Tutorial 1 - Thesis Statement

Tutorial 1 - Writing Your Thesis Statement

First of all, let me explain what non-fiction writing is. The previous section was about fiction writing. You had to write stories based on your imagination. Non-fiction writing focuses on facts. You do not make things up like you did in the previous section.

Non-fiction writing includes descriptive essays (describing a person or place), expository essays (explaining a process, comparing and contrasting two subjects, telling the cause and effect, etc) and persuasive essays (arguing a point of view, explaining a position) and many others .

The method is similar for all of these essays.

The first thing you will have to think about for a non-fiction essay is a thesis statement.

A thesis statement is a sentence that tells your reader what your essay will be about. In an exam, your thesis statement should also answer the question.

Here is an example of a good thesis statement:

Watching television can benefit children in several ways.

A good thesis statement must have two parts - the topic and the controlling idea. In the example above, the topic is 'Watching television' and the controlling idea is 'can benefit children'.

A good thesis statement also implies the purpose of the essay. In the above example, the phrase 'in several ways' implies that the essay will discuss the positive effects of television-watching on children.

Here are what thesis statements should not be:

1. They should not be simple facts or details, eg. 'Insects have six legs' - It will difficult to write an entire essay based on this simple fact.

2. They should not be too general, eg. Exercise is good. Try to be more specific, eg. 'Exercising regularly can benefit our health in several ways.'


HOMEWORK 1A

Here are some possible essay topics. Write a thesis statement for each of them.

1. Describe your brother.

2. How to make your teacher angry.

3. Causes of crime.

4. Health or Wealth?

5. Should homework be abolished?