Exercise 9 Now that you have completed and corrected all of the written exercises in this tutorial, Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences, it is time to show what you have learned. In the following essay, circle its thesis statement, and with each paragraph, underline its topic sentence.
Although I'm happy to be in college, college life does have its drawbacks. For one thing, I can see that passing all my classes will require a lot of hard work. In addition, going to college can be expensive. Another unpleasant part of going to school is that I have to miss out on things I would love to do. But perhaps the worst part of attending college is living in the dorms. In fact, many unwitting freshman eventually discover the many troubles with living in the dorms. For one thing privacy is a very precious commodity. Ever since I was ten, I have had my own room to retreat to whenever I needed to be alone. So it's difficult adjusting to sharing a tiny cubicle with one other person. My roommate always seems to be around. So if I want to listen to the new No Doubt album, I have to ask whether it's okay first. But if she's around, I usually can't enjoy the music because I know that she only likes hip hop and shows her resentment and judgment of my taste in music. Another problem with living in the dorms is that such close quarters can always result in friction between roommates especially if personality clashes exist. For instance, my roommate is a big slob while I'm known as compulsively neat. So I am so tired of having to step over her piles of clothes littering the floor and hunting for my books and papers among her empty soda bottles, banana peels, and candy wrappers that are always scattered all over our desk. I'm fed up with spending any time or energy arguing with her about having to clean up her messes when I could be using this valuable time getting
schoolwork done.
Equally as bad as sharing a room with a sloppy roommate is living in a dorm with paper- thin
walls through which we can hear everything going on in adjacent rooms. It always seems to be
before a big test or exam that my neighbors on one side always manage to turn up their music after midnight, have all-night noisy and romantic interludes, or have a loud argument at the strangest times. Begging them for quiet and even banging on their walls don’t seem to help much. And unfortunately for me, the next morning my frustration and growing anger make it more difficult for me to concentrate on anything in class. Worst of all, especially for someone who enjoys good food, is the experience of eating in the dining halls. First of all, the lines are usually so long before class that I usually end up not eating any breakfast. And when I do wait in line, the waits are definitely not worth it. It is difficult for me to even order the stale, dry sandwiches, the soggy and wilted salads, and the tasteless and sometimes unidentifiable main courses. If I want to have a good meal, I end up having to go off-campus. Yet despite all the problems with living in the dorms, I still feel that I’m accomplishing something worthwhile going to school. My only hope is that when I’m a junior, I’ll be able to find a small off-campus apartment of my own. In the meantime, I guess I just have to put up with the myriad troubles with living in a dorm, and pray that in the upcoming semester, my fellow dormies don’t like to party too much.
Thesis Statement: Although I'm happy to be in college, college life does have its drawbacks.
Topic Sentences:
- For one thing, passing all my classes will require a lot of hard work.
- In addition, going to college can be expensive.
- Another unpleasant part of going to school is that I have to miss out on things I would love to do.
- But perhaps the worst part of attending college is living in the dorms.
- For one thing, privacy is a very precious commodity.
- Another problem with living in the dorms is that such close quarters can always result in friction between roommates especially if personality clashes exist.
- Equally as bad as sharing a room with a sloppy roommate is living in a dorm with paper-thin walls through which we can hear everything going on in adjacent rooms.
- Worst of all, especially for someone who enjoys good food, is the experience of eating in the dining halls.
- Yet despite all the problems with living in the dorms, I still feel that I’m accomplishing something worthwhile going to school.
- My only hope is that when I’m a junior, I’ll be able to find a small off-campus apartment of my own.
Thesis Statement: Although I'm happy to be in college, college life does have its drawbacks.
Topic Sentences:
1. For one thing, I can see that passing all my classes will require a lot of hard work.
2. In addition, going to college can be expensive.
3. Another unpleasant part of going to school is that I have to miss out on things I would love to do.
4. But perhaps the worst part of attending college is living in the dorms.
5. So it's difficult adjusting to sharing a tiny cubicle with one other person.
6. Another problem with living in the dorms is that such close quarters can always result in friction between roommates especially if personality clashes exist.
7. Equally as bad as sharing a room with a sloppy roommate is living in a dorm with paper-thin walls through which we can hear everything going on in adjacent rooms.
8. Worst of all, especially for someone who enjoys good food, is the experience of eating in the dining halls.
9. Yet despite all the problems with living in the dorms, I still feel that I’m accomplishing something worthwhile going to school.
10. My only hope is that when I’m a junior, I’ll be able to find a small off-campus apartment of my own.
In order to find the thesis statement in the essay, we need to look for a sentence that clearly states the main argument or purpose of the essay. It is usually found towards the end of the introduction or in the first paragraph. Let's analyze the essay:
The first paragraph talks about the drawbacks of college life, such as the hard work required, the expense, and missing out on things. The second paragraph specifically focuses on the troubles of living in the dorms, mentioning the lack of privacy and friction between roommates. The third paragraph continues discussing the problems of living in the dorms, including paper-thin walls and the unpleasant dining hall experience.
Based on the content, we can identify the thesis statement in the last sentence of the essay: "In the meantime, I guess I just have to put up with the myriad troubles with living in a dorm, and pray that in the upcoming semester, my fellow dormies don’t like to party too much."
Now, let's find the topic sentences for each paragraph. The topic sentence is usually found at the beginning of a paragraph and introduces the main idea of that paragraph.
Paragraph 1: "Although I'm happy to be in college, college life does have its drawbacks."
Paragraph 2: "But perhaps the worst part of attending college is living in the dorms."
Paragraph 3: "For one thing, privacy is a very precious commodity."
Paragraph 4: "Another problem with living in the dorms is that such close quarters can always result in friction between roommates especially if personality clashes exist."
Paragraph 5: "Equally as bad as sharing a room with a sloppy roommate is living in a dorm with paper-thin walls through which we can hear everything going on in adjacent rooms."
Paragraph 6: "Worst of all, especially for someone who enjoys good food, is the experience of eating in the dining halls."
Paragraph 7: "Yet despite all the problems with living in the dorms, I still feel that I’m accomplishing something worthwhile going to school."
By underlining the topic sentences, we can see how each paragraph introduces a specific aspect of the troubles with living in the dorms, which supports the overall thesis statement.