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05 Nov 2000; originally posted
by Nicci Jordan, UWEC Junior
Expanded and maintained by Dennis
G. Jerz
The blueprint, usually located within the thesis
statement, is a brief list of the points you plan to make, compressed
into just a few words each, in the same order in which they appear in
the body of your paper. As you introduce each new point, remind the
reader of your thesis -- but avoid lengthy repetitions (see "Reminders
of Thesis").
Sample of a good thesis statement, with the blueprint highlighted:
Black Elk Speaks accurately represents Indian
lifestyle through its attention to cultural
detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk.
A reader who encounters the above thesis statement will expect the
rest of the essay to include one section on "attention to cultural
detail," one section on "use of Indian words," and one
section on "direct quotes from Black Elk." If your essay
actually does provide those sections, in that order, then your reader
will be able to follow you easily. If your paper begins with a
rambling introduction, the reader will have a hard time picking out
just what it is you plan to talk about.
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The Great Depression was an important
time in our nation's history. Unemployment, urban decay,
and a sense of hopelessness filled almost every part of human
life. Yet, even in the midst of great misery, people needed
to entertain themselves. People tried many different ways
to relieve their tensions, from religious revivals, to Jazz music,
to membership in the Communist party. But a whole lot of
average people who were suffering in their daily lives often sought
escapist entertainment in the form of movies. One such movie
was Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. In Modern Times,
"The Little Tramp" symbolizes the simple human values
that are threatened by industrialism. |
| The author of the above passage not only
wastes time composing six sentences before getting to her thesis
(the very last sentence), she also clouds the issue by bringing
up topics (religion, music, and Communism) that she has no intention
of ever mentioning again. |
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In Charlie Chaplin's Modern
Times, "The Little Tramp" symbolizes the simple
human values that are threatened by industrialism -- leisure,
self-reliance, and compassion. |
| The revised example is simply the [slightly
edited] last sentence of the original wordy and vague paragraph.
This clear, direct thesis statement helps the student and reader
focus on the task at hand. The blueprint is very short --
just a list of three terms; but even that is enough to communicate
how the author is going to try to support these claims. |
Varieties of Blueprints
These are all acceptable ways to blueprint in a thesis statement.
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Renting a new apartment during
college is exciting because it promotes
independence, rewards responsibility, and allows creativity. |
This is one sentence, with commas
separating each blueprint item.
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Going to college is a good idea;
it is intellectually stimulating,
it creates responsibility, and it will provide security for the
future. |
This is one sentence with a semicolon
to separate the thesis from the blueprint.
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Taking Professor Jerz's Technical
writing course is a wise choice. It
focuses on correct grammar. It allows students to gain experience
in the outside world. And it permits students to budget
their time. |
This example is a bit choppy -- here,
having a separate sentence for each point is pretty much
a waste of words. (But see revision, below.)
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Taking Professor Jerz's Technical
writing course is a wise choice. It focuses on one of Jerz's
favorite things: correct grammar.
It amplifies textbook knowledge by providing students with valuable
experiences outside the classroom.
And it forces students to learn time
management -- a skill that many college students
lack. |
| This example is a bit more complex
-- the sentences which introduce the blueprint items are actually
delivering some of the paper's argument; hence, there's a reason
why each point needs a separate sentence. A
slacker student who has nothing more to say about a point than,
for instance, "time management is a skill that many college
students lack" is not going to want to give away that one
idea in the blueprint; instead, he or she will try to create an
entire paragraph around that one idea. The result will be
wordy and boring. By contrast, a student who can slip an interesting
observation into the blueprint, and then follow up with even
more intelligent and insightful things in the body of the
paper, is demonstrating much more advanced academic writing
skill. |
Use Parallel Structure
The order of the points in the blueprint should perfectly parallel
the points in the essay.
If you say you are going to talk about "ships, shoes, and sealing
wax," but your essay starts with "sealing wax," then
your blueprint is distorted.
Note: Prof. Jerz says, "I
am amazed at how many students make this easily-correctible mistake."
The phrasing of the points in the blueprint should all follow
the same pattern.
Here is an example of a distorted (or unparalleled)
blueprint structure:
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Taking Professor Jerz's Technical
Writing course is a wise choice because it focuses on correct
grammar and allowing students to gain experience in the outside
world. Students are also permitted to budget their time. |
| What is wrong with this example?
How could it be fixed?
Here are a few reasons the above example is inappropriate:
- The number of ideas the writer wants to portray is unclear
(does "correct grammar and allowing students..." count
as one point or two?).
- Nothing stands out as a main idea. The sentence could
easily confuse the reader, because the main focus is unclear.
- Faulty parallelism is a grammatical error. Flaws
in the grammar of your thesis statement can be devastating to
the overall effectiveness of the essay.
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Note: A thesis statement amounts to nothing
if the paper is not completely focused on that main point. Proper
blueprinting facilitates the coherency
of the thesis throughout the rest of the essay.
05 Nov 2000; by Nicci Jordan, UWEC Junior
17 Jan 2001 -- updated and expanded by
Prof. Jerz
21 May 2002 -- last modified
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