developing preliminary thesis

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Step 5: Develop a Preliminary Thesis Statement

Coming up with a strong thesis is a process that takes time. You don't really have a finished thesis until you reach the end of your research investigation and conclude your argument. Once you have reached a balanced, informed perspective on your material, or come to the conclusion of your argument, you will have your thesis or claim. In order to get to this thesis, however, you will have to create a "working thesis" or preliminary thesis statement. The preliminary thesis will provide you with a strong focus that you can use when writing the response to your assignment.

Develop a Preliminary Thesis

Use your research question to launch your thesis.

Your thesis should provide an answer to your research question . Without a thesis, you will write an informative paper about your question rather than an argumentative paper that provides an answer.

Your research question may prompt you to identify a problem and pose a solution.

Example from a Second-Year Political Science Paper

Canada's current electoral system is flawed, undemocratic and divisive [Problem] . Reforming Canada's electoral system to a mixed-member proportional system with a five-percent threshold would make it more democratic, promote national unity, and increase civic interest in democracy [Response/ Argument/ Thesis] .

Note that this thesis statement includes two sentences:

• a claim (the problem)
• support for the claim (the response, made up of two parts: a solution and three reasons why the solution will address the problem)

Do not simply give a statement of intent or what you will try to do in the paper (e.g. "In this paper, I will analyze the reasons that Canada's electoral system is flawed and consider a possible solution."). This statement of intent may be a good initial response to the research question, but your thesis needs to present your conclusion, not how you got there.

Make Your Thesis an Arguable Statement

Your thesis must be debatable and cannot be a conclusion that simply describes an event or phenomenon or restates a commonly known fact.

Although questions can be used to good rhetorical effect in your introduction (and throughout your paper), your thesis should not be a question, but a statement of claim.

Demonstrate Independent Thinking

The point of the thesis is to show your thoughts on a topic. Although it can be intimidating to make a strong claim in writing — a claim that will be judged, and that you may be expected to defend personally — but it is also a particular benefit of academia that you are allowed and even encouraged to make strong claims based on solid reasoning, and that you will be lauded for doing so.

Pass the "So What?" Test

The reader will shrug and say "so what?" to an uninteresting thesis, so be sure your thesis makes a strong and notable point. Evaluate your thesis by asking yourself what the implications of your thesis are, e.g., "So what if a proportional electoral system were implemented in Canada? Would it matter?" Look at the sample thesis above: does it pass the "so what?" test?

Provide Details rather than Vague Assertions

Be clear about the approach you are going to take to support your thesis.

Consider including a "blueprint" or a "roadmap" of the major points you will make in your paper. Academic writing conventions require you to provide your reader with an outline of the argument you intend to make before you make it.

Thesis Statements: Beyond the Basics

You will keep revising your thesis statement as you go, making it increasingly specific and argumentative. See Step 9 for an example.

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Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

• Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
• Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
• Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
• Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
• Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

• Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
• Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.

• The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
• The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

• This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
• I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

• nature = peaceful
• war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
• need for time and space to mourn the dead
• war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

• although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
• _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
• phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

• Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
• Question each part of your draft thesis
• Clarify vague phrases and assertions
• Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

• Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.

Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.

Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

• Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
• As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
• Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
• Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

Writing Process and Structure

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Getting Started with Your Paper

Interpreting Writing Assignments from Your Courses

Generating Ideas for

Creating an Argument

Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

Working with Sources

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

Using Literary Quotations

Citing Sources in Your Paper

Drafting Your Paper

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introductions

Paragraphing

Developing Strategic Transitions

Conclusions

Revising Your Paper

Peer Reviews

Reverse Outlines

Revising an Argumentative Paper

Revision Strategies for Longer Projects

Finishing Your Paper

Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

How to Proofread your Paper

Writing Collaboratively

Collaborative and Group Writing

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

Developing a Tentative Thesis

The thesis statement of an essay is to your argument paper what the topic sentence is to the paragraph: a guide, a control--a single promise. It indicates the subject, the approach, and the limitations of your topic. It also suggests your position, your attitude, and a commitment to the subject. It conveys the sense that your subject matters, that you have a stake in it. Rather than say, "Advertisers often use sexist ads," tell us something we don't know. Perhaps you could shed new light on an old subject: "Although long criticized for their sexist portrayal of women in TV commercials, the auto industry is just as often guilty of stereotyping men as brainless idiots unable to make a decision." The first statement stimulates "Ho hum," the other "Oh, yeah? I'd like to know more about that."

