SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS:
1) Each major assignment allowed me to develop and practice related but slightly different skills. The first paper helped me develop my storytelling appeals and critical reflection. The second helped me develop my critical thinking and analysis, while the third aided in the development of my research skills.
2) I learned a few new things this semester but the most important skills I gained have to be how to analyze an argument or a piece of rhetoric, how to tailor my arguments to different audiences, and how to take other people’s viewpoints into consideration, even if I don’t always agree with them. This class also helped my confidence as a writer.
3) Writing is not my strong suit so each major paper assignment was something of a challenge for me. However, by overcoming these challenges, each paper had its own rewards.
4) While a lot of the material covered in this class was introduced to me in high school classes, this semester gave me the opportunity to fine-tune my writing style through practice in critical thinking, analysis, citation, research, and logical argumentation.
5) There are things that I liked about this class (like conferences, being able to pick my own topics, and the laid back atmosphere), as well as some things I disliked (I’m not a fan of group work or research). Overall, though, I think I am a better writer now than I was a few months ago.
SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCES:
1) This first paper, a Memoir, surprised and challenged me in a few ways. [The writer goes on to highlight some the difficulties she had with the Memoir, as well as how the assignment was different from what she expected in a college English course.]
2) The journal assignments were the easiest but also the most beneficial for me. [The writer then talks about what she liked about and gained from the journal assignments.]
3) There are a few suggestions I would make for future assignments, especially the journals and the research paper. [After this, the writer goes on to offer some constructive criticism and highlight a few things he didn't like or didn't find helpful about journals and the research paper.]
4) I found the analysis portion of the class particularly difficult. [After this topic sentence, obviously, the writer devotes the rest of the paragraph to describing the difficulties he had with the analysis assignment, then a little about how he overcame them.]
5) My favorite part of the class and Meyerhofer's teaching style was his use of conferences. [The rest of the paragraph talks about the benefit of conferences and how my approach differed from instructors she had in high school, how it helped her confidence, etc.]
