Thesis Statements Body Paragraphs Define our terms CLAIM

Thesis Statements & Body Paragraphs

Define our terms CLAIM – A statement made about an issue that asserts a perspective PERSPECTIVE – A point of view in an argument THESIS – Your claim or position on an issue/topic put forward and supported by evidence you’ve found ARGUMENT – A claim or thesis that conveys a perspective developed through a line of reasoning and supported by evidence MAIN IDEA – The overall point the author makes through their line of reasoning. What all their arguments build to

Thesis statements Are usually one sentence. (Two sentences is ok in a situation where you need to clarify something. ) Appear at the end of the introduction For our purposes, do not use “I” EXAMPLE: Because the events in the story emphasize Black Elk’s role as a Sioux Warrior, and do not describe his eventual conversion to Catholicism and membership in the Society of St. Joseph, Black Elk Speaks presents a skewed and simplified view of the complex history of Native Americans. (Seton Hill)

THESIS – YOUR claim or position on an CLAIM - A statement made about issue/topic put forward and supported by an issue that asserts a perspective evidence* you’ve found Only one thesis per essay Appears at the end of the introduction Addresses the topic more broadly than a claim b/c a thesis incorporates all relevant claims addressed in an essay: “Zombies are a New World phenomenon that arose from the mixture of old African religious beliefs and the pain of slavery, especially the merciless and coldblooded slavery of French-run, preindependence Haiti. ” Many over the course of an essay (like a topic sentence) At least one per paragraph, likely two Directly ties to research and perspective/point of view: “Mandatory minimum laws have fallen out of favor with judges, who claim they constrain their ability to impose a fair sentence…” *EVIDENCE – Information/data unattached to opinion or spin. Pure info.

THESIS – YOUR claim or position on CLAIM - A statement made about an issue/topic put forward an issue that asserts a perspective supported by evidence* Castle Bravo played a key role in establishing the deep fear of all things nuclear that persists to this day, helped give rise to modern environmentalism, and even planted the seeds of a basic conflict modern society is struggling with: Are the benefits of modern technology outweighed by the threats they pose to nature itself? The scale of [Castle Bravo’s] destruction was massively greater than the atomic bombs dropped nine years earlier on Japan … almost too great, too frightening, to comprehend. Now everyone could feel the fear that Manhattan Project director Robert Oppenheimer felt as he watched the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico in 1945, recalling the words of the god Shiva in the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds. ” *EVIDENCE – Information/data unattached to opinion or spin. Pure info.

THESIS – YOUR claim or position on CLAIM - A statement made about an issue/topic put forward an issue that asserts a perspective supported by evidence* Castle Bravo played a key role in establishing the deep fear of all things nuclear that persists to this day, helped give rise to modern environmentalism, and even planted the seeds of a basic conflict modern society is struggling with: Are the benefits of modern technology outweighed by the threats they pose to nature itself? That movement spawned opposition to atomic power, the new form of electrical generation being developed in the 1950 s. Some of the most influential leaders of the movement, including Barry Commoner and Rachel Carson, broadened their attention to other ways that technology seemed to threaten human health or nature itself. The modern environmental movement grew directly out of fear of radiation. In fact, Carson was inspired to write Silent Spring, about the threat of the overuse of pesticides, by the similarities she saw between the threat of both forms of fallout: “[T]he parallel between radiation and chemicals is exact and inescapable. ” *EVIDENCE – Information/data unattached to opinion or spin. Pure info.

THESIS – YOUR claim or position on CLAIM - A statement made about an issue/topic put forward an issue that asserts a perspective supported by evidence* Castle Bravo played a key role in establishing the deep fear of all things nuclear that persists to this day, helped give rise to modern environmentalism, and even planted the seeds of a basic conflict modern society is struggling with: Are the benefits of modern technology outweighed by the threats they pose to nature itself? Opposition to nuclear power and industrial chemicals has been a core theme of modern environmentalism ever since, based on the same inspiration that brought Godzilla up from the depths: We need to protect nature from human-made technology. Those environmental values now also inspire opposition to genetically modified food, or fracking, or large-scale industrial agriculture—any modern technology that allows humans to manipulate and threaten the natural world, the benign true natural world that existed before humans came along and, with their technology, ended it, as Bill Mc. Kibben’s The End of Nature suggests. *EVIDENCE – Information/data unattached to opinion or spin. Pure info.

