Developing a Thesis: BBS 1st Year Patterns for College Writing

Developing a Thesis

Developing a Thesis (https://youtu.be/Rvo_f6E-tB4 ): A thesis statement is more than a title, an announcement of intent or a statement of fact. A descriptive title familiarizes readers but does not detail enough to reveal the purpose of the essay. An announcement of intent can reveal more but it is stylistically distracting. A statement of fact (historical or statistics) is a dead end so cannot be developed into an essay. Let’s see how a thesis statement is developed:

Title	Hybrid Cars: Pro and Con
Announcement of Intent	I will examine the pros and cons of hybrid cars that use both gasoline and electricity
Statement of fact	Hybrid cars are more energy-efficient than cars with a standard gasoline engine.
Thesis Statement	Hybrid cars that use both gasoline and electricity would decrease our country’s dependence on foreign oil.

Deciding on a Thesis      

Deciding on a Thesis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqW6qnmEADQ): Formulation of the thesis depends on the scope of the assignment, knowledge of the subject, and method of writing. But it must be formulated before beginning to write the first draft. If we go on writing and developing new ideas in new directions that we do not know, the thesis statement will be tentative only. A tentative thesis helps to focus your ideas that are necessary initially.

Stating your Thesis (https://youtu.be/ptx5TvNxxLw )

Stating Your Thesis

Stating the thesis is a good idea to include a one-sentence statement of the thesis early in the essay. An effective thesis statement has three characteristics: First, Clearly expression of the Main Idea: It does more than state a topic. It indicates what you will say about a topic and it signals how you will approach materials. Second, Communicating Essay’s Purpose: Whether the purpose is to analyse, describe, or inform, a thesis statement should inform the purpose to readers. A thesis can be expressive (conveys a mood or impression), informative (lists major points) and persuasive (takes a strong stand). The following thesis statements communicate different purposes: To express feelings: The city’s homeless families live in heart-breaking surroundings. To inform: The plight of the homeless has become so serious that it is a major priority for many city governments. To persuade: The best way to address the problems of the homeless is to renovate abandoned city buildings to create suitable housing for homeless families. Finally, Clearly Worded: An effective thesis statement should be clearly worded to communicate the main idea of the essay. It should give a straightforward and accurate indication of what follows and should not mislead readers about the essay’s content. Vague language, confusing abstractions, irrelevant details, and unnecessarily complex terminology have no place in a thesis statement. The thesis statement should be specific enough to indicate your direction and scope. Let’s see the thesis statements below:

a.      New immigration laws have failed to stem the ride of illegal immigrants. – It is not an effective thesis statement because it does not give your essay much focus.

b.     Because they do not take into account the economic causes of immigration, current immigration laws do little to decrease the number of illegal immigrants coming from Mexico into the United States. – It clearly indicates what the writer is going to discuss and it establishes a specific direction for the essay.

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