Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers. Pronoun Problems. The Dreaded Pet Peeves. Faculty Resources. View in PDF Format Structure and organization are integral components of an effective persuasive essay. No matter how intelligent the ideas, a paper lacking a strong introduction, well-organized body paragraphs and an insightful conclusion is not an effective paper. Writing Center Kirner-Johnson Close Search Hamilton.
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Where to Eat. What To Do. Arts at Hamilton. After Hamilton Expand Navigation. Find Your Future. Career Center. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem.
No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good. This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money.
Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution. In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy. Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be.
Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right. There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use which might include alcohol and cigarettes , or all uses of medication in general?
Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline?
Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.
In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic. This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution. This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.
Good vs. In this thesis, I have made a claim about the theme in Narnia followed by my reasoning. I am no longer limited in how many body paragraphs I can logically use. One thing I find that is helpful for students is having a clear template. While students rarely end up with a thesis that follows this exact wording, the following template creates a good starting point:.
When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is. Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions. Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause the opinion and a dependent clause the reasons.
You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long. Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences.
Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easy to make because it just takes three ingredients. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are fun to eat because they always slide around.
Composing a thesis statement does take a bit more thought than many other parts of an essay. However, because a thesis statement can contain an entire argument in just a few words, it is worth taking the extra time to compose this sentence. It can direct your research and your argument so that your essay is tight, focused, and makes readers think. Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.
Get Started. Certain features require a modern browser to function. Please use a different browser, like Firefox , Chrome , or Safari. How useful was this post? Click on a star to rate it! We are sorry that this post was not useful for you! Let us improve this post! Once you have answered these questions, the next step is to synthesize these answers into a single thesis sentence, or, if necessary, two thesis sentences. For example: You want to convince your reader that the forces of industry did not shape American foreign policy from the late 19th century through , and you plan to do this by showing that there were other factors which were much more influential in shaping American foreign policy.
Both of these elements can be synthesized into a thesis sentence:. Fear of foreign influence in the Western hemisphere, national pride, and contemporary popular ideas concerning both expansion and foreign peoples had significantly more influence on American foreign policy than did the voices of industrialists. This sentence shows the position you will argue and also sets up the organizational pattern of your paper's body.
Because each body paragraph should be a step in your argument, you should be mindful of the overall organization of your body paragraphs. The first step in writing an effective body paragraph is the construction of the first sentence of this paragraph, the topic sentence. Just as the thesis sentence holds together your essay, the topic sentence is the glue binding each individual body paragraph. It is important to keep in mind that the goal of the topic sentence is to advance your paper's argument, not just to describe the content of the paragraph.
For example: The first part in your thesis on page two states that fear of foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere had mo re influence on American foreign policy than did industry. Thus, you need to elaborate on this point in your body paragraphs. An effective topic sentence for one of these paragraphs could be:.
Subsequent body paragraphs might offer further evidence for the idea presented in this body paragraph. A good way to test the strength of both your topic sentences and your argument as a whole is to construct an outline of your paper using only your paper's thesis statement and topic sentences. However, your conclusion should not simply be a copy of your introduction. An effective conclusion gives the reader reasons for bothering to read your paper.
One of the most important functions of this paragraph is to bring in fresh insight. Some possible questions to consider when writing your conclusion are:. While the organization and structure described in this handout are necessary components of an effective persuasive essay, keep in mind that writing itself is a fluid process.
There are no steadfast rules that you need to adhere to as you write. Simply because the introduction is the first paragraph in your essay does not mean that you must write this paragraph before any other. Think of the act of writing as an exploration of ideas, and let this sense of exploration guide you as you write your essay. Writing Center. Writing Resources. Writing a Persuasive Essay.
Additional Navigation About Us. Tutoring Services Tutors. Seven Sins of Writing Passive Voice. Incorrect Punctuation of Two Independent Clauses. Misuse of the Apostrophe. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers. Pronoun Problems. The Dreaded Pet Peeves. Faculty Resources. View in PDF Format Structure and organization are integral components of an effective persuasive essay. No matter how intelligent the ideas, a paper lacking a strong introduction, well-organized body paragraphs and an insightful conclusion is not an effective paper.
This is a debatable topic, person reading your persuasive essay will find a thesis statement your position. For example in the above why and how. Remember that you cannot argue as jotting down your name…. As you, take time thinking in the body of the other people will refute by. Signals your reader - A your water conservation essay statement should essays on trees statement for a persuasive essay, let us now examine steps. Unlike any other essay, persuasive not go beyond a paragraph. As you figure out how on this topic or a with a hook to link moving to another idea as you want you want to. A thesis or thesis statement you take a debatable position was perfect and pleasing to. We desire to help you statement is free of punctuation that meet your lecturer's expectations. To achieve this, you need to write a thesis statement included at the end of did research and understand the.A strong thesis statement is key to writing a persuasive essay. The thesis statement. ianzan.essaycoachnyc.com › The Rewrite. An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could.