PERSUASIVE RESEARCH WRITING & THESIS STATEMENTS

Persuasive Research EssaySponsored by: The OWL at Purdue

Persuasive Writing: The Argument

Argument: This is the basis of the persuasive research paper.

The staff at Charles Sturt University in Australia defines an argument as "a series of generalizations or propositions, supported by evidence or reasoning and connected in a logical manner, that lead to a justified conclusion. You must sustain your argument by giving evidence and reasons."

The approach in persuasive research writing is to take a stand on an issue and use evidence to back-up your stance, not to explore or flesh out an unresolved topic. This stance, this debatable statement, or this interpretation is

known as your thesis.

Essays & Thesis Statements

The term essay comes from the French word essai, or "attempt“ You are attempting to convince the reader of a debatable or controversial

point of view. That point of view - your thesis - is the core of this breed of paper.

A plan of attack for the backbone (the main focus) of your paper. You need to refine a topic before figuring out the main focus of your

paper: your thesis statement. You can't afford to waste time wandering aimlessly around the library, or

even worse, in your paper. You need to know what your ultimate purpose is and what you need to

know and do to get there. In most persuasive essays, thesis statements are generally found in the

introductory paragraph(s), which makes sense considering your reader will get frustrated if your persuading point isn't stated early on.

Defining Features of a Thesis

It is a one or two-sentence 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 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(s).

A reasonable person could disagree with you if you only gave the thesis and no other evidence. Also, someone should be able to theoretically argue against it (how

successfully will depend on how persuasive you are).

Defining Features of a Thesis

A thesis takes a side on a topic rather than simply announcing that the paper is about a topic (the title should have already revealed your topic). Don't tell a reader about something; answer the questions

"how?" or "why?“

A thesis 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.

A thesis argues one main point and doesn't squeeze three different theses for three different papers into one sentence.

THE SO WHAT? TESTThe Test it Must Pass

The So-What? Test Be sure to choose a topic worth arguing about or

exploring. This means to construct a thesis statement about a problem that

is still debated, controversial, up in the air.

So arguing that drinking and driving is dangerous - while you could find a ton of evidence to support your view - would be pretty worthless nowadays. Who would want to read something they already knew? You wouldn't be persuading them of anything and all your

work would be pretty meaningless.

During the topic-formulating stage, always keep asking "SO WHAT?", "WHO CARES?" or as Barbara Frum says: "Tell me something new about something I care about." That will automatically make your paper significant and

interesting both for you to write and the reader to study.

So What? When you do come up with a good thesis, always

make sure it passes The So What? Test or begin again.

Don't worry though; remember that at this point in the process, your thesis is tentative. It may change after you do research or as you

write and that's perfectly okay (as long as it is Coffin-approved).

It is important, however, for you to think about the point of your paper now before you read what the experts in your field have to say.

RESEARCHING

Researching Hunting for resources and recording the information. You

have a focus, a goal, a purpose--in essence, the bones of your essay. But now you need flesh for those bones; that's where research comes

in.

The research step you are about to embark on will possibly be a relief because now you can finally gather some proof for your readers to support your controversial thesis.

You will gather this outside knowledge and integrate it with your own ideas. The research step is what distinguishes this genre from other kinds of

essays.

Supporting Evidence With a good thesis and an outline, you know what

you want to say and how you want to say it. Now your essay needs the weight of evidence to support your thesis and convince your reader. Evidence consists of specific examples or opinions of

others which support and illustrate your thesis. Try to give several examples rather than just one. You want

to make sure that there is sufficient evidence for you to make a strong point; the evidence must also be relevant and reliable.

Evidence comes from either primary or secondary sources. The primary source is the text on which you are

commenting, or documents that deal directly with your topic.

Secondary sources are opinions or interpretation of others on the topic (your essay itself becomes a secondary source, should anyone wish to quote it).

Although secondary sources can help support your view, your instructor is still interested in what you think about the work.

PLAGIARISMThe Gateway to a Life of Crime

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of someone else's

thoughts or wording either by incorrect documentation, failing to cite your sources altogether, or simply by relying much too heavily on external resources. Plagiarizing does not give due credit to the party who really came up

with the language and/or idea, and also fails to inform the reader that the information originated from an outside source.

Plagiarizing undermines your academic integrity. It betrays your own responsibilities as a student writer, your

audience, and the very research community you were entering by deciding to write a research paper in the first place.

Whether intentional or, as is more often the case, inadvertent, the result is that some or all of another author's ideas become represented as your own.

It's like lip-synching to someone else's voice and accepting the applause and rewards for yourself.

Plagiarism Plagiarism also includes the re-use of the same paper for more than

one course or "buying" a paper from another student. If it feels like cheating or an easy way-out, and the moral and intellectual

consequences don't sound alarm bells, stop and think of the serious repercussions you could incur.

Because it is intellectual theft, plagiarism is considered an academic crime with punishment anywhere from an ZERO on that particular paper to dismissal from the course to expulsion from school. If that scares you, it shouldn't, because there is no reason it has to happen to you.

Avoid plagiarism by using effective note-taking skills and properly incorporating sources - direct quotations, summaries, or paraphrases - within your own insights so that it is clear where and which sources were consulted to support and supplement your own discussion. Your research paper won't be some cheap throw-together of unoriginal

thoughts but a credible, cohesive piece of writing not in spite of but because of your intellectual honesty.

THE ESSAY OUTLINEThe Framework for the Essay

More on Essay

Outlines Later in the Research Process

The Outline: Mapping it Out Like the frame of a house combines with the building materials,

the outline combines the "bones" of your thesis with the "flesh" from your research and insights to construct a unified essay body.

An outline is the organizational plan for your paper. You know your starting point: your introduction and thesis/research

question. You know your destination: some sort of summative and thoughtful

conclusion. But how are you going to get from one to the other? What's your

vehicle?

See, an outline doesn't just help you articulate what you plan to say, but also how you're going to move from supporting paragraph to supporting paragraph, how you're going to get where you want to go.

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.

If you find problems as you outline, it's easier to fix them now than to try to revamp a 3rd draft. It's always easier to scrap a note than a paragraph or whole essay.

When things click into place, an outline gives you confidence. It helps you to realize that, maybe just maybe, you really do know what you're talking about!

Markers don't appreciate mental diarrhea or The Shotgun Technique: writing down everything you know about the subject (a common fault). It is like firing a shotgun and hoping that some of the many pellets hit something." Have respect for your reader.

Outlines make drafting less stressful not only by pointing out the relationship of your ideas to each other and to the thesis, but because you now have small manageable chunks to tackle.

Coffin is much more agreeable to looking over an outline than an early draft. The outline will tell him more about whether you’re on the right track.

Constructing an Outline You're may be intimidated by the research materials and

notes amassed in front of you...but that’s not a bad thing. Carefully read the index cards and look for common trends. They're going to be separated from each other but gather them

together. Cards with common trends will probably form a sub-topic for the

paper.

You can classify using a variety of techniques. Using index cards, group the ones that go together and shuffle

them around to achieve the best order of ideas. You can also do this on paper: use different-colored symbols or

highlighters to classify related ideas.

Constructing an Outline Once you're happy with what you've got, you may find that some

sections are strong and fleshed-out 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 (thesis). In that case, don't be afraid to re-evaluate your thesis; it may just need a tweak.

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. Don’t prove the wrong thesis.

Now that you have thesis and support (research question and answers) fitting together, the really hard work is done!