Isolating My Essay #3 Main Ideas

Body Par. #1: Each of the narrators expresses how they like what they do for their job.

Body Par. #2: Two of the stories … both had not enjoyed their work as much as in the other stories.

Body Par. #3: The job that was being done had to do with job service to the general public.

Body Par. #4: In the other stories … the characters all have jobs that service to specific people.

Body Par. #5: All of the stories have co-workers that each of them works with but there is three of the stories that have their co-workers as friends as well.

Body Par. #6: The most important thing in some of these stories was that the narrator or character had life changing things that happen on their job or outside their job that affects the way they see things now.

Questions about a Thesis Statement

What “umbrella statement” will “cover” all of these main ideas?

(Remember, the thesis statement should “summarize” or “encapsulate” the entire essay in 1-2 sentences.)

Do I need to write a “forecast” or a “blueprint” statement in addition to my thesis statement?

(Remember, the forecast/blueprint statement should “predict” the main ideas of the essay in the order they will appear in the essay.)

Writing a Thesis Statement

Thesis  =  Subject/Topic of the Essay  +  The writer’s assertion, point of view, or opinion about the subject/topic

Writing a Forecast/Blueprint Statement

1.) Begin with “condensing” the main ideas:

• Some characters liked their jobs / some did not
• Some jobs served the general public / some served specific people
• All stories included coworkers / some coworkers were also friends
• Some characters had life-changing things that changed their outlook

2.) Try to link all of them together in 1-2 sentences:

• In examining these five stories, I noticed that some characters liked their jobs while others did not; in addition, some of these jobs served the general public while others served specific people.  Furthermore, while all of these characters had coworkers, some of these coworkers were also close friends.  Finally, some of the characters had life-changing experiences.