The Research Essay
your thesis statement and beyond
your thesis
Some defining features of a thesis
for most student work, it's a one- or twosentence statement that explicitly outlines the
purpose or point of your paper. A thesis is to a
paper what a topic sentence is to a paragraph
it should point toward the development or
course of argument the reader can expect
your argument to take, but does not have to
specifically include 'three supporting points' as
you may have once learned
because the rest of the paper will support
or back up your thesis, a thesis is normally
placed at or near the end of the
introductory paragraph.
it is an assertion that a reasonable
person could disagree with if you only
gave the thesis and no other evidence. It
is not a fact or casual observation; it must
beg to be proved. And someone should
be able to theoretically argue against it
(how successfully will depend of course on
how persuasive you are)
it takes a side on a topic rather than
simply announcing that the paper is about
a topic (the title should have already told
your reader your topic). Don't tell a reader
about something; tell them what about
something. Answer the questions "how?"
or "why?"
it is sufficiently narrow and specific that your
supporting points are necessary and sufficient,
not arbitrary; paper length and number of
supporting points are good guides here
it argues one main point and doesn't squeeze
three different theses for three different papers
into one sentence
constructing your thesis statement
THESIS = TOPIC + SPECIFIC
ASSERTION/ARGUMENT
the importance of outlines
 if you can't articulate your paper even in point form, you
won't be able to do it effectively in prose and it will take
you much longer to write an inferior draft
 if you do find structural problems or gaps as you outline,
it's easier to fix them now than to try and totally revamp a
3rd draft. Face it, it's always easier (translation: less
intellectually painful) to scrap a note than a paragraph or
whole essay
 any teacher will tell you that you will lose more points for
lack of substance than for lack of writing style; outlines
are all about the crux and direction of substance
 should things click into place, an outline gives you
confidence. It helps you to realize that, yes, you really do
know what you're talking about!
 outlines make drafting less stressful not only by
describing the relationship of your ideas to each other
and to the thesis or question, but because you now have
small manageable chunks to tackle
constructing your outline
 Carefully read the notes in your research log.
 Try to find classifications for your findings that relate to
your thesis or research question.
 Look for common trends. They're going to be separated
from each other but gather them together. It doesn't
really matter how you classify.
 Look back at the original assignment for clues about
sub-groups your professor might be looking for.
 you may find that some sections are strong and fleshedout whereas others are weaker.
 Do some more research where needed or see if two "weak"
sections just couldn't fit under one stronger heading.
 Perhaps as hard as you try, your points fit together but
not with the overarching argument you're making. In that
case, don't be afraid to re-evaluate your thesis; it may
just need a qualification.
 Your evidence may be great but if it supports a different thesis,
your readers won't see how great it is because they'll be
expecting something else.
types of outlines
Thematic
Chronological
Cause and effect
Illustrative
Macro to micro
Micro to macro
narrative
one possibility

Introductory Paragraph
 What do I need to say to set up my thesis?
 Thesis Statement (usually including a mention of the main points to come) =
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_________________________
_________________________
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Transition (you don't have to write these out now but you should know what they'd roughly be)
Reason #4 = _________________________
 example + explication of how it supports topic sentence
 Concluding sentence on how (all) the example(s) support thesis
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Transition
Reason #3 = _________________________
 example + explication of how it supports topic sentence
 Concluding sentence on how (all) the example(s) support thesis
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Transition
Reason #2 = _________________________
 example + explication of how it supports topic sentence
 Concluding sentence on how (all) the example(s) support thesis
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Transition
Reason #1 = _________________________
 example + explication of how it supports topic sentence
 Concluding sentence on how (all) the example(s) support thesis
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Transition
Concluding Paragraph
 sum up what X number of reasons have illustrated re: thesis
 some thoughts on the implications of what you've just said or shown