Formulating a Thesis

By: Olympia Georgeson                                                  

When you receive your essay prompt from your professor, first identify which type of essay it is; it may be an expository essay (summary), persuasive/argumentative essay (make case and try to sway reader into thinking your opinion is the best), or analytical essay (analyze and argue). A thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work or historical event based on your analysis of its topic. It consists of three components: Claim, Evidence, and Analysis (the significance of your idea). Since you will most likely be faced with an analytical essay, here is an example of an analytical thesis statement: Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

The definition of a thesis is:

1)   It is the interpretation of a subject that is debatable.

2)   A thesis can be and if complex enough, probably will be more than one sentence.

3)   A thesis contains key sub points that you can take with you throughout your paper. I think of a thesis as a camping knapsack that holds together the sub points (things that you need for survival: food, lighter, and blanket). The sub points will be the tools that support your argument for the survival of your paper.

4)   Your topic sentences for each body paragraph should not just summarize the subjects of each paragraph but also encompass a part of your thesis argument. An example of a topic sentence that includes a part of one’s argument is: “Selfhood, then, is at best a theatrical creation” (The Ink of Melancholy, Andre Bleikasten).

When conducting thorough research for your essay, form your general questions about the material at hand into one question that sparks your curiosity. A good thesis is derived from a question that you’re passionate or interested about (this will make the writing process a lot more enjoyable!) Finally, analyze your sources with this question in mind by finding supporting evidence that may answer your question. Your thesis will be the answer to your question. 

Transitions for the Socially Active College Student

By Elaina Hundley

When you are talking to your best friends about your date on Tuesday, it’s ok to jump from what you wore to what you ate to how you really just want to go to the mall and shop and how you really hated what was served in TDR today. However, in an essay, even an informal essay in the first person, you must transition from paragraph to paragraph and from sentence to sentence. Your friends might follow your disjointed conversation but your reader most likely will not. Transitioning between ideas on paper takes practice but it helps the reader understand how your varying ideas all connect. Transitioning can actually start on the sentence level. 

What are transitions? How do transitions work sentence by sentence?

Transitions are defined as the process or period of changing from one state to another. The word transition refers to a number of different processes, but for the purposes of writing, this process occurs in two places. Writers must transition from sentence to sentence and they also must transition from paragraph to paragraph. The move between sentences is nuanced and slight but crucial for clarity and cohesion in your paper. Although each paragraph you write should typically contain one central idea, your sentences supporting that idea may cover a few aspects of it. When you are moving from one sentence to another, it is important to make sure that the turns or changes you make from one aspect of the subject to the others all connect. Sometimes what you think is an implicit follow up thought could confuse your reader. By logically bridging the gaps between your thoughts, your reader will know what to expect and understand why you put the two thoughts together. An example might help illustrate this. 

Let’s go back to the conversation I mentioned at the beginning. If you were writing an essay (HYPOTHETICALLY) about your experience on a date, you might transition from what you wore to what you ate by explaining how you dressed in a really nice white shirt and then proceeded to spill wine on it. Even though the spill felt catastrophic, the wine was delicious and complimented the quinoa and asparagus dish you ordered. Connecting the clothing to the wine that was spilled to what you ate transitions a little smoother than saying, “I wore a white t-shirt on my date. Also, we ate a meal of quinoa and asparagus.” This example is completely hypothetical, but if you jump from idea one to the other too rapidly, your reader might not understand why you talk about clothes then food. Connecting them makes for a more interesting story and one that your reader can follow. Transitions start at the sentence level but the bigger transitions you will make in a paper are from paragraph to paragraph.

When moving from one paragraph to the next, you could be talking about the date but your next thought may go beyond the actual night of the date. When ideas go beyond the central topic of your paragraph, it is time to move on to the next paragraph. Moving from one paragraph to the next successfully relies on two key moves: the transition in the preceding paragraph and the topic sentence in the following. Let’s focus on the transition. If you were writing about the date and then wanted to write about whether or not you plan on a second date, it might be time to switch paragraphs. To do this, you would simply say something to the effect of, “ The date last night was really fun. I enjoyed the food and felt good about our conversations. We were even able to laugh off the wine spill. However, I am really not sure about a second date. It is my senior year and I have a lot of choices to make and so many new things ahead of me.” Paragraph two would proceed with this thought by talking about graduating and perhaps the cons of going on a second date. This transitional sentence connects what was said in the date night paragraph to what you plan to write in the new paragraph because it summarizes what you wrote and makes an explicit correlation between the two ideas. By using transitions, you simply connect your thoughts in a deliberate way between sentences and paragraphs.

Transitions work differently on each level. The sentence level is a smaller jump, whereas the new paragraph transition must give a slight re-cap of the previous paragraph and join those ideas to the next paragraph. Transitions are easy to forget, but if you struggle with spotting places where you need a transition or if you just are not sure if your movements from topic to topic are clear, ask a friend to read over your writing or bring your paper to the Writing Center. A second pair of eyes can help show where your thoughts connect clearly and where you may need to add in a smoother transition.  

Topic Sentences

Today, we're sharing one our most popular posts from the past, originally written by the lovely Lindsey Strang in 2010.  Explore the rest of our popular posts in our Article Index!

While most college writers are familiar with the traditional structure of an essay (i.e., introduction, body, conclusion), many are not aware that this same model can, and in most cases should, be applied to individual paragraphs as well. Perhaps the most important of these elements is the paragraph’s introduction, which is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence serves the same function as the introduction to an essay, only on a smaller scale. It is basically a “mini-thesis” which should explicitly state the argument a paragraph is about to make. A topic sentence can do two things: make a transition from the previous paragraph and briefly state what you will be arguing in this one.

If you struggle with topic sentences, you might choose to write them last. Once you complete a paragraph and are more certain about its function, you can go back to the beginning of the paragraph to make that function explicit with a topic sentence. A good tactic, which we often utilize at the Writing Center, is to read a paragraph and then ask yourself: what is this paragraph saying and how does it relate to your essay’s thesis? Usually, when we ask this question, students respond with one basic sentence which explains the general point of the paragraph (i.e., what it is saying or proving). While you of course may want to tweak the wording, this is your topic sentence!

For example, suppose you are writing a paper which argues that Wal-Mart is bad for America. The body of this type of essay would obviously need to support this claim by outlining the specific threats that this corporation poses to American society. Here are some sample topic sentences you might include:

"The continually increasing number of Wal-Mart stores across the country poses a serious threat to small businesses."

This topic sentence works because it is a straightforward, concise statement which makes it clear that the paragraph that follows will discuss your general thesis (Wal-Mart is bad for America) in terms of one specific realm that is negatively impacted by the corporation: small businesses.  

"Wal-Mart is not only bad for its small business competitors, but for its own employees as well."

This is a good topic sentence, specifically for a paragraph following the one that was just outlined, because it does two things. First, it offers a smooth transition by tying this paragraph to the one that precedes it by mentioning small businesses at the beginning. Next, it introduces the new topic, Wal-Mart’s poor treatment of its employees. This paragraph would go on to explain, more specifically, how Wal-Mart mistreats its employees (i.e., low wages, child labor, etc.).

This process can be repeated over and over until you have covered all your bases and sufficiently defended your thesis. Remember, when you are writing an essay, clarity is key. It is always preferable to reveal as much as possible from the outset, rather than making your reader wait until the end of a paragraph to discover your point. Topic sentences accomplish this goal.