Composition Skills

Tamkeen Zehra Shah

Week3-lec1
Overview
• Topic Sentences and Thesis Statements
• Analyze a paragraph (topic sentence + supporting points)
• Thesis statement – neither too broad, nor too narrow
• How to write a thesis statement
• How to write a thesis statement for an Argumentative essay
• General guidelines
Revision: Topic sentences
• Identify the topic and controlling idea:

There are many reasons why pollution in ABC Town is the worst in the
world.
Topic: pollution in ABC Town is the worst in the world
Controlling idea: many reasons
• Identify the topic and controlling idea:

Dogs make wonderful pets because they help you to live longer.
• Topic: dogs make wonderful pets
• Controlling idea: because they help you to live longer
Identify the topic and controlling idea:

Crime in poverty-stricken areas occurs as a result of a systemic

discrimination.
• Topic: Crime in poverty-stricken areas
• Controlling idea: discrimination within the system
Analyzing a Paragraph
• Read the following paragraph and answer these questions:
1) What is the topic and controlling idea?
2) What are the supporting points?
3) Are any supporting points not strictly relevant to the main point?
4)Which sentences are statements of fact and which are opinions?
 [1] No wild animal has been a greater incitement to the discovery
of new worlds than the beaver. [2] North America was largely explored by
men seeking to profit from an insatiable European market for felt hats
made from shorn and pressed beaver fur. [3] The Hudson’s Bay Company,
established in 1669 to trade with the Indians for beaver pelts, was the
effective government of most of Canada from the French and India War
until the mid-nineteenth century. [4] American beaver traders such as
Jedediah Smith preceded gold miners and settlers to the West Coast by
several decades. [5] During the height of the beaver trade, after the steel
trap began to be produced industrially and before new felt-making
processes depressed the price of a beaver pelt by some 80 percent, a
beaver trapper could average a daily income estimated at thirty-two
times that of a farm laborer. [6] It’s no wonder that mountain men
explored every watershed from Santa Fe to Vancouver in the 1820’s. [7]
Even after beaver prices fell in the 1840’s, an estimated 500,000 beavers
were being killed every year, primarily for their fur, which was (and is)
used to make coats and collars.
- David Rains Wallace, “The Mind of the Beaver”
Thesis statements
• A thesis statement expresses the main idea of an essay/article
• It is contained in the introductory para
• The topic sentences of each subsequent paragraph should connect
with the thesis statement of the essay
• The thesis statement is often longer and more complexly structured
than a topic sentence.
• A thesis statement should be broad enough so that it can relate to multiple
supporting points and specific examples.
• Too narrow: Reading can develop a child's analytical mind.

• This statement restricts you to writing about analytical abilities.

• Words like "can," aren't strong enough.

• Appropriate: Reading develops creative as well as analytical abilities in young minds,

besides widening their horizons of experience beyond the immediately possible.
• Appropriate: Reading develops a child’s mind by fostering comprehension skills,
building vocabulary, and fueling the powers of imagination.
• Thesis statements should be precise enough to determine a particular
focus for the essay
• Too broad: Shakespeare’s Hamlet accomplishes a powerful critique on
human nature.
• Appropriate: In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the theme of
prophecy and fate to critique the superstitious beliefs of his era.
How to Write a Thesis Statement
1. Determine what kind of composition you are writing:
• An analytical paper breaks down an issue/idea into its component
parts, explores how these are interrelated, and presents an evaluation
of the issue or idea to the audience
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this
claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a
proposal, an evaluation, an interpretation, etc. The goal of the
argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true
based on the evidence provided.
• 2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what
you will discuss in your composition and should be supported with
specific evidence.
• 3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first
paragraph of a paper.
• 4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your
thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the
paper.
Analytical Essay – Thesis statement
• Example of an analytical thesis statement:
An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge
facing counselors: whether to accept students with high test scores or
students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.
• The essay that follows should:
• Analyze the requirements/steps of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors
• Make a conclusion based on the analysis
Expository Essay – Thesis Statement
• Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:
The life of a college student is characterized by long hours spent on
campus within a familiar academic circle, and typically revolves around
studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.
• The paper that follows should:
• Explain how students spend most of their time studying, attending class, and
socializing with peers
• Explain how this differs from school life
• Explain how this differs from graduating and entering practical life
Argumentative Essay – Thesis Statement
• Example of an argumentative thesis statement:
High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue
community service projects before entering college in order to increase
their maturity and global awareness.
• The essay that follows should:
• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students
should pursue community projects before entering college
Steps to write a Thesis Statement for an
Argumentative Essay
1. Brainstorm the topic
Let’s say you are interested in unhealthy dietary habits and would like
to focus on sugar consumption. Identify the topic:
Sugar consumption
2. Narrow down the topic
Your readings about the topic have led you to the conclusion that
elementary school children are consuming far more sugar than is
healthy.
Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children
3. Take a position on the topic.
After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what
you really want to say about this topic is that something should be
done to reduce the amount of sugar these children consume.
Your revised thesis statement could look like this:
More attention should be paid to the food and beverage
choices available to elementary school children, as they often contain
sugar in unhealthy proportions.
4. Use specific language
More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available
to elementary school children, as they often contain sugar in unhealthy
proportions.
>>Experts estimate that half of elementary school children consume nine
times the recommended daily allowance of sugar.
5. Make an assertion based on clearly stated support
>>>Because half of all elementary school children consume nine times the
recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to
replace the sugary beverages and foods available in their cafeterias with
healthy alternatives.
Thesis statements- General guidelines
1. Avoid introducing yourself

Poor: In this essay I will discuss why identity theft is such a big problem.

Good: Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States,
with statistics showing one in 24 persons to have been victim to some
kind of identity fraud in the past one year.
(expository type)
2. Don’t list off information.
• Poor: In this passage, the main character engaged in many positive
activities such organizing a food donation drive, helping his group
members, and supporting the sports team. < ---this expresses no main
point
• Good: As a result of the many activities he participated in, Rehan, the
class proctor and protagonist of the story, was recognized for his
positive influence in the student community.
(analytical type)
3. You may want to build up to the thesis statement with an
interesting background.

There was nothing more isolating than being along in a foreign country
with no money, no cell phone, and no ability to speak the language.
Having lost my handbag in a Shanghai bus, I realized for the first time
how important it was to learn the local language if I was to survive as a
student.
(narrative or descriptive or expository type)
4. Avoid being too abrupt or direct
Too direct: There are many precautions one must take when working in
the outdoors.
Appropriate: While gardening has many health benefits, people still
need to exercise caution when working outside to avoid exposing
themselves unnecessarily to risks.
(expository type)