an Online Outline

Introductory Paragraph

Begin with an interesting quotation related to your opinion about ” + form.topic.value newContent +=”

(You will need a transition here)

” newContent +=” – End the Intro paragraph with your thesis statement:

” newContent +=” Even though ” + form.con.value + “, ” + form.opinion.value newContent +=” because ” + form.pro2.value + ” and ” + form.pro1.value newContent +=” .

Body Paragraph or Section #1

Topic of the body thesis:
” + form.con.value + “

” newContent +=” – Find evidence” newContent +=” – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up” newContent +=” or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence

” newContent +=” Another example that shows that ” + form.con.value + ” is.

” newContent +=” – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations” newContent +=”, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence.

Body Paragraph or Section #2

” newContent +=” Even though ” + form.con.value + “, ” + form.opinion.value newContent +=” because ” + form.pro2.value + “.

” newContent +=” – Find evidence” newContent +=” – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up” newContent +=” or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence

” newContent +=” Another example that shows that ” + form.pro2.value + ” is.

” newContent +=” – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations” newContent +=”, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence.

Body Paragraph or Section #3

” newContent +=” The most important reason ” + form.opinion.value newContent +=” is because ” + form.pro1.value + “.

” newContent +=” – Find evidence” newContent +=” – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up” newContent +=” or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence

” newContent +=” Another example that shows that ” + form.pro1.value + ” is.

” newContent +=” – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations” newContent +=”, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.

” newContent +=” – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence.

Conclusion

” newContent +=” So it is clear that although ” + form.con.value + “, ” + form.opinion.value + ” for two main reasons. ” newContent +=”First, ” + form.pro2.value + “. ” newContent +=”But most importantly, ” + form.pro1.value + “.

” newContent +=” – Now you will return to your opening attention-getter from the introduction

” newContent +=” – Then end your essay with a powerful So What? statement.

Do you want to print or copy and email this page?

brought to you by ThesisBuilder .” newContent +=” ” //write HTML to new window newWindow.document.write(newContent) newWindow.document.close ( ) > >

Hosting costs are threatening my ability to provide The Thesis Builder free to students worldwide.

If you have enjoyed using any of the Thesis Builders since I first posted them in 1995, could I ask you to consider making a donation? I especially encourage any schools or institutions who link to the site to consider supporting this effort.
Kind regards, Tom

ElectraGuide is a tool that wants to help high school students:

1. find a topic (see example topic questions ?)
2. create a good thesis statement (see an example ?)
3. and generate an outline (see an example ?)

To use Thesis Builder, you’ll need:

• a topic
• opinions about the topic
• reasons for your opinion and a main reason others might disagree

Instructions

1. Answer the following questions in short phrases (not full sentences).
2. Do not use periods / full stops (.) at the end or capital letters at the beginning of the phrases you write. You can see an example.
3. Click the “Build a Thesis” button when you’re finished.
4. A window will pop open with your Built Thesis.
5. Go back and adjust your answers to smooth out the thesis until it makes sense and expresses your beliefs. Clicking on the “Build a Thesis” button again will update your thesis to show your changes.
6. Once you’ve got a thesis statement, use the Make an Online Outline button to generate the framework for your essay. (Would you like to see an example outline ?)

Let’s get started!

By Tom March
edge-ucators.com/electraguide/
1995 Tom March — All Rights Reserved
Last revised January, 2015

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/). When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice at bottom.

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

This resource provides tips for creating a thesis statement and examples of different types of thesis statements.

Contributors: Elyssa Tardiff, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2014-02-10 10:44:43

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation 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 policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g. a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specificit should cover only what you will discuss in your paper 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.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.

The paper that follows should:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

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 paper that follows should:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

1995-2016 by The Writing Lab The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use .