Developing a Thesis and Other Writing Gems

I can't start this post without giving credit to Lauren and Mark at Washington (State) History Day for the great resource. I've had the pleasure of getting to know them a bit over the last year, and they run an amazing program. I am a fan of Washington History Day on Facebook, and they posted an amazing link to the Harvard Writing Center that I knew I had to share with you.

In a nutshell, Harvard has a great document on developing a thesis. You can find it here: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Thesis.html Right at the beginning, the authors (who are Maxine Rodburg and the Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University) get into defining what a thesis isn't:

"An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no.' A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. 'Reasons for the fall of communism' is a topic. 'Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe' is a fact known by educated people. 'The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe' is an opinion. (Superlatives like 'the best' almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every 'thing' that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be 'the best thing'?)"

I think this is critically important, and I like how they have listed three different things: topic, fact, and opinion. In a way, all are necessary in a full thesis statement, but by themselves, none make up a thesis statement. They go on to explain what a thesis statement is:

"A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should 'telegraph' how you plan to argue — that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay."

Ok, let's decode that sentence. We see that they use the word "argue" in there twice. That's a key part of a thesis statement: Like a lawyer at a criminal trial, you have to make a point about your topic and then provide all the evidence that shows why your point is correct.

With History Day, your thesis must relate to the annual theme in a key way. This year, you need to prove that your topic was an innovation. Secondly, your thesis also must show how your topic is significant in history (this is where the "impact" and "change" of the theme come in.) For example, everyone knows that Brain Beesley, Claude Brandt and Liao Zhiwen invented the hot dog cooker and bun toaster, but has it really made an impact on society? (What? You didn't know who invented that? Well, now you do. And you also have a link to a website that will give you patent information on other innovations in history. :-) )

Ok, let's fast-forward a little bit. Let's say you have a working thesis statement ready. You are arguing that the invention of the hot dog toaster revolutionized American home dining in the 1980s. (Yes, I know, that's a TERRIBLE thesis statement. And probably not at all true either. But bear with me here.) Once you have your thesis statement, our friends at Harvard say:

"Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counter-argument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)"

So, let's say John "That-History-Day-Guy" Buchinger reads your thesis and says, "Hmmm, wouldn't you say the invention of the home microwave oven had just as much - if not more - of a significant impact on American dining in the 1980s?"

Ok, he has a point. So you decided to refine your thesis as follows, "Although the invention of both the microwave oven and the hot dog toaster revolutionized American home dining in the 1980s, the hot dog toaster's lower cost meant more Americans were able to purchase and use them during the decade."

Wow. My example is just getting worse. But I hope you get my point: a part of a good thesis (and project) is anticipating what the counter-arguments are and acknowledging them in your thesis statement. (I made all those facts up, by the way. Please don't do your project on the hot dog toaster.)

Alright, this post is long, so it's time to wrap it up. As you can see from my terrible example, writing a good thesis statement isn't the easiest thing in the world. But if you have done some background reading on your topic and have an idea of what you want to argue, it doesn't have to be that hard.

The folks at the Harvard Writing school have several more thesis writing tips, as well as a host of other writing resources at their Writing Resource Center: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k33202&pageid=icb.page143936. Check it out!