STATING THESIS

STATEMENT AND
OUTLINING TEXT
 DEFINING THE THESIS STATEMENT
A Thesis statement is the central idea of an essay, around which all other
ideas revolve.

It is not just the most important idea;

it also controls the essay by determining what should you include in your
work.;
In one sentence, it reveals and summarizes the argument you intend to
develop and defend;
reflects your purpose for writing;
an interpretation of the topic.

A strong thesis statement usually contains an element of uncertainty, risk,

or challenge (Ramage, Bean and Johnson 2006:34). This means that your
thesis statement should offer a debatable claim that you can prove or disprove
in your essay.
FORMULATING A THESIS
STATEMENT
The thesis statement comes as a result of pre – writing. It is
the product of thinking about your ideas, seeking evidence, and
looking for relationships between these.

Example : “High school seniors who join the Reserve Officers

Training Corps program develop better leadership skills
because of the discipline instilled in them by the program.”
 FORMULATING A THESIS
STATEMENT
You may need to ask the following questions to help you find out a thesis
statement:
What main idea does most of my pre-writing support?
What are the relationships that exist among my ideas?
Which aspect of the topic seems to be given the most detail?
Where does my stand seem to be the most consistent?
What is the focus of the most interesting and significant points of my pre-
writing?
What ideas should I do more research on?
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
EFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT
How will you know if your thesis statement is strong?

Below are the characteristics of an effective thesis statement:

1. Responds to the assignment by following instructions
Going back to the instructions can assure you that your thesis statement is relevant and
addresses what your teacher has prescribed.
2. Expresses the main idea in one to two sentences
A thesis statement should be comprehensive yet concise because you will be spending the rest of
the paper proving your point.
3. Focuses on a specific issue
Your thesis statement should only discuss one or a few related issues.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
EFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT
4. States a stand on the topic
It must reveal your attitude toward the topic.
5. Says something meaningful by answering the questions:” So what?”
“How?” “ why?”
Your thesis statement should be able to substantiate your claims
by providing the reader evidence, or an idea of how you intend to
support your stand.
6. Previews the rest of the essay by being placed in the introduction.
7. Reflects a tone and point- of –view appropriate to the identified purpose
and audience
 MORE GUIDELINES ON WRITING
THESIS STATEMENTS
1. Avoid making an overly–opinionated stands.
While a thesis statement needs to reveal your attitude toward the
topic, be careful not to go to the extremes and write a thesis
statement with an exaggerated claim. This is because you need to
prove your thesis statement first, and avoid imposing your opinion on
the reader.
Ex. The officers of the Reserve Officers Training Corps are merciless
slave drivers who abuse their fellow students. (Opinionated)
The officers of the Reserve Officers Training Corps should
exercise more responsibility toward their authority by being
sensitive to how they lead their fellow students. (correct)
2. Avoid making announcements.
Sometimes, it is just easier to tell your reader what they intend to
write about. You might say, “In this essay, I will be discussing the
benefits of joining the Reserve Officers Training Corps.” The
problem with this statement is that it does not specify what those
benefits are or what your attitude toward the subject is.

3. Avoid stating only facts.

Do not rely on facts in your thesis statements because you will not
have much room for discussion. Remember that facts are
generally not debatable as opinions. It must contain a position
that your readers can oppose.
 Defining an Outline
• An outline reveals the coherence and complexity of an essay.
• It requires the ability to locate the main ideas of the text.
• It involves knowing how to distinguish ideas according to their level of
importance in the text.
• It is a summary that gives the essential features of a text.
• It shows how the parts of a text are related to one another as parts that
are of equal importance or sections that are subordinate to a main idea.
• It is usually done before you write the first draft of your essay.
Below are the steps that you can follow in creating a reading
outline.

1. Read the entire text first. Skim the text afterwards. Having an
overview of reading’s content will help you follow its structure better.
2. Locate the main idea or thesis of the whole essay.
• Look at the title of the text.
• Look for heading, if any.
• Look for information that answers the question, “What is the text
talking about?”
3. Look for key phrases in each paragraph of the essay.
4. Locate the topic sentence of the paragraph.
5. Depending on the length of the text, look at the topic
sentences and group them with related ideas together. See if
they describe a process or are examples.
6. To logically organize information, the contents of the reading
are arranged according to levels. A level refers to the number of
ranks in the hierarchy of information in the reading. Provide a
general group name for each group of topic sentences. These
will be the main divisions of your outline, or the first level. Label
these with a Roman numeral. The topic sentences will be the
subtopics, or the second level. Label these with capital letters.
7. Evaluate the supporting details provided.
8. Go back to the text after you have finished your outline.
Example:
Antigone and Her Morality
Thesis: Antigone is a tragic heroine who believes in her moral duty to the
gods over her duty to the state and is willing to suffer the consequences in order to do
what is morally right.
I. Antigone's justification of action
A. Her defiant speech against law of man
B. Her argument through Divine Law
II. Hamartia Theory
A. Antigone's tragic flaws
B. Human responsibility for action
C. Chorus points out character flaws
III. Divine injustice and the moral problem
A. Action involves suffering
B. Acknowledging moral order of the gods
IV. Divinity in man is morality
Types of Outline: TOPIC OUTLINE

• Uses a short words and/or key phrases to list and to

identify main ideas, supporting ideas, and specific
details or examples.
• It is divided into three (3) levels: the headings, the
subheadings, and the sub-subgheadings. Subheadings
and the sub-subheadings are indented.
Example:
I. Economical effects (Heading)
A. Alcohol (Subheading)
1. Cost of alcohol purchases (Sub-subheading)
2. Cost of DUIs (Sub-subheading)
B. Drugs (Sub-point)
1. Cost of alcohol purchases (Detail of B)
2. Cost of drug arrest (Detail of B)
Types of Outline: SENTENCE OUTLINE
• Uses complete sentences to define the subject matter. It defines and
presents the subject matter, main and supporting ideas in complete
sentences.
• Like a topic outline, a sentence outline consists of headings and
subheadings.
• Is particularly useful when you are discussing a complex topic because
it gives a clearer idea of exactly what each paragraph or section will
contain.
• Develops your critical thinking as it allows you to think through ideas
completely in order to write them in full sentences.
Example:
I. Alcohol and drug abuse can affect one economically.
A. The cost of alcohol abuse is high and getting higher.
1. The cost of DUIs can be enormous.
2. Alcohol costs are always rising because of rising production
costs as well as state and local taxes.
B. The cost of drug abuse can be high.
1. Even the arrest for the possession of a minute amount of
drugs can result in high bail and court cost.
2. The cost of drug fluctuates drastically according to the type
of drug, its availability, and the amount.
Example:
II. Alcohol and drug abuse can have severe psychological
effects.
A. Alcohol abuse can damage a person psychologically.
1. Alcohol is depressant and can alter the personality of
anyone.