*Planning: Thesis Statements and Outlining

Developing an assertionCrafting a thesisOutlining your

paragraphs

*Before you can begin drafting an essay, you must establish the framework for the paper by

*Develop an assertion

An assertion is, very simply, your opinion on the matter or topic at hand. It’s what you’ll use to next write a detailed thesis explaining that stance. To develop an assertion:

*Read the paper assignment carefully – what does it ask you to do?

*Review your sources and your synthesis of those ideas

*State your opinion on the topic simply and clearly. For example: Writing clearly and effectively gives one power in society.

*Craft a Thesis Statement

An assertion is not enough. We need to turn that assertion into something clear, specific, and meaningful, something we can use to develop the framework for the rest of the paper. Your thesis should

* tell the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion

* be a road map for the paper

* directly answer the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.

* makes a claim that others might dispute.

* be 1-3 sentences long and placed at the end of your introductory paragraph

*More on Thesis Statements

In addition to the previous guidelines, your thesis also needs to pass a few tests in order to be effective:

* “So What?” – do I provide significance for my opinion. In other words, do I address what’s at stake?

* “How and Why” – Have I answered these questions to adequately explain my position?

* “Specific?” – Have I been clear and specific, or do I have vague words or phrases that need clarification?

Let’s start with the assertion example we used at the beginning of this lesson:

*Writing clearly and effectively gives one power in society.

This is an assertion, an opinion with which someone else might disagree, but it doesn’t yet provide the specificity we need to write a paper on the subject. Let’s turn it into a thesis statement…

*Examples

*Writing clearly and effectively gives one power in society.

We might begin by asking a few questions that will help us delve deeper into the topic. For example:

*What does it mean to write clearly and effectively?

*What kind of power does it provide?

* In all societies or just specific ones?

* So what? In other words, why does it matter that one has power in society?

*The ability to write according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control gives one power in society because it is a reflection of one’s professionalism and he or she can communicate more clearly.

Now we’re talking! Here we have a more specific statement that better reflects the writer’s argument about writing and power. Notice we’ve answered a few of the questions we developed earlier:

* What does it mean to write clearly and effectively?

* According to standard guidelines and with grammar control

* What kind of power does it provide?

* Professionalism and communication

* So what? In other words, why does it matter that one has power in society?

* Hmmm – let’s look more closely at this…

*The ability to write according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control gives one power in society because it is a reflection of one’s professionalism and he or she can communicate more clearly.

Our statement here does a great job at answering the how and why, but it doesn’t yet pass the “So What” test. Why does it matter that one is professional and communicates clearly? Remember, don’t presume any assumptions of your readers. Not everyone will agree that it’s a good thing to be professional. You have to PROVE it!

One more time…

*The ability to write according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control gives one power in society because it is a reflection of one’s professionalism and he or she can communicate more clearly. As a result, he or she is more likely to be successful in his or her career.

Remember the “As a result,” trick! This little introductory clause can easily help you get at the significance of your argument. This writer could have chosen any number of things to state. For instance, she could have focused on personal relationships or academics. Instead, she chose to look at the relationship between writing and power in terms of one’s career.

*Outlining

Now that you have a strong, specific, and clear argumentative thesis statement, you can move forward in the planning process.

Your thesis statement provides the groundwork for everything else that is to come in the rest of the essay. It is a road map of sorts. So, what do we do with it?

* Review your thesis statement closely. Break it down into smaller points. What individual ideas need to be proven for your thesis to be true?

* Use those individual points as the basis for each of your body paragraphs. You may have three, or you may have five. There is no magic number.

* Craft mini thesis statements for each of your individual points. These will serve as topic sentences for the body paragraphs of your essay.

* Let’s do an example…

*The ability to write according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control gives one power in society because it is a reflection of one’s professionalism and he or she can communicate more clearly. As a result, he or she is more likely to be successful in his or her career.

Here’s our thesis statement. Now, how can we break it down into smaller points? What needs to be proven in order for this statement to be true?

* Writing according to standard guidelines and with control of grammar reflects one’s professionalism.

* Writing according to standard guidelines and with control of grammar allows one to communicate more clearly.

* Being professional and communicating clearly results in more success in one’s career.

These three smaller points are all related to our thesis and require development and support. We can use them to organize the body paragraphs of our essay.

Now we have our three main points that support our thesis. It’s time to turn those points into topic sentences. Think of topic sentences as mini-thesis statements: they are individual points that will be proven in that paragraph.

* Writing according to standard guidelines and with control of grammar reflects one’s professionalism.

* This works already as a topic sentence! It’s clear and specific, and it’s something we can provide evidence to support in the paragraph.

* Writing according to standard guidelines and with control of grammar allows one to communicate more clearly.

* This works but is a little repetitive. Let’s edit it a bit to read: One’s communication will be clearer if he or she writes by standard rules and with control of grammar.

* Being professional and communicating clearly results in more success in one’s career.

* This also works at it is!

Now you have the basis for your outline. In our class, what your outline looks like doesn’t matter as much as what it accomplishes.

When outlines are due, I expect to see them reflect a clear thesis statement, topic sentences, and notes on evidence for each point. Here’s an example with our sample

Working thesis: The ability to write according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control gives one power in society because it is a reflection of one’s professionalism and he or she can communicate more clearly. As a result, he or she is more likely to be successful in his or her career.

* Paragraph #1: Writing according to standard guidelines and with proper grammar control is a reflection of one’s professionalism.

* Quotes from business owners on topic

* Example of employee

* Paragraph #2: One’s communication will be clearer if he or she writes by standard rules and with control of grammar.

* Examples from workplace A

* Examples from workplace B

* Paragraph #3: Being professional and communicating clearly results in more success in one’s career.

* Examples of successful people

* Quotes from experts

You’ll notice in this outline the writer has notes about what evidence will be used to support each paragraph’s point. As you develop your outline, you can insert page numbers and other notes to help you organize your source information.

An outline will be do for your papers throughout the semester. You will find a worksheet on Blackboard under “handouts” that will help you through the outlining process.

By developing an assertion, crafting a thesis, and outlining your major points, you can ensure you are well-organized before you begin drafting your paper.

Most students also find that this makes writing a lot easier since most of the work is already done!