Module 2: Learning Through Research
Lesson 9:Developing a Thesis Statement

Objectives

In this lesson you will think about:

• The process of essay writing
• Developing a thesis statement
• Preliminary online background searches

Pre-Class Activities

What to read

• Writing essays is a process
• Another look at process
• How a basic essay is organized
• Argument organization and development
• Paradigm: Choosing a subject
• How to make a claim, in other words, how to develop a thesis statement
• What a thesis statement looks like
• Thesis statement pitfalls
• Thesis statements and Bloom's Taxonomy

What to do

• Evaluate these thesis statement examples in Ian Johnston's Essays and Arguments (3.6)

What to keep

• your reading notes. Don't forget to date your notes.
• your evaluation of Johnston's thesis statement examples.