05 Thesis Statements // Due the week of Oct. 6, 2016

Hi Everyone!

Your homework this week is to get practice writing thesis statements! The thesis statements are the absolute foundation of the persuasive essay, so I reeeaally want them to be ingrained in your brains :)

A thesis is a statement that says what you think and why you think it—in three separate reasons.

For example:

• Cats are the best animal because they are clean, useful, and good companions.*

Key points:

1. I state my opinion: Cats are the best animal. Then, I include the very important key word "because," as this leads into my reasons. Then I state my three reasons, that cats are clean, useful, and good companions.
2. I do not say "I think" before I begin my thesis statement because this is unnecessary—we already know it is what you think because you are saying it! :)
3. Make sure your reasons are somewhat broad. Later on, you will be taking each reason and turning it into a paragraph of it's own. 
• Therefore, instead of saying as one of my reasons how cats catch mice (about which I might not be able to find much to write), I instead write about how cats are useful (as this reason can include cats catching mice, bringing food home, and sweeping the floor—which we're going to pretend cats do for the purpose of this example). 

Homework: Choose 15 of the prompts from either: 1) our Google Drive handouts folder or 2) your brain, and write one thesis statement for each. Post to Google Drive when finished.

Example:
Should students be allowed to drink soda?
Students should not be allowed to drink soda because it is bad for their teeth, it will prevent them from focusing, and it can spill and be messy.

**Grammar note: No comma is needed directly before or after the word "because" in these sentences**