Dear Colleagues,
I think James's uncertain response is quite helpful in reminding us
that a lot of the time we are preparing student to write for lecturers
in disciplines beyond English. Many such people, especially in the
social and hard sciences, don't have or understand the concept of a
thesis statement. Real papers in the social sciences involve (empirical)
enquiry, that is, they involve the identification of a question to which
we do not know the answer but would like to know it. Research or
analysis is then carried out in order to find an answer to that
question, which will be presented (often in the introduction) as
findings, rather than an argument, often using verbs like 'show' rather
than 'argue'. One can wangle it by saying that the argument is that the
these findings are the best answer to the question, but I think that is
probably rather post-hoc.
This discussion appeared on Wcenter not so long ago and I raised this
question and received the confirmation that, as James suggests, thesis
statements are a lot more common in the humanities than elsewhere. My
guess is that they are most common of all in English composition
classes, and migrate outwards, often undesiredly, from there. I have a
feeling, possibly a prejudice, that thesis statements are a feature of
non-authentic genres (eg. the 5-paragraph essay) that try to teach the
skills of argument without creating new knowledge. I'm not entirely
sure, beyond the humanities, whether teaching thesis statement writing
prepares students well for writing in the disciplines.
It would be interesting to hear from those who teach writing in
languages other than English how scholarly enquiry is framed in those
contexts. I know for example that in French academic writing there is
something called a 'problematique' which drives the enquiry; I am told
that German may have something similar, but I don't know much more in
either case.
Best,
John
>>> James Hartley <[log in to unmask]> 17/6/10 13:38 >>>
Hi Alex
I am afraid that I am unfamiliar with the idea of a thesis statement or
what
a good one is. Perhaps the term is used more in the Arts than the
social
sciences.
I have, however, been thinking about how we can improve the thesis
abstract - which in itself might be considered as a thesis statement?
The short paper attached might be of interest in this respect.
Cheers
Jim
James Hartley
School of Psychology
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG
UK
[log in to unmask]
http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ps/people/JHartley/index.htm
—-------
From: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing -
discussions [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alexander
Baratta
Sent: 16 June 2010 21:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Thesis Statement
Dear Colleagues,
I would be grateful if as many of you as possible might be able to
respond to two quick questions regarding the thesis statement, or
'argument' as it is known in the UK.
1. How would you define a thesis statement?
2. What is a good thesis statement?
Thanks for your assistance on this matter,
Best wishes,
Alex Baratta
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