Your Thesis Statement Must Be Arguable in Other Words, You Are Taking a Stance!

Name: ______Hour: ______Date: ______Developing a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement must be arguable—in other words, you are taking a stance!

Brainstorm: What are you interested in? What do you feel passionate about?

Your topic must be a controversial issue. We can develop more than one viewpoint on an issue (we can be for or against it).

Exercise: Mark whether each of the following is an issue (I) or not an issue (N)

______1. Paris, France

______2. Mandatory drug testing

______3. The Renaissance

______4. Influenza

______5. Smoking in restaurants

______6. Education

TAKE A STAND! Once you have guaranteed that you are writing about an issue, you must choose your stance. Typically you will either be for or against an issue; other issues might require you to suggest a solution to a problem.

 A statement of fact is a statement that cannot be (reasonable) argued for or against. o Your thesis statement should NOT be a statement of fact.  An arguable statement takes a stand on an issue. You may not agree with the other side to your issue, but you can at least acknowledge arguments for or against it. o Your thesis statement SHOULD be an arguable statement. The following exercise contains hypothetical thesis statements. On the blank line beside each statement, write “A” if the statement is arguable or “F” for statement of fact. If you write “F,” rewrite the statement of fact into an arguable thesis statement.

EXAMPLE: F Many consumers purchase their pets from pet stores.

Adopting a pet from a shelter is better than purchasing one from a pet store because the animals in shelters are most in need of a new home.

______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.

______2. Tom Hanks should have won the Best Actor award for his performance in Castaway because he revolutionized the art of monologue.

______3. Many businesses require employees to take a drug test before being hired.

______4. The United States contains citizens of many different ethnicities because of immigration.

______5. Sterling College should have snack machines in every dorm so that students have an option for food at all times.

______6. Driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous.

______7. Television networks air a lot of reality shows nowadays.

______8. Steroid abuse can lead to serious health problems.