1.
Formulating a
Thesis Statement

2.
Thesis
Statement
• The main idea of the whole composition.
• One statement that describes the
viewpoint you are going to express and
support in your paper.

3.
Thesis Statement
• The purpose in the rest of the paper:
– To prove the validity of the thesis
• The thesis statement provides a
controlling idea which will help you choose
the resource materials you will use.
• It helps the writer focused on the main
idea of the research paper.

4.
Thesis Statement
• It is always written as a sentence, never
as a phrase.
– It is also called thesis sentence.

5.
Example
• Thesis statement: Ancient Greek culture is
reflected in the lives of present day
Greeks.
• Controlling idea: “reflected in”
– The writer will look for materials that describe
the characteristics of ancient Grecian culture
and characteristics of modern Grecian culture,
and for any similarities between the two.

6.
• It is usually the sentence that answers the
question stated in the 3rd
step in the writing
of the research paper:
– Stating a question that identifies the problem.

7.
• Sample topic:
– “Impact of robots on industry in the next
millennium”

8.
• Question: “What impact are robots likely to
have on industry?”
• Answer: “Despite of the misgivings of some
people, robots will probably have a beneficial
effect on industry and its work force.”
• Thesis Statement: “Although the rapid growth
in robot technology has aroused some fears of
its consequences, robots will actually benefit
everyone, and efforts are being made to lessen
any harmful impact upon the work force.”

9.
REMEMBER!
• Because a thesis must prepare readers
for facts and details, it cannot itself be a
fact.
• It must always be a generalization
demanding proof or further development.
• It must be a general statement of opinion
not a self-explanatory statement of a fact.

10.
Example
• Too factual: Gunpowder was not used in
China.
• Revised: Gunpowder was not used in
warfare in China as it was in Europe
because the Chinese had a different
attitude toward death, battle, and personal
honor than did the Europeans.

11.
CAUTION
• Thesis Statement should NOT be any of
the following:
1.Announcement rather than a
statement:
-The subject of this paper will be crimes.
-All want to talk about the crime wave in our
country.
-The incidence of crimes in our country is
the concern of this paper.

12.
2. Too broad statement:
-Crime is a major concern of everyone in our
country.
3. Too narrow statement:
-There were five recorded robberies in our
community last year.

13.
4. Too vague statement:
-The problem of overcrowded prisons must
be solved and tougher penalties must be
imposed.

14.
1. A thesis cannot be a fragment; it must
be expressed in a sentence.
Poor: How life is in racial ghetto.
Better: Residents of a racial ghetto tend to
have higher death rate, higher disease
rates, and higher psychosis rates than
any other residents of American cities in
general.

15.
2. A thesis must not be in the form of a
question.
Poor: Should eighteen-year-old males have
the right to vote?
Better: Anyone who is old enough to fight in
a war is old enough to vote.

16.
3. A thesis must not contain phrases
such as “I think.”
Poor: In my opinion most men wear beards
because they are trying to find themselves.
Better: The current beard fad may be an
attempt on the part of the men to emphasize
their male identity.

17.
4. A thesis must not contain elements
that are not related.
Poor: All novelists seek the truth; therefore
some novelists are good psychologists.
Better: In their attempt to probe human
nature, many novelists appear to be good
psychologists.

18.
5. A thesis must not be expressed in
vague language.
Poor: Bad things resulted from religion are
being taught in the classroom.
Better: Religion as a part of the school
curriculum should be avoided because it is
highly personal and is a individual
commitment.

19.
6. A thesis must not expressed in
muddled or incoherent language.
Poor: In Act One of Othello, to cause them
to feel fury against Othello, Iago fuels
Brabantio, Othello, Roderigo, and Cassio
with deceit by telling those lies.
Better: In Act One if Othello, Iago deceives
several characters in order to further his plot
to destroy Othello’s life.

20.
7. A thesis should not be written in
figurative language.
Poor: Religion is a phoenix bird of
civilization.
Better: As long as man can conceive the
idea of God, religion will rise to give man a
spiritual reason for existence.

