ENG 106 Basic Writing
Week 2 Instruction: Finding a Topic and Developing a Thesis
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What is a thesis?
A thesis statement states the central argument or main point of a paper. The concept may
sound simple, but it is the most fundamental—and often the most difficult—aspect of
writing a persuasive paper.
Thesis vs Topic
Students sometimes get confused by thinking that a topic and thesis mean the same thing,
but they do not. A paper’s topic is what the paper is “about.” The thesis is the argument
or opinion expressed regarding that topic.
Think of a thesis as: Topic + Opinion/Argument.
For example:
Topic: Torture and its use in the war on terrorism.
Opinion: Torture is unethical and ineffective.
Thesis statement: Torture should not be used in the war on terrorism because torture is
unethical and ineffective.
A thesis does not state an obvious fact
Thesis statements are not statements of widely accepted or obvious fact. Consider this
statement: Smoking is bad for your health. This is not a thesis because everyone, even the
tobacco companies, understands that smoking is bad for one’s health.
A good thesis is focused
A good thesis statement will focus on a specific topic and avoid generalizations. Consider
this statement: Freedom is worth fighting for. It contains a topic (freedom) and expresses
an opinion about it (it’s worth fighting for), but the statement is way too general and
could not be covered in a book, let alone a short college essay. A more focused statement
on the same idea might be: Defeating the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan by
increasing troop levels is essential to maintaining America’s national security.
Where is the controversy?
A good thesis statement comes from unsettled questions or problems. Perhaps in your
past schooling you have written “reports” on certain “topics,” such as “Why smoking is
bad for your health.” In college, however, you will rarely simply research and report
information on a topic. Instead, you must write arguments based on that research and
information. In other words, you must use information to support your interpretation of
some debatable, undecided question.
For example, perhaps a student is interested in stem cell research. She wants to write a
paper about how research using adult stem cells shows promise. In the paper, it might be
tempting to focus on the wonderful breakthroughs that may result from such research,
ENG 106 Basic Writing
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such as repairing damaged nerves and organs. The problem with such a paper, however,
is that it misses the controversy or unsettled question on the issue: Should embryonic
stem cells (that come from human embryos) be used? Are adult stem cells just as
effective for research purposes? But if the paper’s point is “stem cell research will be
great once it works,” then who would disagree with that? Nobody. Nobody opposes stem
cell research in general; the controversy is about where the cells come from and the
relative effectiveness of the different kinds of cells. So, when developing your own
argument, make sure you do not skirt around the issue by discussing things that seem
related to your papers topic in general. Find the controversy. Focus on the unsettled
question at the heart of the issue.
Brainstorming: Discovering your thesis
Brainstorming and free-writing, also called exploratory writing, helps you:
-Discover just what you think about a certain topic.
-Discover a glaring weakness in your thesis before you write the paper because
you will have thought through (written through) the major points of your paper
and discovered flaws in reasoning before the draft stage.
-Dig deeper into the topic, going beyond the surface to discover what is truly
interesting or important about the topic. (Avoid repeating what everyone has
already heard before.)
Getting Started
Here are a few questions that may help in finding a topic and free-writing. You may want
to do some free-writing on each prompt.
1. Find a Topic:
Ask yourself these questions:
What do I care about? What frustrates or confuses me?
What problems or contradictions do I see that need to be resolved?
What ideas “out there” are incorrect or harmful?
2. Where is the controversy in your topic? In other words, what are the unsettled
questions related to this topic?
3. Form a temporary thesis statement, and then refine it as you brainstorm.
4. Talk to yourself on paper about your topic and thesis using the following prompts:
-Is my thesis specific enough?
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-Is it a real argument or just a statement of fact?
-Why is this important or interesting?
-The Golden Questions: “So what?..What is my point?” As you refine your
thesis, constantly ask yourself “So what?” This will help you ensure that you are
getting to the heart of why your argument is important.
-What is the underlying issue here?
5. Support: Why do I think this way? List reasons, information, or events that led you to
your conclusion.
6. What doubts or counterarguments might my audience have? Anticipate objections to
your argument. You will either concede the point or offer counterarguments. If these
counterarguments reveal weaknesses in your thesis, then revise your thesis!