...------------------------------------------------- Thesis Writing: A Guide for Students By Jennifer Swenson The Sparrow’s introduction to thesis writing is a clear-cut and comprehensive tool for those who are about to embark on one of the more difficult projects in all of academia. Thesis writing is not an art; rather, it is the product of many months of research and painstaking hard work. Whether you are writing a master’s thesis, a PhD thesis, or any other form of this venerable genre, I hope this guide will serve you well. Thesis Writing Background What is a thesis? A thesis is essentially a research report. It addresses a very specific issue and describes what is known about that issue, what work the student has done to investigate or resolve it, and how that issue may play out in the future. It is the thesis writer’s responsibility to familiarize her with the history of the issue and the different points of view that exist. The thesis writer works with a mentor who is an expert in the field that the thesis concerns, but not necessarily an expert on that exact topic. Usually thesis topics are so specific that very few people in the world except the thesis writer herself could be considered an expert on them. Your thesis writing will make a contribution to the field about which you are writing, and in a larger sense, to all of human knowledge. A thesis is distinctively different from an undergraduate research report because it is so original. How Specific Should My Thesis Get? When writing a thesis, you should...
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...------------------------------------------------- Thesis Writing: A Guide for Students By Jennifer Swenson The Sparrow’s introduction to thesis writing is a clear-cut and comprehensive tool for those who are about to embark on one of the more difficult projects in all of academia. Thesis writing is not an art; rather, it is the product of many months of research and painstaking hard work. Whether you are writing a master’s thesis, a PhD thesis, or any other form of this venerable genre, I hope this guide will serve you well. Thesis Writing Background What is a thesis? A thesis is essentially a research report. It addresses a very specific issue and describes what is known about that issue, what work the student has done to investigate or resolve it, and how that issue may play out in the future. It is the thesis writer’s responsibility to familiarize her with the history of the issue and the different points of view that exist. The thesis writer works with a mentor who is an expert in the field that the thesis concerns, but not necessarily an expert on that exact topic. Usually thesis topics are so specific that very few people in the world except the thesis writer herself could be considered an expert on them. Your thesis writing will make a contribution to the field about which you are writing, and in a larger sense, to all of human knowledge. A thesis is distinctively different from an undergraduate research report because it is so original. How Specific Should My Thesis Get? When writing a thesis, you should...
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...THESIS STATEMENTS IN LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPERS *The thesis statement is one of the (if not the) most important parts of your paper—think of it as the foundation of a house—if your foundation is weak and poorly constructed, what do you think happens to the house? *The thesis statement is the announcement of your analytical argument that you intend to make and prove in the duration of your paper. It is a road map for the paper—it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. *It should be placed somewhere in the Introduction of your paper—Many like to put it as the last sentence(s) of their Intro which is fine. *Successful thesis statements provoke thought and should read beautifully. *Your thesis statement should include two parts: WHAT and WHY. *WHAT: What claim are you making about the text? *WHY: Why should we care? Why is your claim important? Your thesis should answer the “so what?” question. *A thesis statement is usually, but can be more than, one sentence long. Examples of Literary Thesis Statements: * “Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.” *What’s wrong with this thesis statement? *An opinion about the book, not an argument. * “In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.” *Better? How so? What is still missing? *Doesn’t answer the “so what?” question—what is the point of the contrast? What does the contrast signify? * “Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry...
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...METHOD FOR ORGANIZING AND PLANNING AN ESSAY The Writing Backwards Method- A Scientific Approach Most of us don’t automatically have a thesis when we start to write, and, in many cases, even when we do, we don’t know exactly how we’re going to prove it in the essay. Although coming up with a thesis and main arguments at the beginning of the writing process is helpful, it is not necessary. Often, a thesis and main arguments become clear only after we start seeing what we can discuss in the essay. The following tips can help you to begin to organize your essay whether you don’t have a strong thesis or you have a thesis but are not sure about your smaller arguments and how to arrange your evidence. Remember that these tips are NOT strict rules for writing well, but rather provide a framework that you can use to start to organize your essay and come up with a strong thesis. 1) Calculating the number of body paragraphs A double-spaced, Times New Roman font page contains roughly 250 words or two paragraphs of 5-7 sentences each (A “good” paragraph has, generally, 3 pieces of evidence with analysis, a thesis that relates to the essay’s overall thesis, and a conclusion.). If you are given a minimum word count or page amount, simply convert that into how many equivalent paragraphs that would be. This will give you a rough idea as to how many paragraphs your essay will have to include. Generally, your introduction and conclusion paragraphs will not introduce ideas that...
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...Thesis Statements Sunderman/English 1A Adapted from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/resources/students/ac_paper/develop.html Why Is a Thesis Statement So Important? Good question. As we’ve stated in class, our goal as writers is to give information to our readers that is interesting and easily understood. The thesis statement is typically that one sentence that asserts the main point, and controls and structures the essay. Without a strong, thoughtful thesis, your paper might seem unfocused, weak, and not worth the reader’s time. How Do I Write a Good Thesis Statement? A good thesis statement will have the following characteristics: 1. A good thesis statement will make a claim. You need to develop an interesting perspective on a topic that you can support and defend. This perspective must be more than an observation. “America is violent” is an observation. “Americans are violent because they are fearful” posits an interesting perspective on violence in America. It gives a possible reason WHY America is violent—a reason that can be supported and defended with specific examples. You want to make sure that your claim is not too broad, and that you can successfully defend and support it in the required number of pages. “Disease has shaped human history” is an impossibly large thesis. It would be better narrowed down to a specific disease, a specific time period, and a specific way (or ways) that disease has shaped human history. “In the mid-1980s, AIDS...
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...explain the process of formatting an APA paper using the 6th Edition Standards. This paper will explain the steps in detail on the techniques that are used to submit a correct paper. You will see the steps in writing the abstract, a proper introduction and thesis. When writing the body of the paper, you will learn about the three sections. Block quoting will assist in you when using quotes. The conclusion is summary of the thesis. You will also learn how to write a proper reference. When writing a research paper, most schools require a standard style to be used. That style is called the APA style. APA papers are required in all major college and university English classes. While writing a paper, you must have a thesis. A thesis is a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved. Without a thesis, there is no reason to write a paper. The thesis of this paper is the following: In order to write a great research paper, writers must understand word processing software, APA 6th Edition formatting, and how to structure the content. In the body of the paper, you will include at least three statement points from the thesis statement. When using headers, each paragraph will discuss each thesis statement. For example, using the header “Word Processing Software”, topics that should be discussed are types of software, any advantages and disadvantages, and any other relevant information. When writing a research paper that is required to be longer...
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...The basic elements of academic essay writing are two: a thesis and evidence, divided into three parts: an introduction, the systematic development of an argument, and a conclusion. All scholarly writing, from the most concise paper to the longest book, follows these basic guidlines. Thesis Historical essay writing is based upon the thesis. A thesis is a statement, an argument which will be presented by the writer. The thesis is in effect, your position, your particular interpretation, your way of seeing a problem. Resist the temptation, which many students have, to think of a thesis as simply "restating" an instructor's question. The writer should demonstrate originality and critical thinking by showing what the question is asking, and why it is important rather than merely repeating it. Your own informed perspective is what matters. Many first-year students ask whether the "thesis" is not just their "opinion" of a historical question. A thesis is indeed a "point of view," or "perspective," but of a particular sort: it is based not only on belief, but on a logical and systematic argument supported by evidence. The truism that we each have "our own" opinions misses the point. A good critical essay acknowledges that many perspectives are possible on any question, yet demonstrates the validity or correctness of the writer's own view. Thesis and Evidence To make a good argument you must have both a strong central thesis and plausible evidence; the two are interdependent and...
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...works best with each rhetorical mode. Provide 2 tips for writing in each rhetorical mode. Narration Narration is used for storytelling such as telling a friend about an incident that occurred in your day. The best organizational method will be to use chronological order. This will help the reader to understand how each event led to the next. Use strong details related to the 5 senses in your story to help the reader get immersed into the story’s world. Decide before writing if you want the story to be factual or fictional. This will help to allow you to decide how creative you can be with the story. Illustration Illustration uses evidence to clearly support the thesis (controlling idea) of the paper. An example would be to right a paper about why Genetically Modified Organisms are dangerous. The thesis belongs at the beginning, followed by the support in the middle, and finally finishes with the conclusion. It is advisable to use order of importance to organize the supporting paragraphs into lest to most order or most to least order. Try not to insult your audience by over explaining a simple thing that they should be expected to understand anyway. Make use the phrases of illustration such as: in this case, one example, another example, specifically, and to illustrate. Description This type uses the 5 senses to describe a person, place, or object and completely immerse the reader...
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...Something About Introductions, Thesis Statements, Titles and Conclusions.... Why have them? Well, they are needed in order to give your reader an idea of what they will be reading, to get their interest, to tell them your specific point about the subject, and to give them a "map," a blueprint of how you will approach the explanation of your thoughts, and to make sure that your point is clear.. How do you do all that? -- One step at a time. Let's start with giving your reader an idea of what they will be reading: Your Introduction 1. Start with a broad statement about your topic, then continue to narrow it until you get closer to your point.For example: People think that terrorism is someone else's problem, that it happens to others who are far away, and that they are safe from it. Luckily for most of us that is the case; but for some, living with terror is part of their daily lives. For these unlucky folks, life at home, in the neighborhood, and even at school can be a nightmare. This will help you connect with the reader, who needs to find some common ground in order to be interested in what you have to say. Mentioning current topics, popular or unpopular attitudes, or making a general statement about the topic are all good ways to start your essay. 2. Start with a contrasting thought, then lead the reader towards your point. For example: Before kids are born, parents usually think their children will bring only happiness to the household. Little do they know....
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...Worksheet for Final Essay Project First, work on your thesis statement. Answer the question you asked as the central question of your Final Essay Proposal assignment by demonstrating what your answer tells your reader about your topic. For example, The appearance of ghosts reveals that the narrators’ are haunted by their cultural past. This is a very rough draft of your thesis statement. Later, go back and make the wording of your thesis statement sound better. Write down this new wording here, and use the improved wording in your actual assignment: Next, organize the reasons why your thesis statement is true Read over the Proposal with the instructor’s comments. Use the observations you made and the scene you began to analyze in the Proposal to think about your thesis statement. Write down how they relate to your thesis statement. Choose your best three or four ideas. Arrange them in an order that makes sense to you: 1. 2. 3. 4. These three or four ideas will be the basis of your three or four body paragraphs. They should provide reasons why your thesis is true. Introduction What background information should you provide for the reader? Which passage are you writing about? What background information does your reader need about this passage? How will you convince your reader that your Close Reading assignment is worthwhile? What is your thesis? It belongs near the end of your introduction. ...
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...trying to persuade you of something in some way? Most rhetoricians—that's people who think about argument and language—agree that there are three basic ways to appeal to an audience. You can appeal to logic. That is, you can lay out your argument in clear, coherent steps, so your reader or listener can see how you get from one conclusion to the next. Or you can appeal to authority. Here you may want to find experts or facts to support your argument—think about Tiger Woods endorsing golf clubs. (Of course, do we also trust Tiger to advise us on buying watches? Not so clear.) Or you can appeal to emotion. Emotional appeals can be extremely powerful, especially when you are able to relate your argument to your readers' values or needs. Most good arguments make use of all three appeals in some way. But how do you actually construct an argument? First things first: the thesis. The thesis is probably the single most important sentence in the entire paper, because it's what every other element of the paper is working to support. It's the anchor, providing a point for both the reader and you, the writer, to come back to. This puts a lot of pressure on you to choose a good thesis statement, but...
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...How To Write a Thesis Statement What is a Thesis Statement? Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement. Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement? to test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two to better organize and develop your argument to provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores. How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement? Here are some helpful hints to get you started. You can either scroll down or select a link to a specific topic. How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question. Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. For example, if your assignment is, “Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class,” turn the request into a question like, “What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?” After you’ve chosen the...
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...worksheet will assist you with several of the pre-writing activities necessary for completing your expository essay including selecting a topic, brain storming, developing a thesis statement, and identifying the audience for your essay. Follow the instructions to complete these pre-writing activities. Make sure you complete all 7 sections of this worksheet. 1. Choose a Topic Here is a list of possible essay topics to use for your expository essay. Please choose only one topic. You will indicate the topic you have chosen within the table below. * If you have a topic that you are passionate about please contact your instructor for their approval on the topic. Remember that your topic must be a topic where you can provide facts, not opinions. * Video games AND violence * Internet AND workplace * Exercise AND obesity * Academic achievement AND library 2. Read the Module 1 lecture and review “The Writing Process” media piece. Be sure to read your Module 1 lecture and review the “The Writing Process” media piece for instructions on how to develop a thesis statement and how to identify your audience. You will need to know how to do this in order to complete the table below and successfully begin your writing process. “The Writing Process” * “Menu” * “Who is the audience?” * “How should I brainstorm?” (Because you are required to choose your topic from the list above, not all brainstorming examples will be pertinent to this assignment. When reviewing...
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...writing and is aided considerably by putting preliminary thought and plans in writing. Organizing – The sequence in which the information or ideas in an essay are presented. Drafting – The stage in the writing process during which the writer puts ideas into complete sentences, connects them, and organizes them into a meaningful sequence. Revising – The stage in the writing process during which the author makes changes in focus, organization, development, style, and mechanics to make the writing more effective. Editing – The last stage in the writing process during which the writer focuses on the details of mechanics and correctness. Discovering Audience – The readers for whom a piece of writing is intended. Many essays are aimed at a general audience, but a writer can focus on a specific group of readers. Topic or Subject - The particular issue or idea that serves as the subject of a paragraph, essay, report, or speech. The primary topic of a paragraph may be expressed in a thesis statement. The main topic of an essay, report, or speech may be expressed in a thesis statement. Purpose – The writer's reasons for writing; what the writer wants to accomplish in an essay. Attitude – The attitude...
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...A baby thesis is like a shortened version of your final, completed thesis. As a result, it contains less parts or sections that a full thesis. However, just because a baby thesis is shorter, and therefore takes less time to write, than a completed thesis, this does not mean you should put less effort into your baby thesis. Writing a strong, well-written baby thesis is important, as it can act as your foundation for your completed thesis. A baby thesis must contain a number of features: * A table of contents, or contents page A table of contents should show to the reader exactly where the specific sections are within your thesis. Each of the main headings, and any subheadings associated with these, should be listed in your table of contents, along with the page number on which the headings can be found. * Introduction An introduction should be imaginative and compelling, and should make your reader care about the information in the rest of your thesis, inspiringthem to read on. However, it must also contain a number of facts, such as the aim of your thesis, what inspired your thesis in the first place, and any work done in the past by you or other which you are building upon in your thesis. * Findings and analysis This section is fairly self-explanatory - it should contain the raw data which you gained from your investigation, and an explanation of what this data means for your thesis. * Recommendations Recommendations should be aimed at...
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