Phrases such as "This paper is going to be about" and "I am going to tell you about" do not make for effective thesis statements. A handout from the UNC Writing Center helps writers break from those phrases to craft effective thesis statements. The resource, part of the Writing the Paper series, lists questions to answer and offers examples to use as a guide.

Concepts

thesis statements, introductory paragraphs, introducing a topic, essay writing

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Share model thesis statements and rate them from one through five as a class
• Share examples of bad theses and work in pairs to make them stronger

Classroom Considerations

• If you choose to print, the second and third pages contain the most important information

Pros

• Uses an essay about a popular text, Huckleberry Finn, to make the concept easier to understand
• Takes the perspective of learners and addresses common questions

Cons

• Text-heavy

Common Core

W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.11-12.4 W.11-12.5