5: Thesis Statements, Topic Sentences and the First Draft Last updated Save as PDF Page ID 34201 Athena Kashyap & Erika Dyquisto City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative 5.1: Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement This page covers a number of strategies to develop, refine, and finalize a strong college-level thesis. 5.2: Topic Sentences This page identifies the components of a good topic sentence, discusses their placement, and provides practice on developing strong topic sentences. 5.3: Writing the Essay Draft This page presents the basics about developing an essay with an extended example. 5.4: Writing Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs This page explains the basic essay structure with strategies for developing the different parts of the essay. 5.5: Key Takeaways