Introduction
There is more to learning English than mastering the basics of grammar. Learning the English language as a second language will also require the ability to communicate not only through verbal skills but also through writing. Just like in the parts of speech and other facets of learning how to speak in public or engage in a day-to-day conversation there are also many aspects of writing that a student must learn to master over time. For this particular WebQuest, the focus will be on how to develop and write down a thesis statement to help students develop their writing skills and to help them communicate more effectively.
Task
Students will have to go through the process of learning what a thesis statement is and then define what is a thesis statement using their own words. The second step is to familiarize themselves with the elements of a good thesis statement and then finally they have to practice writing their thesis statements in two different scenarios:
- When the topic is assigned
- When the topic is not assigned
Process
What is a Thesis Statement?
- it is the statement that will help the reader interpret the significance of the subject matter being discussed
- a simpler way of saying it is that it is a statement that directly answers the question asked by the topic or the article
- it can also be a statement that claims that the author has to prove or disprove
- it is usually a single sentence found in the first paragraph of your essay or the article that you are writing
How to Generate a Thesis Statement
Click on the image below to be redirected to a site that will teach you how to write a thesis statement if the teacher assigned you the topic or the subject matter to write about and even if there the topic was not assigned to you this link can still help you generate your thesis statement.
Write your Thesis Statement
Below are links to two of the world’s best fairy tales. These stories are well known and you probably are familiar with these stories. Now, you have to click the link, read the story and then after reading each story you have to write down the thesis statement as if you are going to write a reaction paper about them. Click the image right after the story title to follow the link:
Now it is time to write a thesis statement if the subject was not assigned. Think of a topic that is of great interest to you and then write down your thesis statement for that topic.
Evaluation
Conclusion
The importance of having a clear thesis statement as a guide in the writing process cannot be overemphasized. Therefore students of the English language must master the skill of generating a thesis statement when a topic is assigned and even if no topic was assigned by the teacher. By doing so the student will be able to communicate and express themselves using the English language.
Credits
All the links found in this WebQuest are considered to be open sources, there is no need to ask permission to use them here. Nevertheless, the information gathered and the links provided are all acknowledged in the resources portion of this WebQuest. The proponent of this WebQuest would never have completed this useful tool for learning without the help of former teachers who labored tirelessly to share their knowledge and insight regarding how to teach English as a secondary language.
Teacher Page
Introduction
Students will have to understand the purpose and significance of a thesis statement. They will have to learn how to generate one if a topic is provided to them, and even if the topic was not assigned. There are links given that will lead to reliable resources that, in turn, will help students know more about how to develop a thesis statement. In the end, some links will lead to two popular fairy tales this will, in turn, lead to an exercise in generating a thesis statement.
Learners
The learners are international students who may have difficulty in grasping concepts in the English language. The teacher must have this in mind. The teacher must be willing to make adjustments in the use of certain words, terms, phrases whenever appropriate.
Lesson Objectives
The purpose of the Webquest is to introduce what it means to have a thesis statement before writing an essay, article, or term paper. The students will have to generate their thesis statement after the teacher asked them to read a short story and then proceed to write a reaction paper about it. The teacher will also ask them to write about a particular topic that they are interested in to determine if they can generate a thesis statement without knowing the topic or give a material to base their writing on.
Teacher’s Resources
All the resources that the teacher will need can be found in the World-Wide-Web. The only thing that the teacher needed to do is to check the links if there are no broken links and that if the students can access these websites.