THESIS
THE ALL-IMPORTANT THESIS
STATEMENT
The thesis statement
is
that sentence or two in
your text that contains the focus of your essay
and tells your reader what the essay is going
to be about. Although it is certainly possible
to write a good essay without a thesis
statement (many narrative essays, for example,
contain only an implied thesis statement), the
lack of a thesis statement may well be a
symptom of an essay beset by a lack of focus.
Many writers think of a thesis statement as
an umbrella: everything that you carry along in
your essay has to fit under this umbrella, and
if you try to take on packages that don't fit,
you will either have to get a bigger umbrella
or something's going to get wet.
The thesis statement is also a good test for
the scope of your intent. The principle to
remember is that when you try to do too much,
you end up doing less or nothing at all. Can we
write a good paper about problems in higher
education in the United States? At best, such a
paper would be vague and scattered in its
approach. Can we write a good paper about
problems in higher education in Connecticut?
Well, we're getting there, but that's still
an awfully big topic, something we might be
able to handle in a book or a Ph.D.
dissertation, but certainly not in a paper
meant for a Composition course. Can we write a
paper about problems within the community
college system in Connecticut. Now we're
narrowing down to something useful, but once we
start writing such a paper, we would find that
we're leaving out so much information, so many
ideas that even most casual brainstorming would
produce, that we're not accomplishing much.
What if we wrote about the problem of
community colleges in Connecticut being so
close together geographically that they tend to
duplicate programs unnecessarily and impinge on
each other's turf? Now we have a focus that we
can probably write about in a few pages
(although more, certainly, could be said) and
it would have a good argumentative edge to it.
To back up such a thesis statement would
require a good deal of work, however, and we
might be better off if we limited the
discussion to an example of how two particular
community colleges tend to work in conflict
with each other. It's not a matter of being
lazy; it's a matter of limiting our discussion
to the work that can be accomplished within a
certain number of pages.
The thesis statement should remain flexible
until the paper is actually finished. It ought
to be one of the last things that we fuss with
in the rewriting process. If we discover new
information in the process of writing our paper
that ought to be included in the thesis
statement, then we'll have to rewrite our
thesis statement. On the other hand, if we
discover that our paper has done adequate work
but the thesis statement appears to include
things that we haven't actually addressed, then
we need to limit that thesis statement.
If
the thesis statement is something that we
needed prior approval for, changing it might
require the permission of the instructor or
thesis committee, but it is better to seek such
permission than to write a paper that tries to
do too much or that claims to do less than it
actually accomplishes.
The thesis statement usually appears near the
beginning of a paper. It can be the first
sentence of an essay, but that often feels like
a simplistic, unexciting beginning. It more
frequently appears at or near the end of the
first paragraph or two. Here is the first
paragraph of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s essay
The Crisis of American Masculinity. Notice how
everything drives the reader toward the last
sentence and how that last sentence clearly
signals what the rest of this essay is going to
do.
"What has happened to the American male? For a
long time, he seemed utterly confident in his
manhood, sure of his masculine role in society,
easy and definite in his sense of sexual
identity. The frontiersmen of James Fenimore
Cooper, for example, never had any concern
about masculinity; they were men, and it did
not occur to them to think twice about it. Even
well into the twentieth century, the heroes of
Dreiser, of Fitzgerald, of Hemingway remain
men. But one begins to detect a new theme
emerging in some of these authors, especially
in Hemingway: the theme of the male hero
increasingly preoccupied with proving his
virility to himself. And by mid-century, the
male role had plainly lost its rugged clarity
of outline. Today men are more and more
conscious of maleness not as a fact but as a
problem. The ways by which American men affirm
their masculinity are uncertain and obscure.
There are multiplying signs, indeed, that
something has gone badly wrong with the
American male's conception of himself."
The first paragraph serves as kind of a
funnel opening to the essay which draws and
invites readers into the discussion, which is
then focused by the thesis statement before the
work of the essay actually begins. You will
discover that some writers will delay the
articulation of the paper's focus, its thesis,
until the very end of the paper. That is
possible if it is clear to thoughtful readers
throughout the paper what the business of the
essay truly is; frankly, it's probably not a
good idea for beginning writers.
