PRACTICAL WORK 1

TOPIC SENTENCES and THESIS STATEMENTS

STUDENT: Bado Andrés

ID: 36459256
GRADE:

In these activities you will show your understanding of contents seen this week. You
should be able to identify topic sentences and thesis statements and judge them as
good – or not.

 Cross out the sentence that does not support the topic sentence because
it does not prove or explain why the topic sentence is true. 30 points

1. Topic sentence: A child should have a pet.

Supporting sentences:

A. Owning a pet teaches a child to accept responsibilities.

B. Having a pet helps a child learn to respect all animals and their rights.
C. Most pets take very little time to care for.
D. Pets are cute and cuddly.

2. Topic sentence: Trees are a valuable resource.

Supporting sentences:

A. The roots of trees help to prevent soil erosion.

B. Trees provide oxygen for all animals to breathe.
C. There are many different sizes and shapes of trees and their leaves.
D. Many trees provide fruits and nuts for people and animals to eat.

3. Topic sentence: Being sick can be expensive.

Supporting sentences:

A. The cost of pills can reach five dollars apiece.

B. If an employee misses work, he can lose pay.
C. A visit to the doctor may cost as much as $150.
D. I don’t like to spend money unnecessarily.

 Identify the topic sentence in the following paragraphs. 30 points

Adventure Tourism
Adventure tourism is a different way for tourists to see New Zealand. This type of
tourism uses the plentiful natural resources - mountains, rivers, lakes, wilderness areas
and historical sites to provide adventure, thrills and challenges which are low risk but
high in excitement. For example, the coastal areas in New Zealand are great for
canoeing and kayaking. White-water rafting is another popular water adventure tour.
However, if you would rather keep your feet on the ground, New Zealand has over 100
developed walkways in addition to the tracks in the 12 National Parks. Because more
and more tourists are interested in learning about New Zealand by doing exciting and
unusual activities, adventure tourism will continue to grow.

2. Time Management
No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. To be successful at
university, students need to learn good time-management skills. The first skill is
not taking on more than you can handle. If you are a working part-time, have a family
and are involved in a community organization, then taking a full course-load at
university will be too much. Another time management skill is reasonably estimating the
time required to perform each of the tasks at hand. For example, deeply reading a
chapter from a course text cannot be completed in between television programmes.
Finally, actually doing what needs to be done seems obvious, but is a very difficult skill.
You may find that cleaning out your wardrobe becomes vital when you are avoiding
study. Procrastination is a time manager's enemy. By learning time management skills
your university study will be successful and most importantly enjoyable.

3. Have Heart
The heart weighs about 11 ounces and is the size of a clenched fist. The heart of a
man performs at about 60 to 80 beats a minute. In a year it beats some 40 million
times. At each beat it takes in nearly a quarter of a pint of blood; in a single day it
pumps 2,200 gallons of blood, and in the course of a single lifetime about 56 million
gallons. Is there any other engine capable of carrying on such heavy work over such a
long period of time without needing to be repaired? Obviously, the human heart is a
small yet highly efficient piece of equipment.

 Decide if the following are good thesis statements or not. Write yes
if it is a good one. Write no if it is a weak thesis statement. Justify
your choice. 40 points

Remember, a good thesis statement will:

• have a topic and a controlling idea.
• be arguable. • not be too broad or vague.
• not be too narrow.
• not announce the topic.

1. Cancer is a bad disease. NO

It is not a good thesis statement because it is too broad. There will be too
many choices or topics to write about, which is not possible in a limited
essay.
2. Some children must walk to school. NO
To persuade your reader, you must form an arguable thesis that you then prove
by supplying evidence that supports your argument. In this case, this thesis is
not arguable as you are giving a strong opinion which may seem
unquestionable.

3. Transformers is a great movie. NO

Readers can easily become overwhelmed or confused if a thesis statement
seems to present such a broad idea. This statement will give the reader a too
broad idea of the topic.
4. High schools should require students to wear uniforms. YES
This may seem a god thesis statement as it is an arguable topic
nowadays.

5. Every seventy-four years, Haley’s comet passes Earth. NO

This thesis may seem to be quite unarguable.