Jerz > Writing > Academic
[ Argument | Title | Thesis | Blueprint | Pro/Con | Quoting | MLA Format ]
The biography Black Elk Speaks challenges the Western genre’s stereotype of the “savage Indian” through its attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk. |
There is nothing magically “correct” about a thesis on challenging a cultural stereotype. Instead of claiming that a book “challenges a genre’s stereotypes,” you might instead argue that some text “provides a more expensive but more ethical solution than X” or “undermines Jim Smith’s observation that ‘[some quote from Smith here]’”. (Don’t automatically use “challenges a genre’s stereotype” in the hopes of coming up with the “correct” thesis.)
A more complicated thesis statement for a paper that asks you to demonstrate your ability engage with someone else’s ideas (rather than simply summarize or react to someone else’s ideas) might follow a formula like this:
Although Smith says “quote a passage that makes a specific claim you intend to disagree with” (123), in this paper I will use Brown’s concept of X to argue that [your original thesis goes here].” | |
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For a short paper (1-2 pages), the thesis statement is often the first sentence. A complex thesis statement for a long paper may be part of a thesis paragraph. But it’s hard to go wrong if you put your thesis first.
If you’re not sure whether you have a good thesis statement, see whether you can fit your ideas into one of these basic patterns.
[Something] [does something] because [reason(s)]. or Because [reason(s)], [something] [does something]. | |
Although [opposing evidence], [reasons] show [something] [does something]. |
If you are just starting out, and you are still developing an original, evidence-based claim to defend, a simpler formula is probably best. Once you have done the research, and you understand the subject, then a formula like the following won’t look like random words; it will suggest a way to frame a nuanced, complex argument that goes beyond making non-controversial factual statements.
While [a specific, named person] says [a direct quote or paraphrase from the source], [a different, named person] says [something else]. While the two authors disagree over [a minor point], they both share a deep concern over [the topic of your paper]. [Person one’s] refusal to accept [a particular point made by person two]suggests that [person one] is [your thesis — stating the real reason why person one won’t agree with person two]. | |
What really matters is not guessing the magically correct words to fit some secret formula that your mean instructor is refusing to tell you. What matters is that you have researched your subject, that you have found and engaged meaningfully with peer-reviewed academic sources, and that you are developing an evidence-based claim, rather than summarizing or giving unsupported opinion. |
Parts of a Thesis Statement
The thesis statement has 3 main parts: the limited subject, the precise opinion, and the blueprint of reasons.
Make sure you’ve chosen a subject that meets your instructor’s requirements for the assignment. (It never hurts to ask.)
The precise opinion gives your answer to a question about the subject. A good precise opinion is vital to the reader’s comprehension of the goal of the essay.
A blueprint is a plan. It lets the builder know that the foyer will be here, the living room will be to the east, the dining room to the west, and the family room will be north.The blueprint of an essay permits you to see the whole shape of your ideas before you start churning out whole paragraphs.While it’s okay for you to start writing down your ideas before you have a clear sense of your blueprint, your reader should never encounter a list of details without being told exactly what point these details are supposed to support. (For more details on the reasoning blueprint, see Blueprinting.)
The biography Black Elk Speaks challenges the Western genre’s stereotype of the “savage Indian” through its attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotes from Black Elk. | |
In the blueprint, the author signals an intention to support the precise opinion. The author of the example above introduces three different kinds of evidence:
Informed by this blueprint, the reader expects to encounter one section (a paragraph or more) devoted to each subtopic.The blueprint determines the shape of your paper. |
If your thesis statement introduces three reasons A, B and C, the reader will expect a section on reason A, a section on reason B, and a section on reason C.
For a single paragraph, you might only spend one sentence on each reason. For a 2-3 page paper, each reason might get its own paragraph. For a 10-page paper, each reason might contain its own local thesis statement, with its own list of reasons, so that each section involves several paragraphs.To emphasize the structure of your essay, repeat keywords or paraphrased ideas from the blueprint as you introduce the sections in which you expand on each point. Crafting good transitions is a skill that takes time and practice. (See Transitions and Reminders of Thesis).
Note: If you repeat your blueprint phrases and your thesis statement robotically (“The third point I want to talk about is how Black Elk Speaks accurately represents the Indian lifestyle through its direct quotes from Black Elk.”), your writing will be rather dry and lifeless. Dull writing is probably better than aimless rambling, although neither is terribly effective. |
Note: A thesis statement amounts to nothing if the paper is not completely focused on that main point. Blueprinting helps create the coherency of the thesis throughout the entire essay, which makes it a necessary part of the thesis statement.
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. | |
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Is Black Elk Speaks a tragedy? | |
This is a question, not a statement. It’s fine to sit down at the keyboard with the intention of writing a paper to answer this question, but before you start churning out the sentences, you should have a clear idea of what answer you’re trying to support. |
This paper will look at the book’s attention to cultural detail, its use of Indian words, and its direct quotations from Black Elk, in order to determine whether Black Elk Speaks accurately represents Indian lifestyle. | |
The above sample is slightly better because it offers more detail, but it still doesn’t say what position the author is taking on the topic of whether the book is accurate. |
Because the events in the story emphasize Black Elk’s role as a Sioux Warrior, and do not describe his eventual conversion to Catholicism and membership in the Society of St. Joseph, Black Elk Speaks presents a skewed and simplified view of the complex history of Native Americans. | |
Note that the above sample contains a topic (the accuracy of Black Elk Speaks), opinion (it is skewed and simplified), and reasoning (because the book only tells part of the story). You don’t need to present those three parts in that exact order every time; furthermore, your instructor may have a good reason to ask you for a different organization. But most of the time, including these three parts will help your reader to follow your ideas much more closely. |
Biographies of all types can teach us many things about the past. What was the culture like? What was the language like? And what did the people say? One such book is Black Elk Speaks, which tells the story of a Sioux warrior in the late 1800s. How accurate is this book? This paper will investigate the cultural details, the language, and what Black Elk actually said, in order to determine the answer. | |
The above sample starts off with a wordy, general statement about biographies. But the main topic isn’t about biographies of all types, it’s specifically about one book, Black Elk Speaks. |