Avoid announcing the thesis statement as if it
were a thesis statement. In other words, avoid
using phrases such as "The purpose of this
paper is . . . . " or "In this paper, I will
attempt to . . . ." Such phrases betray this
paper to be the work of an amateur. If
necessary, write the thesis statement that way
the first time; it might help you determine, in
fact, that this is your thesis statement. But
when you rewrite your paper, eliminate the bald
assertion that this is your thesis statement
and write the statement itself without that
annoying, unnecessary preface.
STATEMENT OF YOUR THESIS
Once you have discovered a thesis, sharpen
it into a concise statement. The thesis
statement usually appears in the introduction
of your essay, and is best expressed in one
sentence as a definition of your position, or
the point you intend to prove in your essay. A
good thesis statement will help organize your
essay and give it direction; it is the central
idea around which the rest of the essay is
built.
The ideal thesis (like the topic itself) will
be neither too broad nor too narrow for the
compass of your essay. Clearly a 3000-word
essay will have a more complex argument, and
correspondingly a more complex thesis, than an
essay of 600 words. One of the most common
problems with essays is that they are based on
a thesis that is too obvious to be worth
arguing--a truism. Here are some examples of
possible theses:
Specific topic:
How commercials manipulate their audience
A thesis that is a truism:
"Television Commercials attempt to sell their
products to the largest possible audience."
A thesis that is too broad:
"Several tactics are used to entice consumers
to buy the advertised product."(This thesis is
likely to produce an essay that is simply a
shopping list of examples, dull both
for the writer and reader.)
A sharper thesis:
"Commercials sell their products by suggesting
that those who buy them will instantly enter an
ideal world where they are irresistably
attractive."
Too limited:
"Molson Canadian commercials are offensive."
Specific topic:
Problems in fighting the medieval
fire-breathing dragon.
A thesis that is a truism:
"Simon and Garfunkel composed and sang "Bridge
Over Troubled Waters."
A thesis that is too broad:
"The flames of passion in courtly love claimed
more knights' lives than all the fire-breathing
dragons in medieval Europe." (The topic is
unwieldy because it involves two areas of
research, courtly love and fire-breathing
dragons.)
A sharper thesis:
"Fewer knights would have been broiled in their
armour if the medieval world had known of
fire-extinguishers."
Too limited:
" 'Puff the Magic Dragon' is a sweet
song."
PARAGRAPHS
One of
the most important methods of
structuring your ideas prior to writing
the essay is to create an
outline. After the basic bare-bones
outline, you next want to develop your
paragraphs. Remember, though, this
process is still a part of outlining
which will make the actual writing of
the essay 'a piece of cake'!
THE
BODY PARAGRAPHS
In the body of the essay, all the
preparation up to this point comes to
fruition. The topic you have chosen must
now be explained, described, and most
importantly, argued.
Each main idea that you wrote down in
your diagram or outline will become one
of the paragraphs that make up the body of your
essay. If you had three
or four main ideas, you will, in a brief
essay, have three or four body
paragraphs. In a longer essay, however,
you may use several paragraphs to
address a complex argument and to
respond to foreseeable rebuttals to it.
For now, let's keep it short and
simple.
Every paragraph must have a
key idea which supports your thesis.
These key supporting ideas are called
'topic sentences' and are always the
first sentence of every paragraph. Think
of a paragraph as a kind of mini-essay
with beginning, middle and end.
Each body paragraph will have the same
basic structure.
Start by writing down one of your main
ideas in sentence form.
If your main idea is "reduces freeway
congestion," you might say this:
Public transportation reduces freeway
congestion.
Next, write down each of your supporting
points for that main idea, but leave
four or five lines in between each
point.
In the space under each point, write
down some elaboration for that point.
Elaboration can be further description
or explanation or discussion.
