Hi all
I'm new to the list, and am very happy to find people who do what I do!
I use the concept of thesis statement as a central part of my writing workshops to help participants analyze their arguments. I argue that a scholarly argument has two main parts (1) a question (usually called the research question), and (2) the answer (the thesis statement).
I was taught in my rhetoric class that a thesis statement should be in the form "x is y because z". In my class I've modified this a little to embrace all kinds of scholarly writing and thus define these parts as follows:
x= the thing you are trying to say something about; the topic
y= what you are trying to say about this thing; your claim
z= the basis on which you are making this claim (logic/theory, and/or empirical evidence)
An example:
GWPs are not an accurate system of measure because they do not take into account the lifetimes of the gases.
x = GWPs
y= are not an accurate system of measure
z= because they do not take into account the lifetimes of the gases
The benefit of using this xyz system (the formal thesis statement) as a way of analyzing arguments is that it quickly reveals problem areas: such as, the question suggests one thing, but the answer answers something different (the x in the question is different from the one in the answer). Or that the author's claim is unclear. Or that the reasoning is based on "because I said so".
My participants love this as a helpful tool, but I have to say that the formal thesis statement seldom appears in the "x is y because z" format in a finished paper. More like "In this paper we argue that x is y". The z part comes through most often through the method.
Have probably said too much and bored you all to tears, but this is just a quick intro to my take on thesis statement! I suppose my response to the original post would be:
1) a thesis statement is the author's "answer" to the research question posed in the paper
2) a good thesis statement includes all three parts: x, y and z.
Lynn Nygaard
________________________________
Fra: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions på vegne av Alexander Baratta
Sendt: to 17.06.2010 16:24
Til: [log in to unmask]
Emne: Re: The Thesis Statement
Hi Russ,
Many thanks for this,
Alex
Quoting Russell Kent <[log in to unmask]>:
> I saw a video on You Tube about thesis statements and, for me, it summed it
> up perfectly.
>
> All a thesis statement is, is a topic and a point of view about it.
>
> By the way, some good stuff on You Tube about academic writing. And
> students love it.
>
> Cheers
>
> Russ
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing -
> discussions [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alexander Baratta
> Sent: 16 June 2010 22:52
> 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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