Your thesis statement is the most important sentence in the essay.
1.) Does the body of the essay carry out the purpose and central idea expressed in the thesis statement?
2.) Are there adequate details, examples, or reasons to support each of the ideas?
3.) Is the essay unified? i.e. Does each paragraph and sentence relate clearly to the thesis statement?
4.) Is the essay coherent? i.e. Is the sequence of ideas clear? Are the relationships within and among parts apparent?
5.) Does the introduction engage and focus the reader's attention?
6.) Does the conclusion provide a sense of completion?
The is the primary point or concept that the author wants to communicate to the readers about the topic. Hence, in a paragraph, when the is stated directly, it is expressed in what is called the topic sentence. Main idea gives the overarching idea of what the paragraph is about and is supported by the details in subsequent sentences in the paragraph ❑ Have I arrived at a THESIS STATEMENT only after a careful and well thought out consideration of the prompt or topic and EVIDENCES at your disposal? In order to do this well, you should engage in extensive prewriting, deliberation, introspection and meditation about what your response to the prompt or topic. Discussion with peers and instructors about the idea you wish to convey is a useful way to arrive at your carefully crafted main idea. Crafting the final THESIS STATEMENT should be done only after having a clear idea about what you’re expressing. Paragraphs show where the subdivisions of a research paper begin and end and, thus, help the reader see the organization of the essay and grasp its main points in relation to the research problem. ❑ Is my THESIS STATEMENT clear and precise? This may be a question of style, mechanics or grammar. At any rate, the THESIS STATEMENT must “mean what you say and say what you mean.” You must take responsibility for the way your opinion is expressed in your THESIS STATEMENT. Since it is the controlling idea of the essay, your reader will hold you accountable for what is expressed here. The main ideas from different paragraphs in the comprehension passage connect to a thesis statement. Every paragraphs has two parts: a (what the paragraph is about) and a controlling idea (the direction the paragraph will take or supporting ideas). The main idea tells the audience what the paragraph will be about and all the supporting and controlling ideas. ❑ Having expressed a narrow, clear and precise THESIS STATEMENT that responds appropriately to a prompt or topic, do I immediately begin to support my THESIS STATEMENT by providing subordinate ideas expressed in TOPIC SENTENCES, EVIDENC and ANALYSIS in the body paragraphs after the THESIS STATEMENT? Once the THESIS STATEMENT is stated, do not re state or summarize what has already been expressed. Proceed with the argument.
What is the main idea of a paragraph?
❑ Does my THESIS STATEMENT express one single central idea/opinion in response to the essay prompt or course-related topic? Can you fully support your thesis in the amount of pages required for the assignment? If it expresses more than one main idea, it is probably too broad for a short essay. In the essay map example, the entire THESIS STATEMENT is still considered to be a single idea. Note: The breadth of the essay’s main idea depends upon the scope and length of the assignment. You only have time and space to support one narrow and specific main idea in smaller essays and smaller papers.
2. Why knowing the main idea of the passage is important:
Without well-written paragraphs that flow logically from one idea to the next and that inform and help support understanding of the research problem being investigated, your paper will not be viewed as credible by the reader.
There are 4 effective ways to identify the main idea of a passage.
More than simply a collection of sentences, a paragraph must possess a controlling idea [i.e., the thinking strategy, opinion, or attitude that provides a framework from which to interpret the author’s position concerning the research problem].
Example main idea: we need food in order to survive (so we can live).
-Create an image
-Strike a note of hope or despair
-Use a quotation
-Give a symbolic fact or other detail
-Recommend a course of action
-Summarize the essay
-Reiterate the ideas expressed into the intro
-Restate the thesis statement using different word
The main idea of the passage is – The origin of basketball
❑ Do I have TOPIC SENTENCES? Topic sentences express subordinate ideas that advance, support, or develop the main idea expressed in the THESIS STATEMENT. To be sure, the first sentence of every paragraph located in the body of the essay do not function as a TOPIC SENTENCE. Some may continue providing EVIDENCE or ANALYSIS for a subordinate idea expressed in a previous TOPIC SENTENCE.