Finding a Thesis Statement

							Finding a Thesis Statement
Why a topic is not a thesis:
      Topic                 Thesis

   from topos:         from tithēmi:


“a (common) place”   “to place or position
                           (oneself)”
 The topic is the landscape you
   travel in; the thesis is your
    position in the landscape

“In its ideal formation, it is the essayist’s
  crystal-clear apprehension of purpose
  [intent!] that acts as gravitational
  centre and navigational device
  throughout the course of writing the
  essay.”
• –Thinking it Through
               Audience
• Remember that all writing is meant to be
  read
• Think about whom you are writing to as
  well as what you are writing for
• Make sure that you have “grounds for
  shared assent” (Gage 58)
                Definition:
“A thesis is an idea, stated as an assertion,
  that represents a reasoned response to a
  question at issue and that serves as the
  central idea of a composition” (Gage 70).
                  Idea
• Must be about something
• Not just a general topic
• Must be a complete sentence (at least
  one)
• The verb is key!
      Stated as an assertion
• Claims that some condition is the case
• Proposes ideas that may be agreed or
  disagreed with
     That represents a reasoned
              response
• Make sure your thesis is both logical and
  ethical!
       To a question at issue
• Not everyone believes it (there is no
  shared answer, or the answer that is
  shared needs to be questioned)
• Other people should care whether it’s
  believable (sometimes you need to make
  them care!)
• Can be answered (or may have been the
  result of answering) “Yes, but . . .” or “No,
  but . . .” or “Why?”
The most important step in finding
          your thesis:
Look for it! Even if you don’t find what you were
looking for, you’re sure to find something
valuable and worth writing about.
You are much more likely to locate that powerful
controlling idea that accurately centers on what
you are discovering if you are always looking for
it than if you are not. In the course of careful,
attentive, and always-ready-to-be-fooled
prediction, we probe toward, and ultimately see,
exactly what is there.
That is,



Try to decide beforehand what question
       your thesis will try to answer.

  This means formulating a question:
Stasis Questions:
 Stasis: “a stable state, a point of balance . .
  . In argumentative writing, the term is used
  to identify the place where two ideas come
  into conflict, the meeting point of two
  balanced assertions” (Gage 59)

 That is, this is the place where the argument
  can happen—the point in the landscape of
  ideas you are arguing about. The point is
  stable because it has been clearly identified,
  which means that you and your dialog
  partner as actually addressing the same
  issue.
    Stasis questions generally take
           one of six forms:
 Questions of fact:
   “Does this exist?”
 Questions of definition:
   “What is this?”
 Questions of interpretation:
   “What does this mean?”
 Questions of value:
   “Is this good?”
 Questions of consequence:
   “What will this cause? Did/will this cause that?”
 Questions of policy:
   “What should be done about this?”
        Look deeper, and avoid a
            yes/no answer:
   What . . .
       caused something to happen
       effect does a particular event, or image, or point of view, or
        metaphor (etc.) have on the whole
       strengths and weaknesses does a particular theory have
       are the advantages and disadvantages of a series of images, or
        a particular narrative voice or frame or tone
       are the similarities and differences

   Caveat (again): with these and any other questions, it is
    vitally important to also define why this matters. Why are
    you choosing to write about this? What significance does it
    have for you, or should it have for your reader? How does
    your argument move forward everyone’s understanding?

   A good word to begin with: “Although . . .”
Thesis Statement Checklist:
   Does your thesis statement do more than restate the
    topic or question? (It’s ok for the essay to begin with
    this, though)
   Does your thesis statement reflect the restrictions
    which your essay will impose on the subject?
   Is your thesis statement written clearly so that it
    states the central idea of your essay precisely?
   Does your thesis statement convey the priorities of
    your argument?
   Is your thesis statement brief, written in one or two
    sentences?
   Does your thesis statement present a proposition
    which can be proven (and/or argued against)?
   And the biggest question: