{"id":884,"date":"2020-01-14T19:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T19:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/?p=884"},"modified":"2020-01-15T21:05:17","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T21:05:17","slug":"thesis-statements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/2020\/01\/14\/thesis-statements\/","title":{"rendered":"Thesis Statements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Laura Griglak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image by engin akyurt<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everyone knows that thesis statements are important. They\nset up your main argument and offer a guide for readers to refer back to. And\nyet, constructing an effective thesis statement is a lot like herding cats. One\nsecond the wily devil is within your grasp, and the next, it is lost in the\nbriar bushes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that while herding cats will be forever\nimpossible, writing an effective thesis statement is well within reach. The\nfirst step is to understand the nature of the beast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP ONE: What is a thesis statement?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thesis statement provides an anchor for your paper. It\nis typically a single sentence<\/em> that\nincludes your main point, as well as supporting information that gives the\nreader a clear understanding of what they are about to read. Here is an example\nfrom Purdue Owl (a fantastic, online resource):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigh school graduates should be\nrequired to take a year off to pursue community service projects before\nentering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/general_writing\/the_writing_process\/thesis_statement_tips.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MAIN POINT: \u201cHigh school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUPPORTING INFORMATION: \u201cin order to increase their maturity and global awareness.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that the \u201csupporting information\u201d is\nnot random. It generally answers the question \u201cwhy\u201d or \u201chow.\u201d Why<\/em> should high school graduates be\nrequired to take a year off? Answer: to increase their maturity and global\nawareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP TWO: How to construct your initial thesis\nstatement.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we know what a thesis is, it\u2019s time to buckle down\nand write one! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an example of a prompt you could encounter: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\ndoes social media effect your day-to-day life?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do we take this prompt and turn it into a thesis?\nThe first step is answering the question. How does <\/em>social media effect your day-to-day life? This might require a\nlittle brainstorming. Personally, I might sit down and write out something like\nthis: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmm\u2026social\nmedia sure does take up a lot of my time\u2026If I wasn\u2019t on social media all the\ntime maybe I would have time to get my homework done. Heck, I might even be\nable to keep up on my dishes! But would it be worth it? Maybe not. I do get a\nlot out of social media. I get to keep in touch with my friends from high\nschool and it\u2019s a great way to share ideas with others.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, now we have our idea. It\u2019s time to turn it into a\nthesis. Remember, your thesis should have two parts: 1) your main point; and 2)\nsupporting information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAIN POINT: Social\nmedia takes up a lot of my time, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUPPORTING INFO: I\nsometimes fall behind on my responsibilities, but I am able to easily stay in\ntouch with my friends and share ideas. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THESIS: Social media\ntakes up a lot of time that could have been dedicated to responsibilities like\nhomework or chores, but the benefits outweigh the negatives, as I am able to\nstay in touch with my friends who help me spread ideas. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By organizing my thoughts and breaking down the information,\nit made forming the thesis a much easier task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP THREE: Don\u2019t assume your thesis statement is set in\nstone.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s right, thesis statements can change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you form this amazing thesis statement, only to\nfind that as you write your paper, you stray from your main point. Sometimes\nthis means you need to refocus your information to meet the expectations of\nyour thesis. However, there are times in which it makes more sense to refocus\nyour thesis<\/em> to meet the expectations\nof your paper. It all depends on what you are trying to say in your paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is that when you are finished, the paper should reflect what you outline in your thesis.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINAL WORDS:<\/strong> Don\u2019t\nbe afraid to get a second opinion!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes sense in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many times have you heard\/said something like this? As\nthe writer, it is easy to lose perspective on your own work. You become so\nclose to the material that you can no longer see the full picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to show your piece to a second set of\neyes\/ears. Getting that outside perspective can help verify whether you were\nable to maintain your paper\u2019s focus. And as always, you are welcome to bring\nyour work to us here at the Marian E. Write Writing Center. We are always up\nfor a little cat herding. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Laura Griglak Everyone knows that thesis statements are important. They set up your main argument and offer a guide for readers to refer back to. And yet, constructing an effective thesis statement is a lot like herding cats. One second the wily devil is within your grasp, and the next, it is lost in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":897,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions\/897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}