The First and Second Steps in Essay Writing.ppt

1、The First and Second Steps in Essay Writing,浙江大学城市学院 zjw,Step 1: Begin with a Point, or Thesis.,What is a thesis statement? A thesis statement: is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it te

2、lls the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.,How are the following thesis statements in common?,1.Students must get sufficient sleep at night in order to succeed in school. 2. Owing a pet has several important benefits. 3.Our company president should be fired for three main reasons.,A g

3、ood thesis statement does two things: To tell the readers an essays topic To present the writers attitude, opinion, idea or point about the topic Finish the ACTIVITY in page 49.,How to write a strong thesis statement?,1. The topic should neither too broad nor too narrow,2. Write Statements, Not Anno

4、uncements,Is there any thing wrong with the following thesis statements?,Avoid statements that are too broad,Disease has shaped human history. Insects are fascinating animals. Men and women are very different. In the mid-1980s, ADIS changed peoples attitudes about dating. Strength, organization, and

5、 communication make ants one of the natures most successful insects. Men and women are often treated differently in the workplace.,4. Avoid statements that are too narrow,The speed limit near my home is sixty five miles per hour. A hurricane hit southern Florida last summer. A person must be at leas

6、t thirty-five years old to be elected president of the United States. The speed limit near my home should be lowered to fifty-five miles per hour for several reasons. Federal officials make a number of mistakes in their response to the recent Florida hurricane. The requirement that a U.S president m

7、ust be at least thirty-five years old is unfair and unreasonable.,Make sure statements develop only one idea,One of the most serious problems affecting young people today is bullying, and it is time more kids learned the value of helping others. Studying with others has several benefits, but it also

8、 has drawbacks and can be difficult to schedule. Teachers have played an important role in my life, but they were not as important as my parents. One of the most serious problems affecting young people today is bullying. Studying with others has several benefits. Teachers have played an important ro

9、le in my life.,A Strong Thesis Sentence and a Weak Thesis Sentence,A strong thesis takes some sort of stand. Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement. Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement pr

10、omotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.,Another more examples of comparison of the strong and weak thesis statement: (3) “College students are alike” compared with “College students are alike in lifestyle and politics.

11、” (4) “Capital punishment should be abolished.” comapared with “Capital punishment should be abolished because it is useless and inhumane.”,A strong thesis justifies discussion. Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using

12、your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements. (3) “Mark Twain is a famous writer” This is typical weak statement only with observation. (4) “Mark Twain is a novelist I admired the most”,A strong thesis expresses one main idea. Readers need to be able to

13、 see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example: (1) Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and web pages can provide both advertising and customer suppo

14、rt.,To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become clearer. One way to revise the thesis would be to write: Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using web pages that offer both advertising and cus

15、tomer support. A great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like “because,” “since,” “so,” “although,” “unless,” and “however”.,A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manag

16、eable topic. (1) World hunger has many causes and effects. (2) Hunger persists in Appalachia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.,This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, “World Hunger”cant be discussed thoroughly in five or ten pages.

17、Second, “many causes and effects” is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this: This is a strong thesis because it narrows the subject to amore specific and manageable topic and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of

18、 hunger.,Identifying the better expression as thesis of the following (3)The research on acquisition of prepositions presents a significance in Chinese studentsEnglish studying, for they are used flexibly and frequently. (4) The research on acquisition of the spatial prepositions presents a signific

19、ance in Chinese studentsEnglish studying,for they are used flexibly and frequently. (5) The research on acquisition of the lexical “above,on,over”as spatial prepositions presents a significance in non-English majors studying,for they are frequently misused to indicate the locations.,4. Exercises of Revising the Thesis Statement (1)Hardship experience is indispensable in youngsters growth-up, and adequate education is a must in the youths development. (2)Poor quality of education in poor western ereas mainly resulte