Thesis Statement Analysis

Throughout my education I have always been taught the same rules for writing an essay. I was taught that a basic essay should be about four to five paragraphs. The essay should begin with an introduction paragraph that includes a thesis statement. The thesis statement is the most important part of the essay and tells the ready why the essay is important. The body paragraphs should provide evidence that supports the thesis statement. The last paragraph should be a conclusion paragraph which summarizes the entire essay and the points that were made. I was taught that each paragraph should be about four to five sentences each. Also, when typing a paper, I was told to only use Times New Roman 11 or 12-point font and to always double space my lines unless told otherwise.

I was always taught that I should revise my paper multiple times to avoid spelling and grammatical errors. I think that with the use of technology and having spell check easily available that most people do not have many spelling errors. I think that the main concern for people is grammar because it

It states that a thesis statement is an opinion and never a fact. The evidence to support this statement should be expert opinions, anecdotal evidence and data. The author also states that a good essay will address any evidence supporting the opposing opinion. I think the most useful thing in chapter 1 for me was seeing how the author broke down the twenty-five-paragraph essay. I think that was a great example because it shows the reader how to clearly separate the ideas into different section. It also demonstrated the types of transitions that could be used and how to group topics and statements together. I had a difficult time understanding how to write a conclusion in multiple paragraphs because I was always taught it was one paragraph. So, having an example of multiple conclusion paragraphs was very