Thesis generation
What is a thesis?

A thesis is a sentence that conveys your central position for an argument.

It must be a complete sentence with a subject and a commentary (opinion)

The opinion must be stated like fact. Be definite!

It should be specific and concise.

It should not use I, my, me, or other first person. It should be in third person.
Through your preliminary research, you must judge whether there is enough “meat” and
evidence to support your thesis.
A thesis statement declares what you believe and what you intend to prove.
A good tentative thesis will help you focus your search for information.
But don't rush! You must do a lot of background reading before you know enough about a subject to
identify key or essential questions.
You may not know how you stand on an issue until you have examined the evidence.
You will likely begin your research with a working, preliminary or tentative thesis which you will continue to
refine until you are certain of where the evidence leads.
The thesis statement is typically located at the end of your opening paragraph. (The opening paragraph
serves to set the context for the thesis.)
Other elements of the thesis:
1. Includes “what ought to be”…includes higher order thinking (Bloom’s)
2. Reasons for the opinion in your thesis that help put it in context
3. Major points of evidence that support the thesis
4. The “so what?” factor; what is the significance of this thesis?
5. It should attempt to convince the reader of something.
6. It should address a problem for which no easy solution exists or asks a
question to which no absolute answers exist.
7. It should present a position that readers could disagree with realistically.
For other help:
Thesis development
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/1/
On-line thesis builder
http://www.ozline.com/electraguide/thesis.php
http://tommarch.com/electraguide/
Thesis—Examples
1. Pesticides are bad because they are harmful.
Better: The government should ban the use of pesticides because they endanger the lives of
farm workers and can cause cancer.
2. The United Nations has major weaknesses and cannot prevent a major war.
Better: The organization of the UN makes it incapable of preventing a war between major
powers.
3. There are serious objections to today’s horror movies.
Better: Today’s slasher movies fail to deliver the emotional catharsis that 1930s horror films
did.
4. Although the timber wolf is a timid and gentle animal, it is being systematically exterminated.
Why?
Better: Although the timber wolf is actually a timid and gentle animal, it is being systematically
exterminated because people wrongfully believe it to be fierce and cold-blooded.
5. Saving the whales is extremely important.
Better: Because our planet’s health depends on biological diversity, saving the whales is an
important goal.
6. Fairy tales are still useful for children to read.
Not just empty, old stories for kids, fairy tales shed light on the psychology of young children
and help their development.
What is evidence?
You need to supply evidence to support your thesis.
The following are examples of evidence:
1. Theories
2. Empirical Studies
3. Examples, Commonly Known events
4. Testimonials
5. Appeal to an authority: Quotations or paraphrases from experts
6. Facts –something said or done (quotation, paraphrase)
7. Statistics
8. Counter-points; A counterpoint states an argument against your thesis statement and then
provides evidence against that argument
9. Logic: inductive or deductive reasoning leading to a point
10. Personal Experience—this is known as anecdotal evidence Anecdotal evidence is 'story'
evidence. A story is told and the facts of the story are the evidence. A story is used to back-up the
point made by one side. It is important that the evidence is true (remember where you get it from
as you will have to reference it in a bibliography at the end of your essay).
Primary vs. Secondary Evidence
1. Primary sources
 done by a person who witnessed or participated in an event first hand
Examples:
Newspaper reports and magazine articles written at the time of the event
Interviews and speeches
Autobiographies and memoirs
Diaries
Original artwork or photographs
Letters and correspondence
Artifacts
Literature and fiction
Journal articles and websites reporting original findings or research
Recordings
Statistics which have not been interpreted
1. Secondary Sources -interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event.
Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them.
Examples:
Biographies
Criticism and interpretation
History and criticism
Scholarly books
Bibliographies
Journal articles, unless reporting research and methodology
Literature reviews and criticisms
Scholarly websites
How to use evidence in persuasive writing:
 Use evidence to strengthen your argument of your thesis
 Offer evidence that agrees with your stance
 Present evidence that contradicts your stance, and then argues against (refute) that evidence to strengthen
your position
 Use multiple sources of evidence and use them against each other
 Use quotations to support your points, not simply to restate your claims
 Integrate your evidence smoothly to support your claims
 Only use direct quotes for powerful effect; otherwise paraphrase
To use evidence effectively, follow this pattern
 State your claim
 Give your evidence and relate it to your claim
 Comment on the evidence to show how it supports the claim
 Without a claim, evidence is not persuasive, but instead is only a summary of facts or the ideas of others.
Without any evidence, a claim is not persuasive, but only a subjective personal opinion.
Thesis Success Criteria
Thesis statement is included early in the
report, usually in the introduction
The thesis is focused on one topic (not
two variables); not just a topic, fact or
opinion; clearly identifies the main idea
Narrow enough focus to be covered in the
scope of this paper or project
Vague words avoided (interesting,
difficult, best, etc.); clear and specific
Inflammatory, superlative, and
judgemental language avoided ...evil, all,
every, best
Has clear “cause and effect” relationship
shown
Attempts to convince readers of
something, change their minds about
something
Clearly includes angle/stand being taken
and position being taken
Complex issue that is arguable; not just a
yes, no answer
Evidence can be found to support thesis
Reasonable person could disagree with
this
Has a real-world or practical quality or
application
Clearly identifies the conclusion;
alternatives, potential solutions
Thesis is made using your own words, and
thoughts
Includes reasons for the stand you are
taking; outlines the argument that follows
It anticipates and refutes the counterarguments
Has an adequate number of quality
sources available that can help argue this
thesis
It clearly asserts your own conclusion
based on evidence. Note: Be flexible.
The evidence may lead you to a
conclusion you didn't think you'd
reach. It is perfectly okay to change
your thesis!
http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writingc/handouts/thesisstatements.htm
Thesis development
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/1/
On-line thesis builder
http://www.ozline.com/electraguide/thesis.php