Building a Thesis Statement

Plagiarism & You: A Bad Mix!The word plagiarism originated in the

practice in Roman times of stealing freemen and selling them into slavery.

The plaga was the net used by the slave trader. Such kidnapping was called plagium and finally became so widespread that a statute was passed prohibiting it.

As early as 80 C.E., the Roman poet Martial used plagiarius to refer to a word thief (Johnson 24).

ORIGINAL from “Children and Television Violence” by Julie Brown: Children often behave differently after they’ve been watching violent programs on television. In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 preschool children were observed both before and after watching television; some watched cartoons that had many aggressive and violent acts; others watched shows that did not have any kind of violence. The researchers noticed real differences between the children who watched the violent shows and those who watched nonviolent ones.

 DIRECT QUOTE: According to the article by Brown, “Children often behave

differently after they’ve been watching violent programs on television” (23).

PARAPHRASING: At Pennsylvania State University, researchers divided 100 young children into two groups. One group watched television programs that contained a lot of violence. The other group watched programs that contained very little violence. Researchers found that the two groups of children behaved very differently (Brown 23).

SUMMARIZING: According to a study conducted at Pennsylvania State University, young children who watched violent television shows behaved differently from those who watched nonviolent shows (Brown 23).

Three partsTopic

OpinionWhy / How

Topic= cloning

Attitude/Opinion= unethical

Why Factor= abused by people

Statement= Cloning is an unethical practice that could be abused by people.

PracticeThesis Statement= Ralph would make a

better leader than Jack because he is more rational.

Topic?Opinion?Why/How?

Try itAnother helpful way to think of your thesis

statement is to think of a good question and then revise it into a statement

Topic: television violence and children

Question: What are the effects of television on children?

Thesis: Violence on television increases aggressive behavior in preschool children.

1) Because half of all crack babies are likely to grow up in homes lacking good cognitive and emotional stimulation, the federal government should finance programs to supplement parental care for crack kids.Topic:Opinion:Why:

2) Behavioral research on animals should be stopped because it can cause unnecessary pain and suffering to the animals and doesn't often guarantee a similar result in humans. Topic:Opinion:Why:

3) Anorexia nervosa has both emotional and social causes which work hand-in-hand to make stopping it on one’s own almost impossible.Topic:Opinion:Why:

Thesis TestDoes your thesis statement pass these four questions?

Does the thesis inspire the reader to ask, “How?” or “Why?”

Would the reader NOT respond with “Duh!” or “No Kidding!”

Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic sentences (the subtopics needed to to prove the thesis)?

Can the thesis be adequately developed in the required length of the paper?

Now!Put together your thesis statement!