21.
Ask yourself the following:
• Do I answer the question?
• Have I taken the position that others might
challenge or oppose?
• Is my thesis statement specific enough?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test?
• Does my essay support my thesis
specifically without wandering?

22.
Making an
Outline

23.
What is an outline?
• An outline is an abbreviated picture of the
parts of your paper and the order in which
they will come.
• You can think of it as a “road map” of your
journey toward making a final product.

24.
Outline
• It shows the relationship of ideas.
• It becomes the skeleton of your research
paper.
• It shows the main ideas to be expanded in
the actual writing of the paper.
• It indicates through its indentions and
symbols the major and minor
supporting ideas.

25.
Why make an outline?
• It helps to…
– Stay on course and not get off-track when you
put your final product together.
– See if you have enough (or too much)
material to support your thesis statement.
– Figure out the order in which your subtopics
will appear in your final product.

26.
Two types of Outline
1. Topic Outline-
It makes use of words, phrases or
clauses;
Hence, the lines don’t end with a period

27.
Two types of Outline
2. Sentence outline-
It makes use of sentences that
contains only one idea.
It is more detailed; hence more difficult
to construct
It reveals how coherent and unified the
ideas in the outline are.

28.
Number-letter sequence pattern
I.
A.
B.
1.
2.
a.
b.
II.

29.
Decimal Pattern
1.0.
1.1.
1.2.
1.2.1.
1.2.2.
1.2.2.1.
1.2.2.2.
2.0.

30.
An outline should have…
• Main topics tell the main idea.
– It is set off by a Roman numeral followed by a
period.
• Subtopics give supporting facts.
– It is set off by a capital letter followed by a
period.
• Details give specific facts about the
subtopics.
– It is set off by a number followed by a period.

31.
Topic outline with number sequence
pattern
I. Family Problems
A. Custodial: Non-custodial Conflicts
B. Extended Family
C. Adolescent's Age
II. Economic Problems
A. Child Support
B. Women's Job Training
C. Lower Standard of Living
D. Possible Relocation
1. Poorer Neighborhood
2. New School
III. Peer Problems
A. Loss of Friends
B. Relationships with Dates

32.
Sentence outline with decimal
patterm
1.0. When family conflicts arise as a result of divorce, adolescents suffer.
1.1. During the first year, these young people may be depressed due to conflicts
between the custodial and non-custodial parents.
1.2. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles are often restricted by visitation provisions.
1.3. Almost without exception, adolescents find divorce very painful, but they react in
differing degrees depending on their age.
2.0. Some of the most negative effects on adolescents may be associated with economic
problems.
2.1. The family will most probably experience a lower standard of living due to the cost
of maintaining two households.
2.2. Some female custodial parents have poor job skills and must train before entering
the job market.
2.3. The lower standard of living may result in misunderstanding and conflicts within
the family.
2.4. The decreased standard of living, particularly for an untrained female custodial
parent, often causes relocation.
2.4.1. The family may have to move to a poorer neighborhood in order to cut costs.
2.4.2. As a result, the adolescent may have to attend a different school.

33.
1. Logical Subordination
• Items in the outline should be logically
subordinated.
• Subtopics listed under larger headings
should be subordinate in meaning .
– Should not be of equal importance or even
greater.
• Any subtopic should be related to the
major topic under which it is listed.

34.
2. Parallel structure
• All members of the divisions of equal rank
should have similar grammatical structure.
– If you start with a noun phrase for the first of
the main headings, the 2nd
, the 3rd
, etc., must
also be expressed as a noun phrases.
– Unnecessary shifts from active to passive
voice or from statement to question should be
avoided

35.
In addition…
3. Any subdivision which is subdivided must
have at least two subdivisions, the new
subdivisions being indented and marked by
symbols

36.
4. Avoid mixing two types of outline, or the
two sequence patterns in the same outline.
Be consistent.