17 Oct 2000 — originally posted by Nicci Jordan, UWEC Junior
08 Dec 2000 — first posted here. Maintained by Prof. Jerz.
13 Dec 2003 — links updated
22 Sep 2006 — moderate revisions by Jerz
29 Oct 2011 — updated by Jerz
14 June 2015 — minor adjustments
Blueprinting: Planning Your Essay
A blueprint is a rough but specific plan, or outline, which defines the structure of your whole essay. 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.
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Help! I need help with a thesis statement for a book called; Venice CA. A City State Of Mind it's a bout living in Venice CA. In the 50s & 60s to present. There were writers, druggies, Fashionable, misfits, go with the flow society stuck in a time zone in the Venice inviornment. Please help!!!!
my thesis is about stem, i put "The future of the world is going to be based off of STEM and the technology it creates" any suggestions?
My son is writing a research paper for me. His thesis is The battles of El Alamein were the turning point in North Africa in World War II. I am still having trouble determining if this is a good thesis. We did find a book in which the author disagrees with this statement. Since someone disagrees, is this an acceptable thesis? He would then define turning point and show the before and after and refute the main argument against this thesis. Or is this too obvious of a thing to write about? Are there theses that would be acceptable at a lower level(sophomore in high school) that wouldn't be at a higher level(upper college)? Thank you.
I'm supposed to write a thesis about the false portrayal of Los Angeles in Hollywood movies based on a documentary, "Los Angeles Plays Itself". I can use parallel structure for the thesis or provide viewpoints where I agree and/or disagree.
I have this so far: Hollywood has at times misrepresented Los Angeles, portraying it through stereotypes and through an overpriviledged viewpoint, such as movies showing urban violence, police brutality, racist stereotypes, and lavish lifestyles. For many decades, Los Angeles has struggled with racial tension, mass transportations issues, decline in housing, and social class disparities, which are exaggerated in films and has shaped some people’s perception of Los Angeles.
If your goal is to explain, you might want to specify instead of use vague phrases like "at times" and "some people." If your goal is to argue a debatable claim, I'm not sure I see any room for an opposing viewpoint, since "at times" and "some people" are so vague. Does any rational person expect a Hollywood film to portray life accurately? Is it the job of an action movie or a comedy movie to be accurate? Why does it matter that Hollywood films exaggerate L.A.'s problems? Hollywood also exaggerates and distorts its portrayal of New York, the Midwest, the Deep South, etc.
Thank you! I'll try to narrow it down and not be vague. I agree that Hollywood misrepresents other major cities & parts of the U.S. as well. Thank you, again.
what are the 4 parts of a thesis
You should check with whoever will be evaluating your thesis, as different academic fields and different instructors will give different answers.
I need to figure out a thesis for my narrative essay. The professor does not want the paper more than 600 words, but I'm finding it difficult to incorporate a thesis statement in the midst of all the details of my first paragraph. Is there a formula I can use for developing a thesis for narration?
In general there is no rule that says the thesis has to be in the first paragraph. Your prof may have a good reason for wanting to put it there, of course.
Thanks, I was half asleep when working on parts of this so I couldn't catch some of the common sense stuff like that.
Working on my senior thesis, 20-25 pages on climate change. What I have so far is as follows:
"The recent changes in global climate have had a drastic effect on each level of economic development (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary) of developing and less-developed countries such as China and Thailand as they work to compete with the Core countries of the world. As a whole, the negative effects of climate change, believed to be a result of economic development of the Core, are having an effect that is further challenging their development."
I would definitely say it is meant to defend a view as many don't believe in climate change, but at the same time, it is informative (i.e. climate change has lead to a, b and c.) I wont be surprised if you can't give me alot of information due to some of the terms needing to be defined which I would plan to do in the actual paper, but I feel uncomfortable with some things such as the number of uses of develop in its various forms. I also feel that the second sentence is redundant, but cant work out how to combine the two to get around it.
Is it any surprise that "negative effects" have "an effect that is further challenging" these countries?
My essay question is, write an essay that summarizes the court case Marbury v Madison and explain the significance of judicial review. Any suggestions on a thesis statement for this?
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the case you mention, but from the description of the assignment you provide, it appears your instructor wants you to demonstrate your knowledge, rather than come up with a new solution to a problem or defend a debatable claim.
Of course, I won't be the one evaluating your paper, so you should really check with your instructor, but from what I can tell, your thesis can be as simple as "Marbury v. Madison shows that judicial review is important for reasons A, B, and C." You'd need to demonstrate that you understand the case and can restate its important points in your own words, you'd need to define judicial review, and you'd need to demonstrate that you understand why M v M has a strong enough connection to judicial review that your instructor is willing to spend the time reading through a stack of student papers on the topic.
Poverty has a negative impact on a child’s educational attainment because it causes them to be highly discriminated against and in many cases they end up dropping out of school.
Would any rational person argue that poverty has a positive effect upon a child? If your instructor simply wants you to explain something, this thesis might be fine. If your instructor wants you to argue a point, I don't see an argument here.