Identifying the Thesis Statement and Topic Sentence | Lesson 2 | Unit 1 | English Language Skills | BEN – 1301
Identifying the Thesis Statement and Topic Sentence
Objectives of the Lesson : After you have studied this lesson you will be able to identify –
- the topic of a composition
- the thesis statement in a composition
- identify the topic sentence in a paragraph.
A.
Read this composition to answer the following questions
Our Secondary English Textbooks
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(1) Secondary English textbooks should be used as a useful aid for teaching and learning English communicatively in our situations. (2) These books, based on a national curriculum, are centrally produced by
National Curriculum and Textbook Board, one for each class, and are followed in all the secondary schools, government and non-government, in the country. (3) The books are reasonably priced so as to enable every
student to buy his/her copy.
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(4) Most of our teachers use, rather overuse, these books, because these are the only teaching materials available to them. (5) Moreover, they are not adequately trained to use any other materials. (6) As a result, most of the lesson activities lack variety and challenge, and as such, they hardly stimulate students to learn. (7) To help our teachers to use the textbooks and other support materials effectively, they should be properly trained.
(8) This is because only trained teachers can best use textbooks, aids, newspapers, magazines or any texts adapted or prepared by themselves or their students, for teaching English for communicative purposes.
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(9) Students can learn the language for communicative use only through practising the basic language skills (i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing). (10) That is why the lessons of a textbook should include adequate language activities for practising language skills. (11) You can memorise words, sentences or even the entire text of a lesson and then think that you have learned English. (12) But, you are wrong. (13) The words and sentences of a lesson are used to provide suitable contexts for practising language skills. (14) They are the means, not the end.
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(15) Once the students have practised the language skills with the help of a lesson, they should be able to use the skills in real-life situations. (16) A textbook lesson should have tasks and activities which will involve students in communicating with others in English. (17) In other words, the textbook tasks or exercises will be so designed that their practice inside the classroom will lead to language use outside the classroom, i.e., in real life.
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(18) Teacher’s guide should be used to make a lesson effective. (19) The guide will help the teachers with knowledge and techniques of how to make a lesson plan, how to present a word or structure and most importantly how to make the class participatory through pair-work, groupwork, role play, etc. (20) However, teachers should be free to use or adapt the guidelines provided in the teacher’s guide according to the need of the individual classes.
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(21) A multiple-textbook policy should be introduced at the secondary level. (22) That is, instead of a single textbook for a particular class, there should be more than one book. (23) So writers and publishers should be allowed to produce textbooks freely. (24) English teachers should have freedom to choose any book or books which they think would be suitable for their classes. (25) Only then the writers and publishers will compete for
developing quality books.
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(26) Once the teachers have free access to a variety of teaching materials, i.e. textbooks and other support materials suitable for their classes and once they are adequately trained in how to use these materials, they would be able to use them for developing their students’ communicative competence.
Activity – 1
1 What is the composition about ?
2 Identify a sentence in the composition (either underline or rewrite it) which tells what the whole composition is about.
3 In each paragraph identify one sentence that tells what the paragraph is about.
B.
If you want to write an essay or article, first of all, you have a subject in mind. Then you think about the subject, its various aspects, functions, etc., gather information/data and finally you get down to writing the essay. This subject about which you are writing the essay or article is its topic.
So, the topic of a composition just means the subject of the composition.
Whether a topic is broad or limited depends on the length of the article you are planning to write. Look at the topic of our article: “Our Secondary English Textbooks”.
B 1.
Can you think about any differences between these topics ?
1 Textbooks
2 English textbooks
3 Secondary English textbooks
4 Our secondary English textbooks
No 1 is too broad a subject to be dealt with within the space used for the article, because it includes textbooks for all subjects at all levels of education.
No 2 is still broad and general, because all English textbooks for all grades have to be dealt with.
No 3 is quite limited in scope, but yet it could be secondary English textbooks of any country in general.
No 4 is precisely limited to what can be dealt with easily in the space available.
You have perhaps noticed that a topic can be expressed in a single word (War, Peace, etc..) or in a phrase (e.g. Civil Society, Safe Drinking Water, etc.).
C.
Read the article again and identify a sentence that tells what the entire article is about. This sentence you are going to identify best expresses the subject of the whole composition and is called a thesis statement.
The thesis statement is usually made in the first paragraph. It is clearly written as part of the introduction. Only the idea in your thesis statement and other ideas, facts, etc. related to the idea of the thesis statement should be included and dealt with in your composition.
Now, there are three sentences in paragraph 1. Only sentence 1 expresses clearly how our secondary English textbooks have to be used and for what purpose. Sentences 2 and 3 only give us other facts (e.g. how and for whom these books are produced and why they are not expensive). These facts are related to the main idea expressed in sentence 1. So, sentence 1 is the thesis statement of the entire composition.