Supporting Point
Commuters appreciate the cost savings of
taking public transportation rather than
driving.
ELABORATION
Less driving time means less maintenance
expense, such as oil changes.
Of course, less driving time means
savings on gasoline as well.
In many cases, these savings amount to
more than the cost of riding public
transportation.
If you wish, include a summary sentence
for each paragraph. Here you must be
careful as summary sentences often have
a tendency to sound stilted. We will
focus on this topic a little later.
Once you have fleshed out each of your
body paragraphs, one for each main
point, you are ready to continue.
THE
INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH
Your
beginning
paragraph should contain your main idea,
and present it to best advantage. The
clearest and most emphatic place for
your thesis sentence is at the end -
not at the beginning - of your opening
paragraph.
If you put it first, you
will have to repeat some version of it
as you bring your beginning paragraph to
a close. If you put it in the middle,
the reader may very well take something
else as your main point, probably
whatever the last sentence contains. The
inevitable psychology of interest, as
you move your reader through your first
paragraph and into your essay, urges you
to put your thesis last - in the last
sentence of your beginning
paragraph.
Think of your opening
paragraph, then, not as a frame to be
filled, but as a funnel. Start wide and
end narrow. If, for instance, you wished
to show that learning to play the guitar
pays off in friendship you would start
somewhere back from your specific thesis
with something more general - about
music, about learning, about the
pleasures of achievement, about guitars.
Therefore,
broad and genial; from your opening
geniality, you move progressively down
to smaller particulars. You narrow down:
from learning the guitar, to its musical
and social complications, to its reward
in friendship [your thesis]. Your
paragraph might run, from broad to
narrow, thus:
Learning anything
has unexpected rocks in its path, but
the guitar seems particularly rocky. It
looks so simple. A few chords, you
think, and you are on your way. Then you
discover not only the musical and
technical difficulties, but a whole
unexpected crowd of human complications.
Your friends think you are showing off;
the people you meet think you are a
fake. Then the frustrations drive you to
achievement. You learn to face the music
and the people honestly. You finally
learn to play a little, but you also
discover something better. You have
learned how to make and keep some real
friends, because you have discovered a
kind of ultimate friendship with
yourself.
PARAGRAPH
DEVELOPMENT
A
paragraph, then, should be unified
around a main point. Aim for paragraphs
that are unified, well developed,
organized, coherent, and neither too
long nor too
short for easy reading. Though an
occasional short paragraph is fine,
particularly if it functions as a
transition or emphasizes a point, a
series of brief paragraphs suggests
inadequate development. Development
depends on the writer's purpose and
audience.
PARAGRAPH
ORGANIZATION
Althou
gh paragraphs may be organized in many
ways, certain patterns
of organization occur frequently, either
alone or in combination: examples and
illustrations, process, comparison and
contrast, cause and effect,
classification, and definition. There is
nothing magical about these patterns.
They simply relect the natural ways in
which we think.
1.
EXAMPLES AND
ILLUSTRATIONS
Examples are
the most
common pattern of organization and are
appropriate whenever the reader might be
tempted to ask "For example?" Make your
point in your topic sentence
[remember,that's usually the first
sentence of each paragraph]. Then, a good
way to develop your point is to provide
a clear example to help prove your
point. Be sure to use the phrase "for
example" or "to illustrate" as well.
These phrases are called TRANSITIONS and
I cannot overemphasize how
important they are in keeping the flow
or cohernce of your essay. I will talk
more about transitions and coherence
later. ILLUSTRATIONS are
extended
examples, frequently presnted in story
form. Use the illustration sparingly, no
more than once in your essay, since
stories tend to lengthen your essay
considerably. By contrast [note my use
here of a transitional phrase], use the
example liberally, perhaps in every
paragraph if appropriate. Just be
careful not to use example
unnecessarily, i.e., where your point is
obvious and requires no explanation, but
rather argument.2.
