HUNTER COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
WRITING CENTER
THE WRITING PROCESS
Invention: Developing a Thesis Statement
*What is a thesis statement in an essay?
A thesis is a substantive assertion that provides a specific lens into the writer’s given or chosen
subject, particularly in the context of a persuasive/argumentative essay. A thesis is a claim of what the
writer believes, and it provides reason–the why–for this belief. In this way, the thesis statement offers
more than a simple opinion; it offers an idea, which in this case can either be true or false.
*Why is there a thesis statement in an essay?
A thesis directly conveys the central idea of the essay, and so it works as the organizing principle
for the writer (and of course the readers), keeping sharp the essay’s focus. The thesis statement should
be worth exploring, developing and defending in an essay.
How is a thesis statement developed in an essay or research paper?
A thesis statement usually evolves after some reading, writing, and thinking has been done on
your topic. You can begin the writing process of an essay with a *sketchy thesis, move on to a
*tentative thesis, and finally arrive at your *definitive thesis statement. The process of writing the
essay will in itself help you to articulate and hone the thesis statement.
*Each stage of the thesis statement is explained with examples and user exercies on pages XXX
Now, have a look at the following paragraph, which is an example of a thesis statement
contained in a brief introduction to an essay, the topic of which is made evident by the thesis.
Mail order companies use forceful sales methods to bait the public into purchasing their products.
These corporations send out letters that boldly announce: "Sue Smith, you have won
1,000,000" while a page down in faint, minuscule print it reads: "...if you send in your form and order and you have
" *This type of solicitation constitutes psychological harassment. And although
Americans value freedom of speech, and many people might consider it the individual’s
responsibility to decide what he or she trusts or doesn’t trust, I believe that the government should
shield consumers from marketing assaults, which undermine their rationality with an intentionally
false but very attractive promise of becoming rich.
*the thesis statement begins here.
the matching numbers.
1
STAGES OF THE THESIS STATEMENT
Stage I. Sketchy Thesis Statement
In the very early stages of your writing and or research, it is advantageous to formulate a sketchy
thesis, which roughly expresses your unifying idea.
Hypothetically, let's say you are writing an essay on the relationship between the United States
criminal court system and the media. You have read one article related to this topic, but you have not yet
thought it all out. At this stage, you can formulate a very basic opinion without going into detail,
secondary topics, or supporting reason(s).
Broad Topic: The United States criminal court system and the media.
To assist you in formulating your sketchy thesis, ask basic "W" questions that are related to
your topic. This will help you determine your particular interests and a possible starting point for your
essay or research.
Based on the topic above, the following list demonstrates the different kinds of questions that can
be generated before you arrive at a sketchy thesis..
*Note how the order of questions goes from the more general to the more specific. It may be
easier for you to begin with broader questions as they may lead you to more narrowed and focused
questions.
C
C
C
C
Why is the media involved in court cases?
What is the history of the media and their involvement in criminal trials?
C
What kind of role does the media currently play in criminal court cases?
Specific: What aspect of the media am I going to write about?
C What kind of criminal cases will I focus on?
Who gains or loses advantages in regard to media presence in the court room?
General:
*If you come up with a long list of questions, select a few that hold the most interest for you.
These questions will narrow your focus and help you to plan your research strategy. Try to do some
reading and preliminary writing before you write the sketchy thesis.
Example of Sketchy Thesis:
The media plays a very influential role in criminal court trials, perhaps too influential.
Stage II. Tentative Thesis Statement (the Hypothesis)
A tentative thesis is more specific than a sketchy thesis, and it is particularly important for a
research paper. After you have written a list of questions, arrived at a sketchy thesis, and begun your
research and reading, you, hopefully, will be ready and prepared to write a focused question and then a
tentative answer to that question. The tentative answer is your hypothesis because it represents what
2
you predict you will be able to conclude.
Example of a Focused Question:
Does media publicity in a criminal trial influence the outcome of the case?
Example of a Tentative Thesis or an Answer to a Focused Question:
The media's pervading presence in courtroom trials has made it impossible to have a courtroom
that is free from bias.
Stage III. Definitive Thesis Statement
If you make a claim and include the reason or reasons which support it, and it is broad enough in
scope to perform as a substantial generalization of your essay but specific enough to act as a clear idea
that is worth defending--and in doing so driving readers to your own ends--then you have written a
definitive thesis statement.
