hesis Statements

1. T hesis Statements

2. Why That’s a Mighty Big “T!” • The Thesis Statement is the driving engine of the academic paper. • In other words, the T is so big because the thesis is so important. • Clarity • Focus • Grading

3. Frustrating Reality Alert There’s no Platonic, Essentialist, Completely “Correct” thing a thesis should be. This means different professors (and disciplines) may expect different elements in your thesis. Consider it another lesson in rhetoric. Know your audience!

4. History/Context • Once again comes out of Enlightenment Age style of thinking • Is a very Western/European way of doing things • Eastern Rhetorics operate differently

5. Their main goal for the reader is to tell them what’s coming. Their main goal for the writer is to serve as an anchor point.

6. Different Types for Different Papers • Analytical Paper • Thesis will break down “text” into its component parts and offer evaluative statement • Expository Paper • Thesis will simply tell what issue or goal it will explain • IMPORTANT: Thesis statements “proper” are a genre feature of academic essays. They may not show up at all (or show up in looser ways) in other professionally published pieces.

7. General Rules • They will only suggest issues, topics, subject matter that is actually covered in your paper. • They tend to come as the final sentence of your introduction; however, this doesn’t necessarily mean the final sentence of the first paragraph. • In the course of writing, they may change numerous times as you come to grasp the full implications and intricacies of your topic.

8. Stupid “Rules” • The Thesis should be only one sentence long. • The Thesis should be no longer than X amount of words. • The Thesis cannot have the word “I” in it. The above is not a stupid rule so much as a stupid sign. Just in case there was any confusion.

9. Argumentative Thesis Statements: Our Main Concern An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

10. Argumentative Thesis Should Include • A sense of the debate surrounding the subject • Your CLEAR position on the subject/argument • A sense of the main reason you feel that way (the trickier part)

11. Don’t Do This I am against the death penalty because we might kill an innocent person, death penalty procedures are inhumane, and the use of the death penalty does nothing to deter crime.

12. Say Goodbye to the 5-Paragraph Essay Thesis • The list-like thesis will almost guarantee a 5PE • The thesis should reveal the direction of your argument, but you don’t want to lay all your cards down at once. • Look to synthesize your various reasons and arguments into a statement.

13. Old: I am against the death penalty because we might kill an innocent person, death penalty procedures are inhumane, and the use of the death penalty does nothing to deter crime. New: I am against the death penalty because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results.

14. Old: • I am against the death penalty because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results. • New: • While proponents argue that the “eye-for-an-eye mentality” of the death penalty serves as a powerful deterrent to crime, their short-sightedness has failed to see the bigger picture and larger ramifications. The death penalty, in fact, should be completely banished because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results. • Highlights the fact that there is a debate • Not only makes a more specific call for action that “I am against,” but avoids the formulaic nature of “I am for,” “I am against,” statements. • Avoids the listy-feel that leads to a 5PE while still capturing the essence of the various specific points the paper will make.

15. Bravo! While proponents argue that the “eye-for-an-eye mentality” of the death penalty serves as a powerful deterrent to crime, their short-sightedness has failed to see the bigger picture and larger ramifications. The death penalty, in fact, should be completely banished because its procedures and outcomes are not representative of a judicial system that values true justice and ethical results.

16. Exercise: • Take the following 3 points that may be discussed in a paper supporting gun rights (and woefully expressed as a list in a thesis) and synthesize them into a statement. • Statistics show that crime goes down in states where residents are more heavily armed. • Armed citizens can often respond quicker than police in both home and public crime situations. • The second amendment ensures that citizens have the right to form militias in the case of needing to protect ourselves from our government.