Exercise 1
The following exercise contains hypothetical thesis
statements. On the blank line beside each statement, write “A” if the statement
is arguable or “F” if the statement is a statement of fact.
__F_____1. The amount of financial aid available to students
should be proportionate to the
earning potential of the career fields for which their majors prepare
them.
___A____2. Tom Hanks should have won the Best-Actor award
for his performance in
Castaway.
____A___3. Frank Sinatra was loved and admired by many
people.
Writing Thesis Statements 3
___F____4. The United States contains citizens of many
different ethnicities.
____A___5. Sterling College should make coffee available to
students in every building.
___F____6. Driving under the influence of alcohol is
dangerous.
____A___7. Penalties for drinking and driving should be more
severe.
___A____8. Television networks air a lot of reality shows
nowadays.
___A____9. The Harry Potter movies are better than the
Indiana Jones movies.
____F___10. Steroid abuse can lead to serious health
problems
Exercise 2
Write three (3) to five (5) arguable thesis statements.
PART 2: WRITING AN ARGUABLE AND NARROW THESIS STATEMENT
AROUND AN ISSUE THAT EXCITES YOU
-
Even though, many people believe math isn’t an
important concept to learn for the real world, I believe math is an important
subject to learn because it helps with measuring, so you can cook and measure
the exact amount, also for engineers and construction workers, and lastly, so
you can help your kids or friends with a math type of problem if they need it.
-
Everyone has their own favorite food, that they
enjoy having wherever they get the chance, I for one, have a few different
favorite foods, but my all-time favorite is homemade ground beef casserole,
this is my favorite food because it is delicious, homemade, and it has this
flavoring that is to die for.
-
Although, many people like sweat shirts over hoodies,
I would have to disagree with those people because I believe hoodies are the
better option because they zip up or down, are warmer in my opinion, and they
come in more colors and designs than sweat shirts.
-
Most people have that one favorite restaurant where
they just wish they could eat there all the time, but usually people don’t,
well my favorite restaurant is Red Robins because you can get endless root beer
floats there, which are amazing if I might add, they have the worlds bet
burgers and spaghetti, and their fruit salad is beyond good, it taste so good
and they have a special flavoring making it better.
-
The topic about gun control is a very debatable
in today’s time, you have the people who want stronger gun laws, but you also,
have the people who don’t, I for one am in vote of having stronger gun law
because I believe it is safer for the people and children, less violence
mostly, and less children can get a hold of a gun and hurt themselves or
someone else.
Exercise 3
Each item below contains a general subject
and a narrower subject that is derivative of it. Write an arguable thesis
statement for each group of words in the column labeled “Narrower Topic.”
General Topic Narrower
Topic
1. education
distance
education ?
2. communication the difference in
people’s voices ?
3. work
paid
vacation time ?
4. dishonesty cheating
in sports ?
5. community volunteerism ?
6. television reality
shows ?
7. relationships fathers and sons ?
8. newspapers college
newspapers ?
9. family
eating together ?
10. criminal justice treatment of
inmates ?
Thesis Statements
1-
Education is a great place for a person to get a
better education and learn new things to help them later on in life. 1- A
distance education is a great way for you to do what you want and learn at your
own pace because you won’t be in the regular classroom setting, it is also good
for the shy, less talkative people, who don’t like being in groups.
2-
Communication is the perfect way for someone to
get to know someone in a better way and learn things about them such as what
they like or how many siblings they have. 2- Hearing a difference in people’s
voice, is a wonderful thing to hear because you can then tell if someone is
mad, upset, or excited about something.
3-
Work, is basically the only way you are going to
make money, so you have to work in order to get what you want. 3- Don’t you
love, when your job, gives you paid vacation time, it like the best feeling in
the world, you get paid while having fun.
4-
One of the worst things someone can be is
dishonest because then they lie and aren’t loyal, meaning they aren’t real
friends. 4- You shouldn’t cheat in sports because it is wrong, dishonest, and
not fair to the other players.
5-
A community is a place where people live, but
you all live close to whether, you can talk and become friends. 5-
Volunteerism, is such a great thing because it makes you feel good, you help
people, and it’s nice to volunteer your time.
6-
Watching TV isn’t the worst possible thing for
kids, but it by far not the best thing either because it rotes children’s
brains, teaches some bad things, and they see things, a child should never do.
6- There are so many reality TV shows on TV today, it’s just crazy.
7-
Relationships are truly amazing, it’s a great
feeling to be in a relationship with someone, but in order to have a good relationship,
and you must be loyal, trustworthy, and kind. 7- There is no such kind of relationship,
like a relationship a father and son share.
8-
Not used very much today is newspapers, an
example of a print media. 8- I haven’t yet seen an actual college newspaper,
but I am sure they exist and are pretty awesome.
9-
Family is truly amazing, one of the greatest
things in the world, is your family because they stand by you and love you for
who you are. 9- Many people don’t actually eat together in a home anymore, but I
believe eating as a family is very valuable and should be done more often.
10-
Criminal justice is a very popular topic for
college students to study today. 10- The treatment of inmates is by far too
good because it is better than actual people who haven’t committed crime are
treated.
EXERCISE 4
Write two arguable thesis statements, each with at least
three supporting arguments. They do not need to be complicated. The important
thing is that your thesis and supporting arguments logically align.
1-
I believe the government needs to fix more Colorado
roads because some roads are too dangerous to drive on, too many pot holes, and
some roads are so bumpy, you move around so much and can get hurt.
2-
I believe every person should be treated equal
no matter what their gender, sexuality or class they are in because it is fair,
its follows the rules, and more people would be happy.
EXERCISE 5
Listed with the two thesis statements below are possible
supporting arguments. Within each group of possible supporting arguments, one
(1) does not align logically with the thesis. Circle each supporting argument
that does not align.
1. The media should be as hard on non-players as they are on
players when it comes to cheating in baseball.
(• Gamblers do a lot of damage to the game.) • Fans steal
signals from opposing teams and relay them to players and coaches. •
Non-starting players also steal signals.
• Groundskeepers have been known to “fix” fields for a home-team
advantage.
2. Kansas is a great place to live.
(• The state has great roads and traffic is seldom congested).
• Kansas City offers many fun attractions, especially east of State Line Road.
• It has many community colleges that enhance local economies. • Kansans have a
rich history of looking out for one another.