More thesis statement examples Unfortunately, these positive outcomes occur only where mental community services are well-established and maintained (Kliewer, Mc. Nally, & Trippany, n. d. ) In actuality, a majority of the released patients experience unintentional, negative consequences of deinstitutionalization such as homelessness, incarceration, and insolation due to the absence of the promised community care. This paper examines Cummings et al. ’s research against other CMC research to propose that additional research be conducted to better understand how online communication affects relationships. (This second thesis, above, also telegraphs the structure of the essay. We know it will be a survey of Cummings’ research pitted against other researchers in his/her field. )

Look over your thesis statement… Write down your thesis and crumple it into a ball Look over a peer’s thesis and evaluate for: Is it your take on the evidence you’ve found, synthesized into a focused position on the topic? Is it one sentence? Is it at the end of your introduction? Can you come up with a series of claims based on your evidence that back it up? Is it detached from any point of view or perspective other than your own? Is it clear? Does the language make you wonder what’s missing?

Body Paragraphs – Remember grade English th 9 Topic sentence -lays out the plan for the paragraph. What will this paragraph address? Evidence -properly cited and worked into your own sentence -quotes are not bombs – don’t just drop them in and fly away -Remember the 4’s (select, shorten, smooth, cite) Make a connection between the evidence and the topic sentence (this is the analysis) Concluding sentence – do the paragraph test! Avoid using the same word twice in a paragraph, that will keep your ideas fresh and propel your writing forward, while limiting superficial analysis

A Good Body Paragraph *Remind Mr. Shulkin to use the smart board to show topic sentence, evidence, analysis, concluding sentence

Another good body paragraph

Body Paragraphs for your IRR For APSEM purposes, body paragraphs contain everything from the previous slide with an emphasis on -a topic sentence -a reference to a claim (evidence + another person’s perspective) -transitional/connecting phrases -another claim -concluding sentence that connects all parts

From one body paragraph to another Remember, College Board scorers want to see multiple sources and (and their claims) “in conversation with one another” -This means you need multiple claims per body paragraph How does one opinion/piece of evidence/claim support, contradict or clash with another? Paragraphs can start with transitions/transitional phrases Examples: -”While Morgan, a public defender, argues that drug laws need changing, Stanley, a former judge with a 20 year career, disagrees. ” -In addition to Sarfo, Blais also notes the similarities between Shereen’s “Shape of You” and TLC’s “No Scrubs” – another voice criticizing uncredited cultural appropriation in popular music.

From one body paragraph to another Remember Line of Reasoning – Arrangement of claims and evidence that leads to a conclusion There should be a thread through each paragraph that leads from your thesis to your conclusion – this is your line of reasoning Line of reasoning + your own opinions = your main argument Remember our video about prisoners in California earning a college education while in jail? That practiced finding line of reasoning

What AP wants to see in your body paragraphs Rubric Row 2 – Understand & Analyze Argument -This means you comment on your sources immediately after citation and/or at the end of paragraphs -Discuss the reasoning and validity of the source’s argument Rubric Row 3 – Purposeful use of evidence -Your evidence is well-selected. Think about how it adds to your line of reasoning Rubric Row 4 – Understand & Analyze Perspective -Make the connections between perspectives in your IRR clear -This should be done in every body paragraph

So what does this look like? w 2 o R w 3 o R w 4 o R In his book The Content of Our Character, Shelby Steele argues, “The point here is that…” (Steele, 1990). Steele’s line of reasoning makes sense here; he builds a case against affirmative action briskly with the diction choices “puts blacks at war” and “debilitating doubt. ” The argument builds to a crushing negate of AA in a logos-rendered black drop-0 ut rate, and that this is a reversal of the advantages the action was supposed to take. However, the assumption that whites see an inferiority in blacks now is a large one, especially given the general acceptance and tolerance of a millennial generation where it was absent in previous ones. It is evidenced that standards are lowered for minorities, as Steele suggests earlier in his essay about affirmative action, and that selfdoubt in blacks is a real, not theoretical phenomenon. Dr. Steele, a research fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a prominent African American author and social activist, has written largely about the use of affirmative action and its role in undermining the advancement of blacks in the US. On the subject of affirmative action, Dr. Steele’s voice is credible in the community of higher education to a certain extent, but less so in the black community of higher education. Interestingly, Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and a black man, has come in conflict with Dr. Steele, or so says Dr. Steele. Although it first appears that Mr. Dyson agrees with Dr. Steele’s assessment of affirmative action, “The stereotypes used

Examples