Writing a Thesis Statement July 2, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Uncategorized , comments closedYou’ve probably heard time and again how important it is to have a thesis statement in your essay. But what exactly is a thesis statement, and where in your essay should you put your thesis once you’ve come up with it?
Its helpful to think of your thesis as a one-sentence summary of your essay topic and your attitude or opinion of your topic. In essence your essay will explain and elaborate on your thesis in much greater detail.
For example, let’s say you find yourself writing about the following topic
the Internet and its effect on college life
and you decide that your thesis statement should be
“The Internet has an impact on college life.”
then writing an essay describing the fact that the Internet does have an effect on college life would be to make a general observation. You wouldn’t be engaged in an analytical discussion about a topic because you fail to explain how this topic is significant. Instead, as one of my old profs would say, you’d be writing a “duh” paper. It’s clear that the Internet has an impact on college life. So what?
In order to write an effective essay about the Internet and its effect on college life, you would have to include your take on this matter; that is, how this topic is significant in your eyes. Is the Internet beneficial for students? How so? Or do you feel that the Internet (and all the time spent on Facebook and Myspace) is too much of a distraction for college students? How so? Remember also that you should choose a side and stick with it. To say that the Internet has both positive and negative aspects would be “straddling the fence,” and you never want to do that. Instead, argue a particular side but acknowledge briefly the opposing viewpoint – what they believe, why they believe it, and what makes their belief wrong in your eyes.
Thus an effective thesis statement, which will be argued throughout the rest of the essay, will include a topic and your opinion of the topic . But where in your essay should you insert the thesis statement? Generally your thesis should be placed at the end of your introduction paragraph. Because the thesis lets your reader know exactly what the essay will cover, it should be placed in your intro after your attention-grabbing sentence(s). This way the reader will know exactly what you’re arguing and will be able to follow along as you explain and prove your thesis.
Eric Gutierrez
Writing Center Consultant
Summer Hours May 19, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Consulting with us, International Students, Uncategorized , add a commentAre you in summer school? The Writing Center will be open this summer, weekdays, with a few exceptions here and there. You can either reach us through writing.center@valpo.edu, or stop by the Christopher Center for on-the-spot help or to to sign-up for an appointment.
Check out our blog pages or our categories–you will find a lot of help on many topics.
CORE Worker Profile: Good Interview–Good Project February 22, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Essay Planning, Content, CORE, Uncategorized , comments closedGood questions will elicit detail useful for the paper and make the interview lively and fun for both of you. Plan out questions ahead of time. Try some of these:
Describe a typical day at your workplace.
How did you arrive in this field or job? Would you choose it again? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I read an article that said one of the challenges in your field is [ . . . ]. How does this issue impact you?
People have this impression [ . . . ] about your career. In what ways is this accurate or inaccurate?
What is something people don’t generally know or realize about your field?
I’ve been thinking about/hearing about [ . . .] in your field. What can you tell me about that?
How do publications or organizations help you in your field?
Before your interview, write out specific questions related to the theme or direction you plan to take in the paper. When you make arrangements, let your candidate know how much time you think you will need, and at the end of the interview, ask if you can contact him or her again in case you need more detail.
We’d be happy to help you write out questions before spring break! Or check out this handout of other suggestions. How to Interview for the Worker Profile
CC Writers at the Writing Center January 18, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Uncategorized , comments closedCC CC Freshmen party on with writing consultants at the Writing Center. Check out this iMovie to see our facilities.
What’s your New Year’s Writing Resolution? January 7, 2008
Posted by jhicks in : Uncategorized , comments closedStop by the Writing Center so we can wish you Happy New Year! Or better yet, add your New Year’s Writing Resolution right here.
Here’s one from us:
From Joyce–I resolve to try to maintain a consistent point of view as I write. I’m going to watch for point-of-view as I read.
Send us a writing resolution! Early posters RECEIVE A $5 CULVERS’ COUPON! Send your resolution (at least 2 sentences) to writing.center@valpo.edu . (We’ll publish first names only or pseudonyms you provide; open to VU students only.)
Planning Your Essay November 15, 2007
Posted by egutierrez in : Essay Planning, CORE, Uncategorized , comments closedSo you have just received your essay assignment, and now you want to get started. But where should you begin? Should you just start writing, hoping that it will all make coherent sense in the end? Obviously, you don’t want to start writing without a plan, for it is easy to deviate from a specific topic and start talking about something else. So how should you get organized and get your essay started?
The first thing you need to do is analyze the essay prompt. Within a set of instructions given to you by your professor, you need to figure out exactly what he or she is asking of you and what your essay topic should be about. For example, say you are given the following prompt:
“Describe the events leading up to the American Revolution, and analyze the effects of Great Britain’s new taxation policy on the colonists’ need to revolt. Was ‘taxation without representation’ the biggest issue for the colonists?”
This prompt tells you exactly what you need to focus your essay on. Firstly, you need to describe the events leading up to the American Revolution. In this part of your essay, you would simply tell your reader what happened, leaving your own personal opinion out of the discussion. In the second portion of your essay, you would analyze the effects of Great Britain’s new taxation policy on the colonists’ need to revolt. This will require you to move beyond a mere description of this taxation policy and towards a more in-depth look at how this change in policy affected the colonists’ need for independence and self-determination. The third part of the prompt is asking for your educated opinion: was this policy change the biggest issue for the colonists? Here you would either argue in favor of this view or against it, giving supporting evidence from the course texts and lectures to back up your claim.
