Students often struggle with writing effective thesis statements. Often, their difficulties result from failing to know how to dissect the essay writing prompt and formulate their purpose (for informational/explanatory) or point of view (for argumentative) thesis statements from the writing task itself. Following are a few teaching tips and a FREE Download to help your students practice.
First, Dissect the Writing Prompt
1. WHO: Underline any words which identify the audience or the role of the writer.
2. WHAT: Circle any words which identify the topic, context, or purpose of the writing task.
3. HOW: Bracket any words which identify the writing format or the resources to use.
4. DO: Box any words which identify key writing direction words.
Need more details on the WHO, WHAT, HOW, DO strategy. Check out this article.
Next, Write a One-Sentence Thesis Statement
1. It will leave room for the WHO and HOW introduction strategies to flow into the thesis statement as the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. An essay introduction doesn’t use a hook or lead, as does a narrative introduction. An essay introduction builds reader interest and understanding of the thesis statement, but keeps a formal essay tone. So, avoid “It was a dark and stormy night.” Need help on teaching essay introduction strategies?
Get the Essay Introduction Strategies FREE Resource:
2. Include the key word from the WHAT of the writing prompt in a declarative statement about that WHAT. In essay that requires the writer to inform the reader, the thesis statement should state your specific purpose for writing. The thesis statement serves as the controlling idea throughout the essay. In an essay that requires the writer to convince the reader, the thesis statement should state your point of view. The thesis statement serves as the argument or claim to be proved throughout the essay.
3. It will directly respond to all components of the specific writing task and nothing beyond that task.
Following are the typical response comments I use to respond to student thesis statements. No sense in re-inventing the wheel. I use the alphanumeric codes to simplify comment insertions.
- e7 Thesis Statement does not respond to writing prompt. Re-read the writing prompt and dissect according to the WHO (the audience and role of the writer), the WHAT (the context of the writing topic), the HOW (the resource text title and author), and the DO (the key writing direction word).
- e8 Thesis Statement does not state the purpose of the essay. Dissect the writing prompt, focusing on the WHAT (the context of the writing topic), the HOW (the resource text title and author), and the DO (the key writing direction word) to specifically state the purpose of your essay.
- e9 Thesis Statement does not state the point of view of the essay. Dissect the writing prompt, focusing on to the WHO (the audience and role of the writer), the HOW (the resource text title and author), and the DO (the key writing direction word) to clearly state your specific point of view.
- e10 Thesis Statement is too general. Get more specific in your thesis statement. Example: There were lots of causes to the Civil War. Revision: Although many issues contributed to problems between the North and the South, the main cause of the Civil War was slavery.
- e11 Thesis Statement is too specific. Your thesis statement needs to be a bit broader to be able to respond to the demands of the writing prompt. A good thesis statement is like an umbrella-it must cover the whole subject to be effective. Save the specificity for the body paragraphs.
- e12 Thesis Statement is inconsequential. The thesis statement must state a purpose or point of view that can be meaningfully developed in the essay.
- Example: People in France really enjoy their cheese. Revision: The French especially enjoy four types of cheeses.
- e13 Thesis Statement cannot be argued. An essay designed to convince a reader of the author’s specific point of view must provide a thesis statement that is arguable. Example: Blue is the best color. Revision: Blue is the best color to complement a bright white background.
- e14 Split Thesis Statement Don’t write a split (divided) thesis. A split thesis includes two purposes or two points of view. Focus on only one purpose of point of view throughout the essay. It may be necessary to reference or refute another purpose or point of view in the body paragraphs or conclusion.
- e15 Thesis Statement responds to only part of the writing prompt. Dissect the writing prompt according to the WHO (the audience and role of the writer), the WHAT (the context of the writing topic), the HOW (the resource text title and author), and the DO (the key writing direction word) and include each part.
Interested in more of these Essay e-Comments? Check out this video to get all 438 comments.
For more thesis statement and essay practice, check out the author’s TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE. This curriculum includes 42 essay strategy worksheets corresponding to teach the Common Core State Writing Standards, an e-comment bank of 438 prescriptive writing responses with an link to insert into Microsoft Word® for easy e-grading (works great with Google Docs), 8 on-demandwriting fluencies, 8 writing process essays (4 argumentative and 4 informative/explanatory), 64 sentence revisionand 64 rhetorical stance“openers,”remedial writing lessons, writing posters, andediting resourcesto differentiate essay writing instruction inthis comprehensive writing curriculum.
Check out the FREE Download teaching summary of the WHO, WHAT, HOW, and DO strategy for dissecting writing prompts for display and practice.
Get the Dissecting a Writing Prompt Practice FREE Resource:
Get the Free Assessment Toolkit
Diagnostic reading and ELA assessments, each with its recording matrix.
From the store · grades 4–8
Comprehensive Vocabulary
56 vocabulary lessons with study guides, biweekly unit tests and a final exam — built for word-study rotations. $39.99 per grade, licensed per teacher.
Questions teachers ask
Can the programs be used in centers rather than whole class?
Yes. The remedial worksheets are keyed one-to-one to items on the diagnostic assessments, so students can work on their own gaps independently while the rest of the class rotates.
Do I have to buy anything to use the assessments?
No. Every diagnostic assessment on this site is free. Enter your email on the Free Assessment Toolkit page and the diagnostic assessments arrive as downloads, each with its recording matrix.
How are the programs licensed?
Every program is a digital download licensed for one teacher. School and district purchase orders are accepted through the store.
Mark Pennington, M.A. Reading Specialist
Thirty-six years teaching ELA and reading, elementary through community college, plus district reading specialist. He wrote every program on this site.
More about Mark →