Three-Pronged Thesis Statements

1. Three-Pronged Thesis Statements What is a Thesis Statement?

2. A Three-Pronged Thesis Statement… • Is youropinion/argument. • Organizes your entire essay. • Is always a Complex Sentence.

3. 3 Parts to a Three-Pronged Thesis Statement… • Ask yourself: • What is my topic? 2. What is the significant thing I want to say about my topic? (Your opinion) 3. What are three facts/explanations I can use to defend this significant thing about my topic?

4. How to write a Thesis Statement

5. Now you try: • Topic: Reading. • What is the significant thing/opinion that you’d like to support about reading? • What are three ways you will defend that opinion?

6. An example: • Subject: Reading. • Significant opinion: Reading makes us better people. • 1. We can learn from other’s mistakes, we 2. can see how other people live, and 3. reading allows us to practice how we want to live our lives.

7. My Three-Pronged Thesis Statement: • Reading can make us better people because reading helps us to learn from other’s mistakes, it allows us to see how other people live, and reading lets us practice how we want to live our lives. • Side note: This thesis statement is an acceptable, good thesis statement. • So, how can we make it even BETTER, so that it can be the BEST thesis statement it can be?

8. A Better Thesis Statement: • COMPLEX SENTENCE • “Starter Phrase” • WHY you are arguing your point.

9. Example: • Add a “Starter Phrase”- • Although many people think reading is a waste of time, • Reading can make us better people because reading helps us to learn from other’s mistakes, it allows us to see how other people live, and reading lets us practice how we want to live our lives. MUCH BETTER! 

10. From now on, let’s practice: • We will be writing several Poetry Analysis paragraphs over the next few weeks. • The topic sentence of each Poetry Analysis you write should look like a Three-Pronged Thesis Statement.