Thesis = Roadmap Know where you are going before you get started BUT be willing to adjust on the fly

The Roadmap A thesis statement is a roadmap for your paper. It is one statement that asserts, controls and structures the entire paper. It provides your readers with a “guide” to your argument. Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two- sentence overview of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that overview as a thesis statement A strong thesis (1) makes a claim—takes a stand that requires analysis to support and develop it (2) controls the direction of the paper and (3) works in tandem with a strong introduction.

#1 Make a claim Your thesis will make a claim: People need to be able to disagree with your thesis, so you’ll need to think about where you stand on the issue. You should also take a position that people could reasonably disagree with. For example: Businesses should offer their servers a livable wage because people can’t plan their lives living off of tips. The underlined portion of the statement is the claim. The part that follows would be the reasons for holding the position, but there could be many different reasons to go along with that claim. Regardless, plenty of people disagree with the claim and we know this because of the current situation.

#2 Your Thesis Will Evolve Your thesis will evolve: Put down points that you think could make a good argument. You don’t have to start writing the thesis statement until you are really sure that you have some basis to carry forth a particular argument. As some point, you might begin to understand the issue better, which allows you to be more specific with your roadmap. For example: Businesses should offer their servers a livable wage because people can’t plan their lives living off of tips. revised to Businesses should offer their servers a livable wage because it encourages them to do a better job and build the business For example: Pollution is bad for the environment. revised to America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars.

Will This Thesis Sentence Make the Grade? A Check List Can people disagree with me about my position? If not, you are being to wishy washy. Take a position. AVOID: There are many views on X and this paper will examine the pros and cons. Is the point I'm making one that would generate discussion and argument, or is it one that would leave people asking, "So what?“ AVOID: The American Dream is important. Is my thesis too vague? Too general? Should I focus on some more specific aspect of my topic? AVOID: Drug use is detrimental to society. Does my thesis put the emphasis on the topic at hand, or is it focused on my personal feelings? AVOID: Based on my observations I believe that gun laws should be stricter. Is the language in my thesis clear? Have I structured my sentence so that the important information is in the main clause? Have I used subordinate clauses to house less important information? Have I used parallelism to show the relationship between parts of my thesis? In short, is this thesis the very best sentence that it can be?

#3 Intro + thesis = strong A good thesis works with introduction: You don’t have to have a perfect sentence to have a good thesis. A thesis works with the intro to place the paper within a larger cultural discussion on the topic. You don’t have to have a perfect thesis. There is no such thing as a perfect thesis. All you need to do is set your readers onto the right path Does my introductory paragraph establish the importance of the issue and of my thesis? You should always try to place your thesis within the larger, ongoing discussion about the topic. What’s going on in this country in terms of tipping and wages? Higher education? Privacy rights? The pursuit of happiness (aka “The American dream”). Tell people why they should care about the issue

#4 Support You must support your thesis: The second point to keep in mind about developing a thesis is that you cannot make any statement without having sufficient evidence to back the whole thing up. This proof could come from your earlier research or from the works of other scholars, writers etc. The development comes in the body of the paper. The thesis sets the tone, but you have to support the pieces in the body of the paper. You have to explain WHY the current situation isn’t a “livable wage.” Then, you have to explain HOW a livable wage encourages people and HOW it builds the business. Example: Businesses should offer their servers a livable wage because it encourages them to do a better job and build the business.

#5 Development You should develop distinctly different points: To support your thesis, you need to have supporting points that are related to your main point. You cannot develop a thesis by just going on and on about the same point Thesis: Businesses should offer their servers a livable wage because it encourages them to do a better job and build the business. Supporting points: Livable wage encourages workers to do a better job ▫Are they not doing a good job now? ▫How does it encourage? Livable wage helps to build the buisness ▫How do workers help build a business? ▫How do businesses benefit from that kind of structure? (we know the business will spend more on wages, but what do they gain?)