Thesis/Brainstorming/Outline

Ms. LoganEnglish I

Thesis Statement

• Purpose: Outlines your paper for the reader in a brief sentence in the introduction.

• This is a very simple formula for a thesis:– OPINION + (3) BECAUSE STATEMENTS = THESIS

Ex: School uniforms are bad because they limit a student’s freedom of speech, encourage student apathy, and cost the student’s parents more money than an alternate outfit.

YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO COMPOSE ON-TOPIC THESIS

STATEMENTS WITHIN A WELL-CRAFTED INTRODUCTION, BOTH

PROMPTED AND FREE TOPIC.

Brainstorming

• Always important to the writing process. –Webbing–T-chart–Venn diagram

Why the extra step?

• The more EVIDENCE you provide, the better equipped you will be to write.• 9th-grade English considers “Reader

Response” the most important part of the thinking process

Reader Response

• Who is the intended audience?– Intended reader vs actual reader

• How did the author meant for the work to be received?– Intended as art or as fact

• How did the author’s life affect the composition?– Rarely considered in modern analysis for fiction– Important for the reception of biography

Example• Prompt: What did you find most intriguing about the

society in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies?

People rush to the newsstands to read about Kristen Stewart’s latest affair; this demonstrates a complete lack of understanding on what life is all about. In Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, I found the way Tally perceives actual beauty is contradictory to our culture’s outlook, and her subsequent epiphany after a confrontation with her parents. Tally eventually tries to find out what life is actually meant to represent, and I appreciate her struggle with both internal and external forces.

• With effective brainstorming and a good thesis, you can create a very organized outline to guide your writing.

THE MORE ORGANIZED YOU ARE, THE EASIER IT WILL BE TO COMPOSE YOUR ESSAY.

Sample Outline

• Keep your thesis handy!!!

In Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, I found the way Tally perceives actual beauty is contradictory to our culture’s outlook, and her subsequent epiphany after a confrontation with her parents.

• Introduction– Hook, thesis, transition statement

• Paragraph One: How Tally perceives beauty– Detail: does not like her own reflection at first and looks

forward to the surgery– Detail: tries to get her friend Shay to feel as “ugly” as she

herself does• Paragraph Two: When Tally realizes her society is shallow– Detail: Her parents suddenly seem vapid to her when they

don’t offer any good advice and just want her to conform– Detail: David tells her about growing up in the wild and she

suddenly has an epiphany that other people grow up “ugly” all their lives and are perfectly happy

In Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, I found the way Tally perceives actual beauty is contradictory to our culture’s outlook, and her subsequent epiphany after a

confrontation with her parents.