization of the essay. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence.
- It contains the dominating idea that the paragraph will develop.
- It normally appears as the first sentence in each paragraph.
- The controlling idea of the topic sentence is the essential descriptive or judgmental or argumentative part of the sentence and falls in the predicate of the sentence
- The topic sentence, like the thesis, is also focused.
- It is never a prediction nor a question, but rather a single declarative statement.
Introduction: Ways to Begin
An introduction is for getting the reader’s attention, stating the purpose, and providing the direction.
"Begin at the beginning, keep on going until you get to the end, and then stop." (Alice in Wonderland)
Types of thesis statements
Each thesis will a state the subject clearly and specifically so that it can be broken into parts; b take a stand or attitude about the subject; and c provide the direction by indicating, implicitly or explicitly, the order in which the essay will develop the points. Still, the format is the same, and the opinions are often treated like facts, including conclusive language and citing evidence to support your claims.
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.
Resources:
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/table-of-content-examples.html
https://www.bachelorprint.com/academic-writing/table-of-contents/table-of-contents-example/
https://www.mos.ed.tum.de/en/tb/lehre/theses/structure/
https://www.rrcc.edu/node/481
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/thesis-statement/
https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/
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