PROCESS
A
process sentence is structured in
chronological order. A writer may use
this pattern of development either to
describe a process or to show readers
how to follow a process. Since we will
be learning the argumentative style of
essay writing, the process method will
rarely come into play. It is used more
often in EXPOSITORY [how to] essays. I
list the method here so that you are
aware of all the methods and, more
importantly, so you recognize the
difference between exposition and
argumentation, the latter being more
academic and more useful when attempting
to establish a thesis or point of
view.
3.
COMPARISON
AND CONTRAST
To
compare two subjects is to draw
attention to their similarities,
although the word "compare" also has a
broader meaning that includes a
consideration of differences.
Whether
a comparison-and-contrast paragraph
stresses similarities or differences, it
may be patterned in one of two ways. The
two subjects may be presented one at a
time, block style, or aparagraph may
proceed point by point, treating two
subjects together, one aspect at a time.
With the block style, you will discuss
one subject, using approximately half of
your essay, then compare or contrast the
second subject in the second half of the
essay. This method of organizing your
paragraphs and your essay as a whole is
very effective in arguing your thesis.
The following is an example of
comparison and contrast, using the
point-by-point method:
The Hamlet of
that drama, as it turned out, was not
King but Meighen. While the Conservative
leader spent the next four years in
retrospection, inquisition, and
destruction, King from the beginning
adopted the role of a friendly and
judicial Polonius. Meighen's approach
was acid, corrosive, and eloquent in the
withering interjection, the ironic
aside, the upright figure of ire. King
was all sweet reasonableness and round,
cherubic good will. Thus, as politics
became largely a personal trial of
strength between two men, the race of
tortoise and hare entered what was to be
its decisive lap.
4.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
A
paragraph may move from
cause to effects or from an effect to
its causes. For example, you could
discuss the effects of the internet on
today's business world or on social
interaction. This method helps you
organize your ideas and your paragraphs
very effectively.
5.
CLASSIFICATION
Classificati
on is the
grouping of items into categories
according to some consistent principle.
When used properly, as in the newspaper essay I
provide on page 12, classification can be an
effective organizational and arumentative
strategy. The essay, "Email As Folklore," for
example, classifies the various genres of email
forwards, such as stories [some strange and
true and some unlikely], jokes, top ten lists,
hoaxes, virus alerts, and divides these into
positive and negative classes. The thesis is
that email is a new electronic version of
passing on lore, stories, and communication,
versus the traditional model of visiting
friends' homes, talking in shops or meeting on
the street. The essay concedes that personal
social interaction is more important, but that
electronic communication complements the other
in an age when time is a luxury. The
classification method works well, then, as long
as you keep in mind a clear thesis and use the
categories to develop and argue the thesis
rather than falling into the trap of simply
listing items under categories - a common
digression with beginning essayists who use
this method.
6.
DEFINITION
A definition
puts a word
or concept into a general class and then
provides enough details to distinguish
it from other members in the same class.
Paragraphs of definition frequently make
use of other patterns of development. As
mentioned before, some of these method
may be combined. Nonetheless, it is
better to choose one major method of
developing your paragraphs and your
essay and stick to it. This approach
will help you stay on track. It is easy to
stray from your original point but
these developmental strategies will
assist you. When you use definition, it is
important to discuss what some thing or some
idea is NOT, as well as what it IS. For
example, let us suppose your thesis contends
that affirmative action is an absurd extension
of society's overcorrection of past wrongs,
such as slavery, racism, and discrimination.
Essentially, then, you are defining affirmative
action as a misguided concept, philosophy, or
way of thinking. To be sure your reader
understands you, you should mention what does
not fall under your definition, such as a
guilty society making a pathetic attempt to
right the wrongs of the past by, say, paying a
colored worker the same wage as a white worker,
even though the Caucasian person may be more
skilled, educated and experienced. Then, go on
to define exactly what you do mean, which may
be that you believe hiring practices involve a
kind of reverse discrimination - a colored,
Latino, or member of any minority, for
instance, may be hired over a Caucasian merely
to fulfill a quota, which, you may argue, is
unfair and illogical.