D.
A paragraph contains a unit of thought or idea which is expressed in several or many sentences. The topic sentence in a paragraph tells what the paragraph is about. It expresses the main idea which is developed in the paragraph.
A good topic sentence uses key words which you can develop in the paragraph. It is usually a positive statement. For example :
My family members do not like fast foods.
(a bad topic sentence)
My family members avoid fast foods.
(a good topic sentence)
A topic sentence can be put anywhere in the paragraph.
Considering the above-mentioned characteristics of a topic sentence, you can check your answers to section B with the following clues.
Paragraph 1
Sentence 1 has key words like English textbooks, teaching, learning, communicatively, situations. Remember, sentence 1 states the main idea of the entire composition. And it also states the main idea of paragraph 1.
Paragraph 2
Sentence 7 expresses the main idea of training teachers in order to enable them to use the textbooks and other support materials effectively. Other sentences in the paragraph justify this statement by telling that teachers are not properly trained and most of them do not have access to even such simple teaching materials as newspapers, magazines, etc.
Paragraph 3
See how the idea in sentence 9 has been supported by, and developed through, the remaining sentences of the paragraph.
Paragraph 4
Sentence 15 indicates why students should be able to use the language skills in real-life situations after they have practised the language skills (clue: communicate). Sentence 16 tells us what will help them to
communicate with others in English. (clue: tasks and activities in a lesson).
Sentence 17 further explains the idea of sentence 16.
Paragraph 5
Sentence 18 gives the key idea of the need of teacher’s guide for the effective use of a textbook. Sentence 19 tells us how a teacher’s guide can help effective teaching, while sentence 20 informs how a teacher should use the guide.
Paragraph 6
The idea of multiple-textbook policy is expressed in sentence 21. Sentence 22 explains the policy. Sentence 23 tells us what we should do to implement the policy. Sentence 24 points out what teachers should do under the policy. Sentence 25 connects teachers’ role (sentence 24) with the development of quality textbooks.
Paragraph 7
It has only one sentence (sentence 26) that concludes the composition, saying that if a variety of teaching materials are available and if the teachers are trained, they would be able to develop their students’ communicative competence.
E.
Organisation of the article
The article ‘Our Secondary English Textbooks’ has seven paragraphs. The introductory paragraph begins the composition with the thesis statement. This thesis statement has been developed in the following five paragraphs
(2-6). The last paragraph (paragraph 7) restates the thesis in different words and gives a conclusion to the general idea expressed of the article in the thesis statement. Look at the organisation of the article in the following table:
Activity – 2
1 Which topic do you think would be most appropriate for writing a very short article ?
a Floods
b The 1998 floods in your area
c Floods in Bangladesh
d The 1998 floods in Bangladesh
2 Which do you think is the best thesis statement for a 2-3 page article? Justify your answer by explaining the scope of each statement.
a Rice is the staple diet in many countries of the world including Bangladesh.
b Rice production and modern agricultural technology.
c You will remain slim if you don’t eat too much rice.
d Rice is our staple product.
3 A topic sentence
a explains the topic of a composition.
b introduces the main idea of the composition.
c states the main idea of a paragraph.
d always introduces a paragraph.
Explanatory Notes
useful aid something such as a machine or tool that helps someone do something
teaching and learning English communicatively teaching and learning English in such a way that the learners can express their ideas and understand other’s too.
centrally produced NCTB produces books for the whole country that means NCTB produces books centrally.
reasonably priced not very expensive; the price which one can afford
adequately trained having enough training
variety different types of things
challenge something that tests strength, skill, or ability especially in an interesting way; for example, I like my job to be a challenge
…….most of the lesson activities lack variety and challenge most of the activities are boring
…..through practising the basic language skills If the learners do activities related to basic language skills, i.e. reading, writing, listening and speaking skills they will have the ability to use the language for communicative use.
entire text whole text
The words and sentences of a lesson ….…They are the means, not the end If the learners can use the words and sentences of a lesson as tools to make the activities, they can learn both language and practise language
skills.
real-life situations actual situations where people have to deal with
participatory a way of involving everyone in an activity/task
a multiple –textbook policy a policy that will permit including many textbooks for each class.
compete for try to be more successful than another person or organization; for example, Several companies are competing for the contract
access to the right to have something; for example, Students must have access to a good library
competence the ability to do; for example, No one doubts her competence as a teacher.
MCQ
1. A thesis statement expresses
a. the subject of the whole composition
b. the subject of the 1st paragraph
c. the main idea of the last paragraph
d. the topic of a composition
