Writing and Thesis Statement

Maribel R. Gaviola BSiT-1C

TOPiC SENTENCE

A topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. Sometimes referred to as a focus sentence, the topic sentence helps organize the paragraph by summarizing the information in the paragraph. In formal writing, the topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph (although it doesn't always have to be).
A topic sentence essentially tells what the rest of the paragraph is about. All sentences after it have to give more information about the sentence, prove it by offering facts about it, or describe it. For example, if the topic sentence concerns the types of endangered species that live in the ocean, then every sentence after that needs to expound on that subject. Topic sentences also need to relate back to the thesis of the essay. The thesis statement is like a road map that will tell the reader or listener where you are going with this information or how you are treating it.

thesis Statement

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.The thesis statement is also a good test for the scope of your intent. The principle to remember is that when you try to do too much, you end up doing less or nothing at all. Can we write a good paper about problems in higher education in the United States? At best, such a paper would be vague and scattered in its approach. Can we write a good paper about problems in higher education in Connecticut? Well, we're getting there, but that's still an awfully big topic, something we might be able to handle in a book or a Ph.D. dissertation, but certainly not in a paper meant for a Composition course. Can we write a paper about problems within the community college system in Connecticut. Now we're narrowing down to something useful, but once we start writing such a paper, we would find that we're leaving out so much information, so many ideas that even most casual brainstorming would produce, that we're not accomplishing much. What if we wrote about the problem of community colleges in Connecticut being so close together geographically that they tend to duplicate programs unnecessarily and impinge on each other's turf? Now we have a focus that we can probably write about in a few pages (although more, certainly, could be said) and it would have a good argumentative edge to it. To back up such a thesis statement would require a good deal of work, however, and we might be better off if we limited the discussion to an example of how two particular community colleges tend to work in conflict with each other. It's not a matter of being lazy; it's a matter of limiting our discussion to the work that can be accomplished within a certain number of pages.The thesis statement should remain flexible until the paper is actually finished. It ought to be one of the last things that we fuss with in the rewriting process. If we discover new information in the process of writing our paper that ought to be included in the thesis statement, then we'll have to rewrite our thesis statement. On the other hand, if we discover that our paper has done adequate work but the thesis statement appears to include things that we haven't actually addressed, then we need to limit that thesis statement. If the thesis statement is something that we needed prior approval for, changing it might require the permission of the instructor or thesis committee, but it is better to seek such permission than to write a paper that tries to do too much or that claims to do less than it actually accomplishes.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.

Life as an Ideal Student
Student life is a temporary period of man's life but it is of vital importance. It is the time when the seed of future prosperity and happiness is to be sown. As he will sow at this stage of life, so will be reap in his later life. Therefore, an ideal student is to cultivate all the good qualities of a man during this time in order to built a happy and proerous life. The first duty of an ideal student is to study. The students constitute a class by themselves. Great responsibilities lie on them. His parents need not goad him. He takes up his studies with all seriousness. He does not allow any other activity to disturb or to distract him. An ideal student does not waste his time and energy on trash. He seeks the teacher's guidance. He has faith in the superior knowledge of his teachers. An ideal student is not a book-worm. He is keen but not blind. He selects his reading wisely. He has well defined tastes and he develops them with patience and care. Constant and unbroken reading makes a person dull. It also affects one's health. So an ideal student is interested in games and sports. He may not be an excellent player of any game. But he has enthusiasm for playing. If he cannot play he atleast participates as a spectator. Besides games there are other general activities at a college. An ideal student participates in as many of these activities as possible. He picks and choose according to his taste. Many students look upon discipline as a check on their freedom. An ideal student regards discipline with respect and understanding. With him discipline is not an external force. He disciplines himself. He does not go against the rules of the college. He is well-behaved and he respects his teacher, parents and elders. He is graceful in everything that he does. He is not selfish. He is helpful and co-operative. In his personal appearance he is neat and clean and simple. He is not impudent. An ideal student takes interest in politics but in a limited way. He tries his best to understand what is happening in the country and in the world. But he keeps his mind open. He does not attach himself to any political party. It is only in times of national crisis that he may give up his studies and take active part in politics. An intelligent interest in studies, wide but systematic reading, interest in extra-curricular activities, general knowledge, simplicity and grace these are some of the most important qualities of an ideal student

A topic sentence (also known as a focus sentence) encapsulates or organises an entire paragraph, and you should be careful to include one in most of your major paragraphs. Although topic sentences may appear anywhere in a paragraph, in academic essays they often appear at the beginning.
It might be helpful to think of a topic sentence as working in two directions simultaneously. It relates the paragraph to the essay'sthesis, and thereby acts as a signpost for the argument of the paper as a whole, but it also defines the scope of the paragraph itself.
A thesis statement is one of the greatest unifying aspects of a paper. It should act as mortar, holding together the various bricks of a paper, summarizing the main point of the paper "in a nutshell," and pointing toward the paper's development. Often a thesis statement will be expressed in a sentence or two; be sure to check with your professor for any particular requirements in your class--some professors prefer a more subtle approach!
Students often learn to write a thesis as a first step in the writing process, and they become loathe to change their claim. Scholars of writing find, however, a fully formed articulation of thesis to be one of the final steps in writing. Professional writers usually weigh their initial claim in light of new evidence and research; student writers should do the same.

High school is an ever-changing process. As I think back to my last four years of High School things like clothes, language, and even hairstyles have transformed. If in three years so much can change imagine, how much things have changed since our parents were in school.