The evidence that you will develop throughout the essay, in support of your thesis statement, can
take many forms: comparison and contrast to other sources, ideas of other writers, facts, opinions,
anecdotes, statistics, analogies, etc., but the underlying relationship between the thesis and all the major
points of support (and so development) is one of conclusion to reason: I believe this (thesis) to be true
because...(reasons).
*Remember: A thesis statement consists of at least one complete sentence; you cannot use a
phrase or sentence fragment. Usually, the first sentence indicates the general thesis assertion, and
additional sentences indicate the major support for this assertion. As readers, we may not know whether
it is true or false or even have any way of determining whether it is true or false, but the logical response
to an assertion is either, "Yes, I believe that to be true" or "No, I do not believe that to be true."
Some sentences do not make assertions. Obvious facts, commands, exclamations, intentions do
not offer positions or assertions on topics, and they are not used as thesis statements.
EXAMPLE of a Definitive Thesis Statement in an Introductory Paragraph:
Criminal court trials have become a regular part of the entertainment medium. There are
television channels dedicated to covering trials in progress, and news programs, talk shows, and
magazines constantly hold discussion and debates, both publicizing and dramatizing the subject matter..
This media onslaught produces its own context in which the public views a case: perhaps a perpetrator is
attractive or not attractive, or the victim doesn’t look hurt enough, or the media places emphasis on
whom or what they believe will attract more attention and so make them more money. This turns due
process of the law into a kind of meta-reality, something more akin to a Hollywood movie than an
actual criminal case, in which the purpose of the law is to move towards conclusions, resulting from the
facts, clear and rational thinking, and ethical considerations, that are, at least idealistically, free from bias.
However, it is also important to note that the media has played a very positive role at times in criminal
trials, particularly when attention has been needed for a defendant’s plight against a corrupt system.
.
IV. A Thesis for a Comparative/Contrast Essay
In this type of essay, you will be required to formulate a thesis that encompasses two or more
features that you will be comparing, contrasting and analyzing. Therefore, you will be writing a thesis
that looks at multiple perspectives, not necessarily leaning one way or the other, but bringing out a
3
central working idea between or among the things, issues, authors, etc., that you believe to be
worthy as the focus of your essay.
EXAMPLE of a Comparative Thesis:
In Kate Chopin's book The Awakening and Charlotte Perkins Gillman's novella The Yellow
Wallpaper, the female protagonists veer from the collective mainstream of a patriarchal society because
of their pronounced feelings of alienation, frustration, and emotional and creative repression within the
social structure of their time, which was marked by the subordination of women. Both characters
ultimately escape the narrow restraints of this early 20th century mentality either by suicide--as in The
Awakening--or through insanity--as in The Yellow Wallpaper, and however tragic these acts are, the
implication of deliverance from these two women’s restricted environments is one of liberation and,
more politically, transgression of the dominant culture. In this way, these protagonists are lifted into the
domain of the tragic hero.
V. A Thesis for a Single Source Essay:
Many times you will be asked to respond in writing to a single text. Before you begin writing,
you must be clear about the author's intentions and what her/his own idea and or thesis is. A good way to
do this is to make annotations while you are reading and after you are finished reading to briefly
summarize the author's main points. Make sure to separate your own ideas and opinions from those of
your source and decide whether you agree or disagree with what the author is saying. Then, you can
begin the stages, as listed in this handout, of developing your thesis.
VI. A Thesis for a Multiple Source Essay:
Most of the guidelines of this handout specifically relate to writing a thesis for a multiple source
essay. Remember, it is best to keep your thesis open while you are doing your research, and it is
necessary to have a few possible narrowed topics in mind before beginning intensive reading, since you
may or may not find the materials you want for the narrowed topic that you choose.
VII. A Thesis for a Biographical or Historical Research Paper
Biographical and historical topics have an immediate advantage: they can be defined and limited
by space and time. As you narrow your topic and begin your reading, watch for your emerging thesis: a
single clear impression of the person or event should be the controlling idea of your essay. Whether
you are writing about a sequence of events, as in a battle, or a single event or issue affecting the life of a
well-known person, you will still need a thesis and a strategy to shape the direction of your essay.
*A common strategy for biographical and historical topics is the cause and effect sequence--why
a certain decision was made or an event turned out one way or another. For example, your strategy for a
historical topic, such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, might lead you to shine a light on
the social and economic conditions that influenced Roosevelt’s initiative. On the other hand, if you are
writing a biographical essay of F.D.R., you might focus on an aspect of his life that influenced his
convictions.
4