The guiding idea and argumentative thesis statement: how are they different? how are they used? was written by rhonda dietrich. Your composition professor has given you an assignment, requiring you to write an essay in which you identify your favorite book and explain why you like it best. Later she assigns an essay in which you take a stand either for or against homeschooling. Both assignments require you to write a paper, yet the essays called for are in two different genres.

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Although these genres are different, they are similar in that both require your essay to have a main point. it’s that important. it is also highly recommended that you present your main idea toward the end of your first paragraph, so readers will know at the onset what point you plan to make in your essay. As you will see, you need to present a guiding idea when discussing your favorite book however, when taking a position on the controversial issue of homeschooling, you will have to present your point of view in an argumentative thesis statement. Let’s take a closer look at both ways of presenting the main point of an essay to get a better idea of why and how each is used. It may seem that papers in which you state your favorite book, relate your most cherished memory, or describe your little sister don’t need a central idea. After all, you aren’t trying to convince anyone to vote for a certain political candidate or to ban smoking in public places.

Without this expressly written main point, the paper will be unclear and unfocused, and readers will often be confused about the idea you are trying to get across. For the guiding idea to be effective it must be:

clear: if readers can’t understand it, it is as if your paper doesn’t have one.

harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone

note: the sentence is clear and leaves no question in the reader’s mind regarding what the student wants to say in the essay.

example of an unclear guiding idea: harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone is good, so i like it. note: the sentence is unclear because the reader doesn’t know if this is the student’s favorite book or why the student thinks it is good.

specific: if it contains vague words such as good and things, it will not be effective in getting your point across.

example of a specific guiding idea: during the summer of my thirteenth year, i developed a passion for british romantic poetry due to its celebration of nature. It is also likely to make the reader want to read on. example of a vague guiding idea: during the summer of my thirteenth year, i learned that there are a lot of good things about romantic poetry. note: the words good things are too vague to give the reader a clear understanding of the writer’s main point.

The vague terms may also make the statement a little boring for the reader and may not entice him or her to read on. simple to support. In other words, if it is presented unclearly, vaguely, or in an overly complex way, it will be very difficult to back it up effectively in the rest of the essay.

note: here the student only has to explain in detail each of these steps in order to support the central point of the essay.

example of an unsupportable guiding idea: nobody likes baking cakes. The writer doesn’t know everyone, so it would be impossible to prove this in the essay. click on this link and read the paper. Then in a paragraph answer the following questions:

how clear is the guiding idea? how well does the writer stay focused on it? give examples from the paper to back up your answer.

Which supporting point sticks out to you? why?

the argumentative thesis statement

on the other hand, if you want to convince your reader that your position on the issue of homeschooling or capital punishment is valid, you will need to present your point of view in an argumentative thesis statement. With this statement, you not only tell readers what you think about an issue, but you also let them know what you intend to prove in your paper. For this reason there is no need to explain to readers that you will back up your thesis in your essay. Setting out to prove the validity of your point of view as your paper continues marks the difference between stating an opinion and presenting an argument. Although the thesis statement’s purpose is different from that of the guiding idea, the two are similar in some very important ways.

Both express the writer’s central idea or main point and, thus, need to be clear and specific. In addition, the two need to be written in a way that makes it possible for the writer to support them effectively. However, because the thesis statement presents an argument that must be convincing to readers, it needs to have some important characteristics of its own:

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Clearly, if you want to your reader to listen to what you have to say, you need to show that you have thought out your argument from all angles.

note: whether or not the reader agrees, it seems like a reasonable claim and one that could be supported in the essay.

example of an unreasonable thesis: all democrats should be thrown out of the country. note: this thesis suggests an impossible solution to an unknown problem and, thus, cannot be supported. it must be controversial. This is often difficult for students who are used to writing reports on various subjects in high school. If you don’t need to convince your readers that your main point is valid, then you don’t have any reason to write a persuasion paper.

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