Sunday, January 9, 2011
What I now understand about writing a thesis
While I feel I already had a good grasp on the things that needed to be in a thesis, I think that going over it in class was still very beneficial. I think the information that was the most helpful was the fact that theses need to be VERY specific. I have been one to give very vague theses in the past, so that was a good refresher. From my new definition, a thesis is a specific statement that addresses all parts of your paper, setting up a strong opinion.
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After many years of writing thesis statements, I still consider this to be the hardest part of writing an essay. Once you have the thesis, you have conceptualized everything that you need to do. Keep in mind that the essays we are asking you to write are 'formal' essays, and, in my class, I push you to 'formal argument.' This kind of essay is not the only kind. Most of what you see in the press is probably best defined as 'personal essays' which follow the scheme of exploring an idea. How would you classify Emerson's 'American Scholar' or Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience'? I don't mean to cloud the issue, but you should always be aware that what we are giving you is a very limited picture.
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