January 22Thesis Statements

Get out your Handy Pages (Page 4/5) and Spiral Notebook

to Section 3

Occasion/ Position Statements

• Occasion Introduces your reason for writing

• Position states what you plan to prove• 1. Choose one of these words: In order

that, If, After, Before, So that, Even though, While, When, Until, Since, Because, Whether, Whenever, As long as

• 2. Then state what you are trying to prove

Example Statement• What would the essay be about in

these two statements?• 1. Although my family and I have

taken many wonderful vacations, none was more fun and exciting than our camping trip to the Grand Canyon.

• 2. Even though bike helmets are sometimes unfashionable and uncomfortable, all cyclists should wear them.

Write your own:

• Now write your own occasion/position statement about this topic:

• What are the chances that life exists in other solar systems?

January 23: Power Number• Power Number Thesis Statements: A

sentence that contains a number word

• Helpful Number Words: Three, several, Many, Some, A Couple Of, A Number Of

• Example: Tourists Traveling to Paris will want to visit three spectacular sights.

• (RDF’s-Talk about each of the 3 sights)

Write Your Own Power Number Thesis:

1. What do adult writers need to understand about writing for young people?

2. What makes a person great?

January 24: However Statements

• However Statements: Using an adverb to organize your thoughts

• Adverbs (conjunctive): In fact, Nevertheless, As a result, Next, Meanwhile, Still, Instead, Consequently, Therefore

Examples: • What would the essay be about in these

two statements? What could the RDF’s be?

• 1. Our class enjoyed everything at the zoo; however, the monkeys were the most entertaining.

• 2. The new little league coaches were not happy with the old practice schedule; instead, they presented a plan that gave each team equal access to the practice field.

Write your own However Statement:

• What if you generally like school but PE is your favorite?

• What if you had a fundraising strategy that did not work but you suddenly came up with a new plan?

Possible Thesis Statements:

• All of the subjects in school are enjoyable; however, PE is the best subject of all.

• The initial fun raising strategies fell through; nevertheless a new, better fund raising strategy proved to raise the most money for the trip.

January 30, 2007: Section 3

• And, But, Or Statements

• Conjunctions you can use for one of these statements:

• And, but, or, nor, so, yet, for

• Always place a comma before the conjunction

Examples: What would the essay by about? The RDF’s?

1. Some people find it difficult to program a VCR, but most will succeed if they just remember to follow these guidelines.

2. My grandmother likes to help others, so she volunteers at the church, hospital, and at my school.

Write your own And, But, Or Statement:

• Imagine that writing an essay is difficult for students at Meadowdale but you come up with a plan to make it easier.

• It is difficult for students at Meadowdale to write essays, so I came up with a plan to make it easier.

• A lot of students at Meadowdale find it difficult to write essays, so a plan was put into place to make it easier.

• Students at Meadowdale find it difficult to write essays, but this can be made easier with a plan.

February 1, 2007: Section 3

• Preposition Statements use the following words:

• According to, Along with, Before, Besides, Beyond, Instead of, Near, Outside

• Can you think of any other prepositions you could use?

Preposition Examples: What would the essay be about? What are the RDF’s?

• Throughout the class the teacher gave ideas on how to improve a grade point average.

• With a new game plan, the Seahawks look forward to winning all of their games next year.

Write you own Preposition Topic Sentence:

• This time just make up your own using your imagination on any topic!

February 1, 2007

• To, Plus a Verb Statements: Use an infinitive (main verb) preceded by the word to.

• Infinitives: to succeed, to accomplish, to finish, to win

• Example: To win at basketball, players need to master three skills.

Write your own To, Plus a Verb Statement:

• Show someone how they would win scrabble.

• Let someone know how to be a successful student.