Download Thesis Statements and Supporting Points for Essay #3

Thesis Statements and Supporting Points for Essay #3
Your thesis statement for this argumentative essay should argue that advertising, in general, is useful and
valuable or that it has mostly negative effects.
In addition to providing this claim, you should express the “how” of your claim. How is it that advertising
has positive or negative effects? Identify the claim and the “how” in these two samples:
Option One: Advertising is a destructive force in our society, and the most pernicious effect of advertising
is its almost programmatic promotion of negative stereotypes.
Option Two: Because our economy is based on consumption, and because that consumption ultimately
keeps people employed, advertising is indispensable—it motivates and persuades people to consume.
Use the PIE format to develop your thesis statement with supporting paragraphs. Remember, each topic
sentence should contain a POINT, a focused assertion that supports the larger assertion of your thesis
statement.
Supporting paragraph outline:
Point: What is the positive or negative impact you will be demonstrating in this paragraph?
Advertising has often promoted an antiquated stereotype of women—that they should stay in
the home and take care of the family.
Information: Describe a particular advertisement or type of advertising that proves your point.
The advertisement for Bon Ami Cleanser pictures two apparent housewives, one envying the
other’s bathroom cleanser: “Heavens Ann,” cries May, “ I wish I could clean up as quick as
that!”
Explanation: How does the advertisement prove your point?
The Bon Ami advertisement perpetuates a female stereotype of dutiful domesticity in order to
sell a product, subtly asserting that women are being neglectful if they veer from their domestic
duties—if, that is, they fail to properly clean their homes with Bon Ami Cleanser. (A quotation
from “Indictments” might then reinforce this analysis.)
*NOTE: Students are often tempted to describe of some aspect their evidence in topic sentences
rather than making a point about the evidence. Below are examples of the type of topic sentences
you want to avoid:
Thesis: Advertising has the negative effect of promoting stereotypes.
Topic Sentence 1: The Calgon commercial begins with a woman in a bathtub.
Topic Sentence 2: The Home Depot commercial involves an ethnic minority.
Topic Sentence 3: Geritol is marketed exclusively towards older people.
Notice how these don’t make points in support of a thesis, but simply state obvious facts. Instead,
use this sort of description in the “Information” section of your paragraphs to demonstrate the
POINT you make in your topic sentence. Though somewhat simplified, these should give you an
idea of how points (below) differ from descriptions or observations (above):
Thesis: Advertising has the negative effect of promoting stereotypes.
Topic Sentence 1: Advertisements promote gender stereotypes
Topic Sentence 2: Advertisements promote racial stereotypes
Topic Sentence 3: Advertisement promote stereotypes about the elderly.