The thesis statement is your promise to the reader and to yourself.

For today's assignment, please focus a tentative thesis by first deciding on a specific audience and a specific purpose.

Your specific audience: Your specific purpose: Your tentative thesis:

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Chapter 5. Putting the Pieces Together with a Thesis Statement

5.1 apply prewriting models, learning objectives.

• Use prewriting strategies to choose a topic and narrow the focus

If you think that a blank sheet of paper or a blinking cursor on the computer screen is a scary sight, you are not alone. Many writers, students, and employees find that beginning to write can be intimidating. When faced with a blank page, however, experienced writers remind themselves that writing, like other everyday activities, is a process. Every process, from writing to cooking to bike riding to learning to use a new cell phone will get significantly easier with practice.

Just as you need a recipe, ingredients, and proper tools to cook a delicious meal, you also need a plan, resources, and adequate time to create a good written composition. In other words, writing is a process that requires steps and strategies to accomplish your goals.

These are the five steps in the writing process:

• Outlining the structure of ideas
• Writing a rough draft

Effective writing can be simply described as good ideas that are expressed well and arranged in the proper order. This chapter will give you the chance to work on all these important aspects of writing. Although many more prewriting strategies exist, this chapter covers six: using experience and observations, freewriting, asking questions, brainstorming, mapping, and searching the Internet. Using the strategies in this chapter can help you overcome the fear of the blank page and confidently begin the writing process.

Prewriting is the stage of the writing process during which you transfer your abstract thoughts into more concrete ideas in ink on paper (or in type on a computer screen). Although prewriting techniques can be helpful in all stages of the writing process, the following four strategies are best used when initially deciding on a topic:

Using experience and observations

Freewriting

Asking questions

At this stage in the writing process, it is okay if you choose a general topic. Later you will learn more prewriting strategies that will narrow the focus of the topic.

Choosing a Topic

In addition to understanding that writing is a process, writers also understand that choosing a good general topic for an assignment is an essential step. Sometimes your instructor will give you an idea to begin an assignment, and other times your instructor will ask you to come up with a topic on your own. A good topic not only covers what an assignment will be about but also fits the assignment’s purpose and its audience.

In this chapter, you will follow a writer named Mariah as she prepares a piece of writing. You will also be planning one of your own. The first important step is for you to tell yourself why you are writing (to inform, to explain, or some other purpose) and for whom you are writing. Write your purpose and your audience on your own sheet of paper, and keep the paper close by as you read and complete exercises in this chapter.

My purpose: ____________________________________________

My audience: ____________________________________________

Using Experience and Observations

When selecting a topic, you may want to consider something that interests you or something based on your own life and personal experiences. Even everyday observations can lead to interesting topics. After writers think about their experiences and observations, they often take notes on paper to better develop their thoughts. These notes help writers discover what they have to say about their topic.

Have you seen an attention-grabbing story on your local news channel? Many current issues appear on television, in magazines, and on the Internet. These can all provide inspiration for your writing.

Reading plays a vital role in all the stages of the writing process, but it first figures in the development of ideas and topics. Different kinds of documents can help you choose a topic and also develop that topic. For example, a magazine advertising the latest research on the threat of global warming may catch your eye in the supermarket. The cover may interest you, and you may consider global warming as a topic. Or maybe a novel’s courtroom drama sparks your curiosity of a particular lawsuit or legal controversy.

After you choose a topic, critical reading is essential to the development of a topic. While reading almost any document, you evaluate the author’s point of view by thinking about the main idea and the support. When you judge the author’s argument, you discover more about not only the author’s opinion but also your own. If this step already seems daunting, remember that even the best writers need to use prewriting strategies to generate ideas.

