Page 326 - English - Teaching Academic Esl Writing

312 CHAPTER 11
Similarly, each Topic Sentence also has to be supported by Topic Sup- ports (A, B, C or D, E, F) directly connected to the topic sentence. If more than one paragraph is used to support a Thesis Point (1, 2, 3, +), other Topic Sentences in each paragraph also need to be directly relevant to the Thesis Point.
All Topic Supports (A, B, C and D, E, F) have to be related to their own Topic Sentence, and all Topic Sentences have to support the Thesis (every Topic Sentence wants to be the Big Kahuna—the Thesis).
When Thesis Point 1iswell supported, the essay moves on to Thesis Point 2.
THESIS SUPPORT 2
Thesis Support 2 consists of a number of paragraphs (1-4). Each paragraph includes a Topic Sentence that is directly connected to Point 2 in the Thesis. Topic Sentences are supported by Topic Supports (G, H, I and K, L, M). All Topic Supports are directly connected to their own Topic Sentences, which are directly connected to the Thesis Point 2.
A useful analogy: In an organization or business, employees in a depart- ment (or unit) have their direct boss, who is actually a small boss. The small boss, together with several other small bosses, has a medium-sizeboss.Sev- eral medium-size bosses report to an upper medium-size boss, and several upper medium bosses report to the Big Boss, the Kahuna (aka the Thesis Statement).
When Thesis Point 2 iswell supported, the essay moves on to Thesis Point 3. When Thesis Point 3 is supported, on to Thesis Point 4, and so on.
In academic essays, a proper Conclusion is not always possible to make simply because many academic assignments and papers are written about issues that do not have conclusions. However, conclusion making is not re- quired, but a Closing Paragraph is. To close an essay, it is also not necessary to repeat the Thesis Points (as students often do). A closing paragraph can look forward into the future and, for example, note possible developments, events, or steps than can be taken with regard to the essay topic or issue. Other types of Closing Paragraphs can include the writer's personal hopes/views/expectations that deal with the topic or simply a couple of summative sentences.
A practical exercise can be to ask students to underline the Thesis State- ment in their assignment/essay and then underline the Topic Sentence in each paragraph and connect it to a specific Thesis Ibint, one at a time.
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