Now if your prompt is not as specific as the one mentioned above - say if your professor asks you to write a 10-page paper on some aspect of the American Revolution, then you might need to brainstorm for ideas, keeping in mind that your topic needs to be focused and specific. Writing a 10-page paper on the entire revolution would be too general and superficial (there are whole books committed to the American Revolution!). Instead you need to narrow your topic to a specific aspect of the revolution. “Women and the American Revolution” and “warfare technology of the American Revolution” are narrowed topics, but even these will need to be narrowed further. “How women helped further a sense of patriotism during the American Revolution” and “how new military tactics and technology influenced the American Revolution” are good examples of narrowed, focused topics.
Now that you’ve analyzed the prompt and what your professor expects of you, it’s time to formulate a thesis statement and plan your essay. Some people come up with the thesis first and then plan out the essay; others wait until after they have established a conceptual framework to write a good thesis. The best method is, of course, whichever way works for you. In coming up with a thesis statement, make sure it describes your essay topic and your opinion of it (see the section on Writing your Thesis Statement for more information).
Planning your essay requires that you outline which topics you plan to discuss. You need to outline your essay from start to finish, whether you find it more helpful to come up with a very detailed outline of everything you plan to discuss in each paragraph of your essay or whether you find it easier to briefly note what will be discussed in each paragraph. In our above example, you would start with an introduction (that includes your thesis statement), then you would (using as many paragraphs as you need) describe the events leading up to the American Revolution, analyze the effects of Britain’s new taxation policy, and then give your educated opinion as to whether this policy change was the biggest issue for the American colonists. You would finish your essay with a conclusion that not only restates your thesis but also, and more importantly, states how your essay topic is significant.
Now that you’ve planned your essay, you can begin writing it. The essay pre-writing stage is indeed very important because it allows you to look at not only what you’ll be writing but, more importantly, how and in what way you’ll be getting your point across. Write more coherent and thought-provoking essays - and make the writing process itself easier - by taking time to thoughtfully plan your essay.
Eric Gutierrez
Writing Center Consultant
Welcome to THE BLUE LIGHT November 7, 2007
Posted by jhicks in : Uncategorized , comments closedHi! Thanks for visiting our blog that represents the whole community of writers at VU–that means YOU, students, faculty, staff, and alumni. As incentive for entering a comment, we’ll provide a $5 gift card to Culvers to the first 4 people who enter a response to a post made in October or November. Your post should include advice for other writers.
We’ll watch our blog! Post an entry and you’ll be enjoying a free burger or ice cream sundae!
Peer review . . .Is it working for you? October 19, 2007
Posted by jhicks in : Editing, Uncategorized , comments closed“I think you need a comma here.” “Make it flow more.” “You really support your thesis.” “Check coherence.” Are these helpful comments?
What kinds of comments are you looking for in peer review? Post a response here describing a peer review comment that has worked for you.
Staring at a blank screen? September 27, 2007
Posted by arussell in : Uncategorized , comments closedIt has happened to all of us: you read the prompt, you have an idea about what you want to write, but somehow the words just don’t come out. Minutes drag by, and turn into an hour, maybe two. What’s a writer to do?
One of my favorite writing tactics is what I’ll call the “15 Minute Blitz.” If I’m unsure about what I want to write or how I wanted to get started, I employ this tool to get something on that screen in front of me. I set a timer for 15 minutes and type continuously until the timer goes off. I’m not allowed to reread what I’ve written or to go back and make any changes. When I’m finished, I at least have something on the page. I feel better because now I know I have something, and now I can begin to refine my ideas. It’s a lot easier to work with something you already have on the page than stare at a blank screen while ideas swirl around in your head.
This tactic is also a great way to realize what you really want to say about something and can even yield your thesis. It’s similar to stream-of-consciousness writing, in which one simply writes what is on his or her mind continuously for 15 minutes. Stream-of-consciousness writing often surprisingly yields a new conclusion at the end, and the 15 Minute Blitz can work the same way! Without adding all researched, textual support, simply type out what you want to say and why you believe it to be so. Then you will see what your real thesis is! After you’ve cemented what you are trying to say with your paper, you can go back and break up evidence into paragraphs and add the necessary textual support!
Staring at a blank screen? Try the 15 Minute Blitz today!
THE BLUE LIGHT SHOW episode 1 September 24, 2007
Posted by jhicks in : Text & Context, CORE, Podcasts, Uncategorized , comments closed
Introducing the Valparaiso University Writing Center’s first shot at having a podcast! We’re excited to explore all of the possibilities– from recorded rants about thesis statements to readings from CORE.
Our first podcast is a reading of Genesis, trying to bring to life the oral tradition from which it came. We *totally* took advantage of the sound effects and music to create a space for the story to come to life.
Listen, then give us a sentence or two about what you think of our first podcast. Do you have any ideas? What worked for you? What would you like to hear?