Thesis and Topic Sentences

 Dictionary.com says that unity in writing

is “a relation of all the parts or elements
of a work constituting a harmonious
whole and producing a single general
effect.”
 In short, this means that the essay
focuses on one substantial idea or claim.
It does not start off talking about one
idea and then randomly move onto
another thought or tangent.
1. First, IDENTIFY YOUR OVERARCHING
CLAIM OR IDEA (THESIS).
2. Then, toss any ideas or details that do
not support this overarching claim.
3. Finally, be sure that you include enough
ideas and details to support your THESIS
STATEMENT.
 Since the topic sentences of all three
body paragraphs were all asserting that
Jack Russell Terriers exhibit some sort of
undesired quality, perhaps the
overarching idea of the essay is:
 Jack Russell Terriers do not make good pets.
 Dog shoppers should think carefully before
adopting a Jack Russell Terriers.
 Jack Russell Terriers are not easy pets to deal
with.
 The topic sentence of the first body
paragraph asserts the positive reputation
cloth diapers have maintained.
 The topic sentences of the proceeding three
paragraphs assert something negative about
cloth diapers.
 The topic sentences of the second and third
body paragraphs give details about the
diapers regarding their negative impact on
the environment.
 Therefore, the thesis statement, yet
unstated, could be something like:
 Despite their reputation for being particularly good
for the environment, cloth diapers actually damage
the natural world, use excessive energy, and lack
ease of use.
 The topic sentence of the first body
paragraph describes the positive
reputation of hybrid vehicles.
 The topic sentences of the second two
body paragraphs describe reasons why
they are not necessarily good
alternatives to fuel-powered vehicles.
 Therefore, the thesis statement, yet
unstated, could be something like:
 Despite hybrid vehicles’ reputation for being
cost-friendly, fuel-efficient, green alternatives to
fuel-powered cars, most consumers would be
surprised to know that this is not necessarily
true.
 Identify the thesis  But can you define
of an existing essay a thesis for an
outline. essay yet to be
created based on
the ideas you’ve
developed in
“inventing”?
 Freewrite: Communities. I don’t know.
Communities. I’m a part of a lot of
communities, and I know of many of which I’m
not a part. I think I’m more interested in
communities of which I’m not a part. After all, I
could learn more by writing about such groups.
Hmmmm. The Amish. There are so many
around here, and I am so curious about their
lifestyles. I want to what sort of successes the
Amish have. I know we aren’t doing any
research yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t
spend time with some Amish people, ask them
questions, learn from them.
Your syllabus explains that Essay A’s
“thesis statement should both identify
the success and the root of the success.”

We know now that it isn’t enough to identify

a community. We have to think about
one success and its root.
 In my freewrite, I decided to write about the
Amish community. However, I admit to being
somewhat ignorant of them.
 After spending some time with some Amish
people and learning from them (observation is
its own brand of research, allowable in this
assignment), I may do some more freewriting.
 Amish and success. Nancy has five sisters. All are
married. All have children. All go to church twice a
week. All are responsible for upkeep of the home and
also have jobs outside the home. I ask Nancy what
she knows about living green, and she smiles. Nancy
and her family are greener than I could ever hope to
be. Although her lifestyle is based on a belief about
family, and not necessarily about the larger
environment itself, she does not participate in activities
that would deepen her “carbon footprint,” and while her
family eats locally, avoids using fuel or running water, I
praise myself for merely recycling, buying a fuel-
efficient car, and using “green” diapers. This is
Nancy’s success. This is her community’s success.
 I can eliminate everything I wrote about
Nancy’s five sisters running their homes and
working jobs. These details won’t support my
claim about “green” living.
 The Amish community of Berks County,
Pennsylvania is a community who successfully
lives with almost no carbon footprint everyday
as a result of their desire to embrace family
closeness and their loyalty to their religion.
 All three components of the required thesis
statement are fulfilled in this thesis statement.
 After you develop your thesis statement, you
can now work on developing miniature thesis
statement or topic sentences which will identify
the focus of each body paragraph.
 There is no rule that says you must have three
body paragraphs.
 However, I would suggest including at LEAST
three body paragraphs in your essay.
 In order to support a thesis, you need to have
adequate, reliable information/details to prove
that what you say is a reliable claim to make.
 You must not merely claim but support your
claims by “showing” your reader how what you
say is accurate.
 In order to adequately support your thesis, you
want to use a scholarly tone, Standard English,
adequate and obviously reliable details, and
careful logic.
ATTORNEY/PLEA
 Must substantiate their
claims with evidence.
 Can’t merely say “My
client is innocent” then sit
back down without giving
any proof or evidence.
 Must seem trustworthy
and reliable by dressing
professionally and
speaking clearly, correctly,
and appropriately.
WRITER/THESIS
 Must substantiate their
claims with evidence.
 Can’t merely claim that
Amish have almost no
carbon footprint without
substantiating that claim with
real, reliable evidence.
 Must seem trustworthy and
reliable by using Standard
English, a professional tone,
and offering information in an
organized, clear manner.
 Some professional articles provide no written or explicit
statement of thesis. Instead, they have an unstated
thesis. The entire essay remains just as
focused/unified, but the thesis is not stated.
 Academic essays require explicit thesis statements for
a number of reasons:
 To teach academic writers to be aware of their purpose/focus.
 To give instructors a measurable way of determining whether or
not a student writer is aware of his/her purpose/focus.
 To give student writers the opportunities to learn how to assert
claims simply and explicitly in one, two, or three sentences (this
increases the maturity of a writer’s use of language and can
help the student learn to avoid wordiness).
 After the introduction.
 The thesis should be short, concise. It should
be between one and three sentences long.
 The thesis should usually end a paragraph
unless you find good reason to make it is own
paragraph.
 A topic sentence is usually the first sentence of
a paragraph preceded only by a transitional
word, phrase, or sentence. These transitional
words, phrases, or sentences contribute to
coherence so that the jump from one
paragraph to the next is not too jarring for the
reader.
 Every academic essay and body paragraph
must have a thesis statement/topic sentence to
explicitly state its focus/claim.