Thesis
Almost
all of us readers look for a one-sentence condensation of the main idea of the
piece we are reading, even if we don't do it consciously. We refer to that
condensation as a thesis statement. But a good thesis is often more than that.
A thesis is the unifying aspect of a paper. It is the thread weaving together
the main ideas of a paper, making it a complete work. It not only summarizes
the main point of the paper but also helps readers predict how the paper will
be developed and organized.
Anything written in college courses has a thesis in one form
or another. The clearest example is the
persuasive essay. In persuasive
writing, the writer usually makes an overt claim and attempts to support it and
persuade readers of its validity. But
in actuality, all essays are persuasive in some way. Even the kind of personal-experience writing popular in most
sections of English 101 requires a thesis. The writer may be writing a fairly simple narration about a personal
experience, but there has to be an idea
behind the narration, giving it shape and meaning. It governs the writer’s choice of what information to
include. It governs the organization of
the essay, whether it will be told in a linear fashion from beginning to end,
in flashbacks, or in a collage form interspersing different kinds of
material. Readers should finish the
essay feeling that they’ve been told an interesting story, but they also should
feel that they’ve been given something to think about, that the story has
meaning and perhaps more than one possible interpretation.
A kind of writing in which thesis is not immediately evident
is the kind of study-report written in the sciences and social sciences. Such a report does not begin with a thesis
(if you don’t count the abstract), but it does begin with a research question
or hypothesis, which will be confirmed, disproved, or answered in the
conclusion. In that case, the
conclusion is equivalent to the thesis.
A good thesis also has an edge to it. In some way it
is controversial, or troubling, or surprising. The one property we won’t add to the list of descriptions is
original. Students might well ask, how
can I ever come up an idea no one has had before? Of course, such happenings are rare. Original is too intimidating. But just about any student writer who works hard and turns the subject
around to examine all sides of it can come up with an edge. An ordinary idea can be pushed until it
reaches an edge – until it becomes more than just an easy truism that nobody
would disagree with.
Misconception 1. The thesis of the paper is just a statement of the subject. This is the most common
misunderstanding. When asked about the
thesis of a paper, a student might say, “It’s about term limits.” Term limits may be the subject, but the
thesis has to be a claim: term limits should be instituted, should be
abolished, are causing us to lose some of our best legislators, are making it
hard for small communities to find candidates for local offices.
Misconception 2. The thesis is merely a general statement, one the writer agrees or
disagrees with. Or, as one
Consultant put it, some students seem to think “a thesis is just an idea that
people throw out, without putting it into context, and that a thesis is just a
way of inviting more discussion, instead of focusing the discussion.” A student might say that the thesis of a
paper is “that term limits are wrong.” If the student really wants to argue that position, then the student
needs to address some questions that will narrow and focus the issue. Otherwise the paper would have to run for
dozens of pages to cover the subject adequately. Wrong for whom? In which
government: federal, state, or local? What is the situation in that government? Does it currently have term limits or not? Who is affected, and are those effects
beneficial or detrimental? And so on.
Misconception 3.Only research papers need theses. For some reason, the idea of thesis sticks to research papers in some
writers’ minds, whereas with other kinds of writing the connection gets
forgotten.
Misconception 4.
You have to have the thesis completely nailed down before you can write
anything. In most cases, writers
will end up with better results if they use writing to discover ideas and think
things through. It may be that none of
the exploratory writing will end up in the final paper, but that writing will
be an important tool for clarifying the ideas that do go into the final
paper. In many kinds of writing, the
act of writing itself will often help readers think more deeply about what they
are saying; often writers change their minds as they see how their ideas work
out when they write them down. This
should not be considered a weakness; it is simply using writing as a powerful
mode of thinking. There are, of course,
exceptions to the advice that a thesis should be discovered during the act of
drafting. With certain kinds of
scientific and engineering reports, the writer must begin with a clear research
question and then deal with the actual results of the research. The writer cannot go inventing new ideas as
the writing goes along. The one
exception might be that, while writing the conclusion, the writer may discover
new insights into the meaning of the data.
Misconception 5. There are absolute rules about the form and placement of the thesis. Once again there are exceptions, but in most
of the writing assignments we have seen, some latitude is allowed. Writers tend to think the thesis must always
appear at the end of the opening paragraph. But sometimes the thesis works better in the second paragraph after the
first paragraph has set up the context. It may even appear in the middle or at the end of the paper, as long as
the beginning of the paper clearly sets up the question or problem to which the
thesis will be the answer or solution.
When writing papers, how do you usually find
a thesis?
How do you know when
you have a good thesis?
