Developing a Thesis Statement.doc

此文档收集于网络，如有侵权，请联系网站删除Developing a Thesis StatementDefinition: A thesis states the main idea of an essay. It should be 1-2 sentences in length. Because your essays are fairly short, your thesis should appear at the end of the introduction. The thesis briefly answers the questions, What is my opinion on subject X? and What am I going to argue/illustrate in this essay?Working Thesis: You should start with a working thesis as you develop your essay. Be prepared to change your thesis statement several times as you work through your draft. Always go back to your thesis to be sure you stick to a central argument. Make sure your body paragraphs prove your thesis statement. If they do not, change your thesis or your proof paragraphs. A successful working thesis has three characteristics: It should be interesting to you and your intended audience. Its language should be as specific as possible. It must limit and focus a topic enough to make it manageable. Here are some examples of inadequate working thesis: Monsters around the world have both good and bad characteristics. Vampires repulse people because they suck the blood of their victims in order to survive. Interest: The topic itself holds interest, but it seems to have no real claim. The theses merely state bare facts. Specificity: The first thesis is not specific. What are the good/bad characteristics? Language could also be more specific good/bad are general value judgments. The second thesis is specific but does not make a claim about an issue. Manageability: The first thesis is not manageable - it would require research on many countries. This thesis needs to be narrowed with the addition of a workable comment before it can be useful. Also, the field for investigation is too large and vague. The second thesis is manageable, yet it is a fact and is too limited.By changing the above thesis slightly, you can create adequate working statements: Recently, scholars from around the globe have begun to challenge the theory that monsters strictly represent fear, insisting that monsters also represent human desire. During the 1980s, with the discovery of HIV and AIDS, vampires came to represent the overwhelming social fear of blood-born disease and illness. Follow all these points to ensure a proper thesis:1. Thesis needs to be a statement, not a question2. Ask “So what?” Thesis should be unique/creative enough to answer this affirmatively. 3. Make sure thesis is not a fact. 4. Add “although,” “because,” or “however” to turn into argumentative statement.5. Make sure thesis is specific in its claim and language. 6. Does thesis have a naysayer (someone who could realistically disagree with your thesis)? How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One1. A strong thesis statement is not a fact. It takes some sort of stand; it makes a claim. Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to evaluate. Here are two thesis statements: Thesis: There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.This is a weak thesis statement. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrasenegative and positive aspectsare vague. Thesis: Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand, and because its specific.2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements: Thesis: My family is an extended family.This is a weak thesis because it merely states an observation. Your reader wont be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading. Thesis: While most American families would view marriage by blood as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point.3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example: Thesis: Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and Web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.This is a weak thesis statement because the reader cant decide whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or Web pages. To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become clearer. One way to revise the thesis would be to write: Thesis: Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support.This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words likebecause,since,so,although,unless, andhowever.4. A strong thesis statement is specific in its claim and language.A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. A vague thesis will lead to vague, undeveloped, fuzzy writing. Try to avoid imprecise words (interesting, good); use clear, direct, meaningful words. Also, dont clutter your thesis with expressions such as in my opinion or in this essay Ill argue that .For example, if youre writing a se