Resources
“Crafting an Effective Thesis Statement.” Temple University Writing Center. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Handout includes sections on preparation, pre-writing, and drafting a thesis. Includes examples.
"Developing a Thesis Statement." UW Madison Writing Center Writer's Handbook. UW Madison Writing Center. University of Madison-Wisconsin. Web. 25 June 2010.
Explains the purpose and content of the thesis as well as its location, and relationship to the body of the paper. Links provide help with identifying the topic, deriving the main point, drafting, refining, and revising the thesis. Provides a “formula” with the drafting instructions, information for clarifying and investigating in the refine section, and a reminder of the role of the thesis: first, as “a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material, and establish purpose” then in the final paper “as a tool for the reader.”
Link: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/thesis_def.html
Johnson-Sheehan, Richard and Charles Paine. Writing Today. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.
ENG 101 course text
Kies, Daniel. “Thesis: Traits and Myths.” English 101. College of Dupage. 2013 Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
A good discussion. Note instructor requirements for specific courses when considering Kies’s position.
March. Tom. The Original Persuasive Essay Thesis Builder and Online Outliner. 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
An interactive tool for building a persuasive thesis. Aimed at high school students.
Link: http://www.tommarch.com/electraguide/thesis.php
Nadell, Judith, Linda McMeniman, and John Langan. The Longman Writer: Rhetoric and Reader. Brief ed. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.
Ortiz y Prentice, Chris. “Mapping a Controversy: Templates for Thesis Statements” Rhetoric 305: Rhetoric and Writing. University of Texas at Austin. 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Link: http://instructors.dwrl.utexas.edu/prentice/node/48
"Teach2write: A Guide for Teaching Writing." UCLA Office of Instructional Development, 2005. Web. 25 June 2010.
Includes discipline-specific thesis statement templates
Link: http://write.oid.ucla.edu/handouts
Thesis Generator 1.0. University of Phoenix. 2006.
An interactive tool requires indicates that the following information is needed to generate a thesis: the topic, the main point or opinion about the topic, the audience, reasons for your point and why other people might disagree. Additionally there are “Sample Examples.” A possible place to work through the thesis. Not final draft quality.
Link: http://www.mpcfaculty.net/molly_may/thesis_generator.html
"Thesis." Handouts and Links: The Writing Center/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2007. Web. 20 Aug. 2010.
Defines the thesis, explains the role in the essay,. and provides direction for developing.
Link: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/
“Thesis Sentence Templates.” The Writing Template Book: The Michigan Guide to Writing Well and Success on High Stakes Tests. Ed. Kevin B. King. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006. 11-16. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
A .pdf of the chapter offers templates for three templates for comparison/contrast and one for proposition.
Link: http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472031937-templates.pdf
Schrag, Zachary. “Zachary Schrag’s Guidelines for History Students.” HistoryProfessor.org. 2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Addressing the thesis in the context of writing about history Schrag offers the following components: Why, who, something surprising, a plausible explanation and a better or more complete explanation.
Link: http://historyprofessor.org/argument/a-thesis-statement-template/
“Writing a Statement of the Problem.” Temple University Writing Center. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Addresses the thesis in terms of a “problem statement.”
Adapted from Joseph Williams, The Little Red Schoolhouse, University of Chicago.
Offers a process approach.
Link: http://www.temple.edu/writingctr/support-for-writers/documents/WritingaStatementoftheProblem.pdf