Lesson 3: Developing, Supporting, and Refining the Thesis Topics Developing the Thesis Supporting the Thesis Refining the Thesis ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO

What is a Focused Knowledge? Focused knowledge  Builds on working knowledge.  Provides enough information for a minute presentation  Is the product of smart research  Depends on what you do with what you find

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Developing a Focused Knowledge Use relevant sources to help move your project forward: Refine the inquiry question Help the literature review Reveal interesting patterns

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Generating a Tentative Thesis The thesis is the truth or insight from the author’s point of view. Your paper needs a thesis for three reasons:  It focuses your drafting  It gives you direction  It guides your readers

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Developing a Working Thesis Discovering a working thesis may depend upon where you started. If you started  With a research question…  … Your working thesis is the concise answer to that question.  By listing ideas…  … Your working thesis is the insight you want to communicate about one of those ideas.  By freewriting…  … Your working thesis is the overall (or the most interesting) insight that emerged from that prewriting.

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Developing a Working Thesis (cont’d) A good working thesis makes a point about your topic… The point needs to be communicated to others This point is broader than a simple fact This point is narrower than a topic

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Supporting the Thesis Once a working thesis is developed, it must be supported. Two main approaches for supporting the thesis include:  Discovery Drafts  Outline your main points

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Writing Discovery Drafts If you like to dive into the writing, consider writing a draft in support of the working thesis.  Write to discover the main points and how to organize them  Write quickly, but take time to think about your ideas  Study the draft for the main ideas  Create a separate outline to organize your ideas

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Creating an Outline When creating an outline: Focus on points not paragraphs Create a strategy Remember that different strategies can work Focus on main points Ask "What do readers need to know?" Listen to your thesis Appeal to conventions of the writing situation

ENGLISH COMPOSITION TWO Refining your thesis During planning, the thesis is still a work in progress. Revise the thesis as writing leads to a more interesting focus Re-examine the draft often for relevance Continue writing Repeat as the draft evolves