GOING TO THESIS STATEMENT

Class Review VI

14 Maret 2014

GOING TO THESIS STATEMENT

By Eka Berniati

            Jum’at, pukul 04.30 saya bersama Lili Sulaihah berangkat menggunakan motor tidak seperti biasanya karena pada jam segitu belum ada kendaraan umum, hari ini kuliah dimulai pukul 05.45 dan saya pukul 05.00 sudah berada di kampus dengan semangat. Pada awal dimulainya kelas seperti biasa Mr.Lala memberikan materi yaitu tentang “the enlightened” atau biasa kita sebut yang tercerahkan yaitu kaum literat yang mempunyai kemampuan membaca dan menulis yang sangat tinggi. Apakah kalian sudah termasuk orang-orang yang tercerahkan? Maksudnya orang-orang yang tercerahkan adalah dimana kita bisa memahami dan mengerti tulisan yang kita baca, contohnya ketika saya masih SMA semua siswa diwajibkan membaca teks narrative, disana kita bisa menjumpai kata-kata yang belum kita mengerti karena pada saat itu belum banyak mengetahui arti bahasa Indonesia dari teks yang kita baca itu. Dengan itu kita bisa membuka kamus dan menemukan arti kata tersebut dan dari situlah kita mendapatkan pengetahuan baru dan itu menurut saya arti dari yang tercerahkan

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            The thesis statement is that sentence or two in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the essay is going to be about. Although it is certainly possible to write a good essay without a thesis statement (many narrative essays, for example, contain only an implied thesis statement), the lack of a thesis statement may well be a symptom of an essay beset by a lack of focus. Many writers think of a thesis statement as an umbrella: everything that you carry along in your essay has to fit under this umbrella, and if you try to take on packages that don't fit, you will either have to get a bigger umbrella or something's going to get wet.

Defining the Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The argument(s) you make in your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures your position on this main idea is what we call a thesis statement.

How long does it need to be?

A thesis statement focuses your ideas into one or two sentences. It should present the topic of your paper and also make a comment about your position in relation to the topic. Your thesis statement should tell your reader what the paper is about and also help guide your writing and keep your argument focused.

Questions to Ask When Formulating Your Thesis

Where is your thesis statement?

You should provide a thesis early in your essay -- in the introduction, or in longer essays in the second paragraph -- in order to establish your position and give your reader a sense of direction.

Tip: In order to write a successful thesis statement:

• Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper.
• Be as clear and as specific as possible; avoid vague words.
• Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my paper is…”

Is your thesis statement specific?

Your thesis statement should be as clear and specific as possible. Normally you will continue to refine your thesis as you revise your argument(s), so your thesis will evolve and gain definition as you obtain a better sense of where your argument is taking you.

Tip: Check your thesis:

• Are there two large statements connected loosely by a coordinating conjunction (i.e. "and," "but," "or," "for," "nor," "so," "yet")?
• Would a subordinating conjunction help (i.e. "through," "although," "because," "since") to signal a relationship between the two sentences?
• Or do the two statements imply a fuzzy unfocused thesis?
• If so, settle on one single focus and then proceed with further development.

Conclusion, The thesis statement usually appears near the beginning of a paper. It can be the first sentence of an essay, but that often feels like a simplistic, unexciting beginning. It more frequently appears at or near the end of the first paragraph or two.