A Estrutura de Dissertações

Paragraph and Essay Structure

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The Thesis Statement

1. Overview
   

The thesis, or claim, is the guiding idea of an argument. It is, in short, the claim that you will be supporting with reasoning and possibly research.

1. What a Thesis Should Do
   

A thesis will generally accomplish several things:

• It asserts a specific position about the topic (which you will defend in the body part of the essay)
• It sometimes provides a concise preview of the reasons that support your position.

Notice that the term "thesis sentence" is not used. A thesis may be more than one sentence long. For this class, however, I prefer that you limit your thesis statement to one or two sentences, at the most three.

1. The classic thesis statement is "X is Y because A, B, and C."
   

• “X is Y" is the claim being made.
• “A, B, and C” would be the supports of that claim.

1. The above is the classic model, but you can also have a two-part, weighted thesis statement, which includes the opposing view, the position that goes against your position, in addition to your position:

Although / Even though

Opposing view / concession

,

Your position on the issue

Despite the fact that

Opposing view / concession

,

Your position on the issue

Opposing view / concession

;

however

Your position on the issue

1. What a Thesis Should Not Do

While a thesis should indicate what you are going to be writing about, it should not include statements like "I am going to write about", "I will argue that”, or “In my opinion,…”.
On rare occasions, it might be appropriate, but very seldom.

Sample Thesis Statements

• Umbrella Statement with Supporting Reasons Unannounced:

Although the Chinese national exam system causes immense stress on the students, it has benefited the nation.

• List Statement with Supporting Reasons Announced:

Although the Chinese national exam system causes immense stress on the students, it has benefited the nation by increasing social productivity and quality of life and decreasing the gap between the developed and developing areas.

This second sample can be broken down into the following parts:

Opposing View                 🡪        Although the Chinese national exam system causes immense
                                                stress on the students,

Claim                                🡪         it has benefited the nation

Support for your claim         🡪         by increasing social productivity and quality of life and         decreasing the gap between the developed and developing        areas.

Thesis Statement and Essay Organization

Practice

1. The thesis statement also controls the organization of your essay. Let's say your thesis statement for your essay is the following:
   

Although the Chinese national exam system causes immense stress on the students, it has benefited the nation by increasing social productivity and quality of life and decreasing the gap between the developed and developing areas.

Now, using the above thesis, briefly outline the body part of your essay. What is your second paragraph going to address? Your third? Your fourth? Etc.

1. Introduction
   
   Thesis Statement
   
2. Body
   

4. etc
   
   

1. Conclusion

1. Complete the following exercise to practice drafting effective thesis statements / governing claims: 

(Part I: Analysis of problematic thesis statements)

1. What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective?
   
   “In this essay I will try to prove that drugs such as Prozac and Paxil are unnecessary and probably dangerous."
   
   
   
2. What is wrong with this thesis? How can you revise it to make it more effective?

"In his novel The Long Walk, it seems as if Stephen King is attempting to make a statement about the evils of laissez-faire capitalism, and in my opinion the characters and settings reflected this well."

1. What is wrong with this thesis? How could you revise it?

"The Great Gatsby is inarguably the best-written novel of the last 100 years, leaving millions of readers with either a renewed or disenchanted view of the “American Dream.”

1. What is wrong with this thesis? How would you revise it?
   

“The cost of a college education is rising sharply.”

1. Should you always perfect your thesis before writing the rest of your paper?

(Part II: Practice Revising Thesis Statements)