The Writing Consultants, though skilled writers, lay no
claim to being experts. They are, after
all, students just like the clients they serve. But their reports on their own approaches to thesis show some
attitudes and strategies that other students might find helpful. What we discover from these statements is
that the consultants are aware of thesis when they write, and they have a few
definite strategies for finding their theses and ways of knowing when their
theses are good. Some like to start
with a thesis, or at least a tentative thesis, while others prefer to leave the
thesis open until they see how their ideas play out as they write. Certainly, in some kinds of writing students
have to be more sure of their thesis ideas before they begin to write – in lab
reports, for instance. But for most of
the writing being assigned on this campus, students have the latitude to
explore their subjects during the drafting stages and keep their eyes open for
better theses to emerge.
As far as knowing when they have a good thesis, the
consultants seem to agree that, whatever they are writing, they know they have
a good thesis when it has a surprising, disturbing, or even argumentative edge
and they feel confident that they can support the claim the thesis makes.Thesis and reader interest
Depending on the genre of the writing, writers have varying
degrees of obligation to the reader to make their thesis ideas
interesting. Writers of personal or
informal essays have a heavier burden than other writers. They must not only have thesis ideas that
are interesting per se; they must also interest readers in the subject. Readers of informal essays read for pleasure
– or perhaps more exactly, for entertainment. If the essay doesn’t please them, they skip it and read something
else. But readers of social-science or
scientific studies don’t read for entertainment, though they often read for the
pleasure of learning something new or finding food for thought. In such cases, writers can be assured that
their readers come with a built-in interest in finding out what the writers
have to say.
What makes a thesis interesting?
The foremost property is complexity. The thesis isn’t just an easy truism. It takes into account the messy complexity
that is potentially present in any subject. As the piece of writing develops, complexity will often show up of its
own accord: what was assumed to be true turns out to be not quite true, or not
true in all cases; counterarguments
start to make more sense. The writer
should embrace the complexity rather
than ignore it. The paper will be
harder to write, but the reward will be more interesting work.Common misconceptions about thesis
Student writers often fail to formulate good theses because
they don’t understand what a thesis is supposed to be, or do. Recently a group Writing Center Consultants
was asked to list the most common mistaken ideas their clients seem to have
about the thesis. They listed the
following.How skilled student writers approach thesis in their writing
The same group of Writing
Consultants was asked to respond to two questions about their own approach to
thesis. The questions were (1)When
writing papers, how do you usually find a thesis? (2) How do you know when you
have a good thesis? Here is a sampling
of their replies.
I usually write my thesis statement
after completing the body of my paper. I check back with the topic sentences [of the paragraphs] to see what I
say in those and construct my thesis statement from there. I used to write my thesis statement first
but it would just lead to difficulty because I was putting a sort of
restriction on my thoughts before I had started writing. (Will)
Very rarely have I been able to
write down my thesis and then put up all the evidence for it. Whenever I have tried to do that, my ideas
change while writing and I have to change my thesis. When writing the main body first, I find out what I really want
to talk about and can then write an exciting thesis to match. (Matthew)
After choosing, or being told, the
subject matter, I write my main ideas down and choose one of them for my
thesis. (Debbie)
After I have done the research for
my paper, I usually have a point that I want to prove.
I simply break the point down into steps,
and those steps become my thesis statement.
(Andy)
My thesis usually comes about after
I’ve written my paper – or most of my paper. I may start with a tentative thesis and then go back to revise and
tighten my thesis after I have a clearer idea of what I want to say or
prove. (Maureen)
When I have a good thesis, my paragraphs all
seem to fall into place. There’s an
audible “click.” I will also find myself
trying to express the opposite viewpoint – I take that stuff out, but then know
I’ve got an argument happening. (Rebecca)
I assume I have a
“good thesis” when I can just sit down and write my paper without too much
effort or trouble. I would never
presume to say that I “know” I have a good thesis, but I definitely know when I
have a bad one (because they are usually the ones I have difficulty with).
(Suzanne)
When it correlates
with the rest of my paper. I can look
at all of my paragraphs and see how they function within the assertion I made
in my thesis. (Will)
A good thesis is
deep enough to be supported in more than one way, and by several ideas or
sources. If the focus is too simple, it
really is just an idea, not a thesis, which to me introduces multiple angles
and invites discussion. The thesis
focuses my ideas so that I can build the ideas up around it. (Matt)
When the thesis matches the paper
and risks either pissing someone off or telling someone something they wouldn’t
have otherwise believed. (Tim)
I know my thesis is good when it
requires me to really think about how I will prove my point. A thesis is good when it has a creative,
argumentative edge. (Pam)