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Forming a Focus
Quality writing begins with a strong focus statement. Your focus statement gives your writing direction. A focus helps you know what to say about your topic. A lack of focus leaves your readers unsure what point you are trying to make.
Here's a simple formula you can use to form a focus statement. This statement can become the topic sentence in a paragraph or the thesis statement in a formal essay.
Topic (who or what you are writing about)
+ Focus (the part or feeling you want to highlight)
_________________________________
= Focus Statement
Here are some examples of the formula in action with different forms of writing.
Persuasive Writing
Our school (topic) should make an effort to become more environmentally friendly (focus).
Explanatory Writing
Flying fish (topic) are unique in many ways (focus).
Narrative Writing
My last trip to the doctor (topic) was one I'll never forget (focus).
Your Turn Use the formula to create focus statements for the following topics. Note: The focus is up to you.
- Recess
- Cooperation
- Water pollution
- Fire hydrants
- Spring
Forming a Focus by Thoughtful Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at k12.thoughtfullearning.com/minilesson/forming-focus.