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Thesis statements



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Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:33 pm
Explosive_Pen says...



So I have to write a five paragraph essay on The Pearl by John Steinbeck, analyzing the quote from chapter five where Kino says, "I do not want to bring danger to you... I know I am like leprosy." Now, I already wrote this, but apparantly my thesis "doesn't prove a point"? I don't see that - I think it's fine - but ah well. So help? Here's my current:

Kino's bad luck is contagious, like leprosy, and he does not want to bring danger to his loved ones by spreading it.



Oh and... It's due tomorrow. So I need some immediate help. xD
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Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:31 am
Cade says...



Well, at 13, you're probably not writing the kind of essays I am, and I'm not sure what your teacher would like for you to do. Right now your thesis statement is pretty much restating the quote. At the most basic level a thesis statement include subject and direction.

Here's a website I found just by typing "thesis statement" into Google: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html. You might find it very helpful!

Here's an example thesis statement of mine:
Shelley, through parallels to God and Eve in Genesis and Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost, offers in the creature's moment of awakening a commentary on the dangerous consequences of man's corruption of knowledge.
This is from an essay about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. My subject: parallels to blah blah blah. Direction: what these parallels suggest, i.e. the dangerous consequences blah blah blah.

For your thesis statement you might comment on WHY Kino compares himself to leprosy--what does that suggest? Why does he feel that way? What kind of commentary might Steinbeck be making? I think that's the "point" your teacher may be encouraging you to pursue.

Good luck!
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Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:01 pm
LowKey says...



Bit late, but for future reference:

A Thesis statement (usually the first sentence of the first paragraph, though it doesn't need to be) is the single sentence that tells the reader what the entire essay's about. In Cade's, you can see her essay's going to be comparing two works to each other and pointing out and discussing the similarities. A good thesis statement is an argument. So, a simple example would be "Poe is better than Steinbeck." Shows what the essay's about, and it pulls your reader in to see how you're going to back this up.

One form of irony that Poe has mastered is situational, and we can see when we compare his work, The Masque of Red Death, to another great author’s work, The Chrysanthemums by Steinbeck, that Poe’s presentation of situational irony is more effective.


By reading that, you've pretty much got a good idea as to what the essay's going to be about, even though you haven't read it. I've also made a point, and now I need to back it up.

Basically, a good thesis statement is your entire essay summed up in one sentence, preferably in a way that hooks the reader's attention, such as with an argument. What's the point of your essay? What does it tell the reader? That's your thesis.
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Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:22 am
fluteluvr77 says...



Heyy twin! This is really late and you're probably done by now...But, just for your information, Robbins doesn't really care if it's vague. Just include the words color, Kino, and maybe the word pearl! That's what Joe Gargiulo did and his thesis was 'pparently amazingggggggggggg So, don't worry about it! :D
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Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:13 pm
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Explosive_Pen says...



Well, thanks anywayz guys. xD I got an 89 on the essay. :D
"You can love someone so much...But you can never love people as much as you can miss them."
  





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Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:59 am
LowKey says...



Awesome!

Sorry I didn't see this before. >.< But at least you have some information for next time? Maybe?

Ack, oh well. Congrats on the essay though! That's really awesome! :D
Necropolis SB / Necropolis DT

Once was Dreamer, is now LowKey_Lyesmith.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
  








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