ESL 015 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Thesis Statement
29 Apr 2018
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Tuesday September 12, 2017
Chapter 19, “Comparison and Contrast”
✓ “Points of Comparison” – see below
✓ “Patterns of organization” – see the document posted under Notes From Class on
Canvas
Key concepts:
• For our Compare/Contrast essays, it is NOT enough to simply say, “they are alike like
this and they are different like that…
• “Points of Comparison” are higher-order concepts that are applied to BOTH of the
things being compared/contrasted. In other words, we must view and analyze both of
the things being compared/contrasted through the same lenses.
• Please follow one of the two strict “patterns of organization” that is dependent upon
the use of clear, distinct “points of comparison”.
• How many “points of comparison” would be appropriate for a 600-900 word essay?
I think 3-5 will be about right.
Chapter 3, “Thesis”
✓ “A thesis statement is not a question but an assertion—a claim made about a debatable
issue that can be supported with evidence.” (p.80)
✓ A thesis statement is NOT simply, “what the essay is about” or “the topic of the essay”.
It needs to make a clear, obvious claim and have some level of specificity (but not too
much specificity).
Key concepts:
• For our class, the thesis statement should be a sentence or two appearing near the
beginning of the essay. Often times it is the last sentence or two of the opening
paragraph. A thesis statement should be straightforward and to-the-point. It should
also have enough information about what is going to be said in the essay to give the
audience a decent “preview” of the points/arguments/explanations that will follow.
• For the Compare/Contrast Essay, the thesis statement should clearly state the “points
of comparison” used in the essay.
• Remember the concept of “parallelism”; this means that the information presented in
the body of the essay should be presented in the same order as in the thesis statement
and vice-versa. Parallelism also applies within paragraphs, relative to the topic
sentence.
• With this Compare/Contrast Essay and the final Problem/Solution Essay (both drafts)
you should highlight your thesis statement (like this).
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Patterns of organization see the document posted under notes from class on. A thesis statement is not a question but an assertion a claim made about a debatable issue that can be supported with evidence. (p. 80) A thesis statement is not simply, what the essay is about or the topic of the essay . It needs to make a clear, obvious claim and have some level of specificity (but not too much specificity). Key concepts: for our class, the thesis statement should be a sentence or two appearing near the beginning of the essay. Often times it is the last sentence or two of the opening paragraph. A thesis statement should be straightforward and to-the-point. Parallelism also applies within paragraphs, relative to the topic sentence: with this compare/contrast essay and the final problem/solution essay (both drafts) you should highlight your thesis statement (like this).