The steps in the writing process may seem time consuming at first, but following these steps will save you time in the future. The more you plan in the beginning by reading and using prewriting strategies, the less time you may spend writing and editing later because your ideas will develop more swiftly.

Prewriting strategies depend on your critical reading skills. Reading prewriting exercises (and outlines and drafts later in the writing process) will further develop your topic and ideas. As you continue to follow the writing process, you will see how Mariah uses critical reading skills to assess her own prewriting exercises.

Freewriting  is an exercise in which you write freely about any topic for a set amount of time (usually three to five minutes). During the time limit, you may jot down any thoughts that come to mind. Try not to worry about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. Instead, write as quickly as you can without stopping. If you get stuck, just copy the same word or phrase over and over until you come up with a new thought.

Writing often comes easier when you have a personal connection with the topic you have chosen. Remember, to generate ideas in your freewriting, you may also think about readings that you have enjoyed or that have challenged your thinking. Doing this may lead your thoughts in interesting directions.

Quickly recording your thoughts on paper will help you discover what you have to say about a topic. When writing quickly, try not to doubt or question your ideas. Allow yourself to write freely and unselfconsciously. Once you start writing with few limitations, you may find you have more to say than you first realized. Your flow of thoughts can lead you to discover even more ideas about the topic. Freewriting may even lead you to discover another topic that excites you even more.

Look at Mariah’s example. The instructor allowed the members of the class to choose their own topics, and Mariah thought about her experiences as a communications major. She used this freewriting exercise to help her generate more concrete ideas from her own experience.

Some prewriting strategies can be used together. For example, you could use experience and observations to come up with a topic related to your course studies. Then you could use freewriting to describe your topic in more detail and figure out what you have to say about it.

Self-practice Exercise 5.1

Take another look at the possible topics for yo ur expository essay assignment t hen freewrite about that topic. W rite without stopping for five minutes. After you finish, read over what you wrote. How well do you think you will be able to develop this topic?

Possible expository essay questions:

Narrative : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized narrative essay.

Your first day of post-secondary school

A moment of success or failure

An experience that helped you mature

Illustration : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized illustration essay.

The media and the framing of crime

Child obesity

The effect of violent video games on behaviour

Description : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized description essay.

How to reduce weight

How to remain relevant in your workplace

How to get a good night’s sleep

Classification : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized classification essay.

Ways of boring people

Methods of studying for a final exam

Extreme weather

Process analysis : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized process analysis essay.

How to complain effectively

How to apply the Heimlich manoeuvre or other lifesaving technique

How a particular accident occurred

Definition : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized definition essay.

Right to privacy

Compare and contrast : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized compare and contrast essay.

Two ways of losing weight: one healthy, one dangerous

Two ways to break a bad habit

An active and a passive student

Cause and effect : Choose one of the topics below and relate your ideas in a clearly organized cause and effect essay.

Plagiarism and cheating in school. Give its effects.

Bullying. Give its effects.

A personal, unreasonable fear or irritation. Give its causes.

Asking Questions

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? In everyday situations, you pose these kinds of questions to get information. Who will be my partner for the project? When is the next meeting? Why is my car making that odd noise?

You seek the answers to these questions to gain knowledge, to better understand your daily experiences, and to plan for the future. Asking these types of questions will also help you with the writing process. As you choose your topic, answering these questions can help you revisit the ideas you already have and generate new ways to think about your topic. You may also discover aspects of the topic that are unfamiliar to you and that you would like to learn more about. All these idea-gathering techniques will help you plan for future work on your assignment.

When Mariah reread her freewriting notes, she found she had rambled and her thoughts were disjointed. She realized that the topic that interested her most was the one she started with: the media. She then decided to explore that topic by asking herself questions about it. Her purpose was to refine media into a topic she felt comfortable writing about. To see how asking questions can help you choose a topic, take a look at the following chart in Figure 5.1 : Asking Questions that Mariah completed to record her questions and answers. She asked herself the questions that reporters and journalists use to gather information for their stories. The questions are often called the 5WH questions, after their initial letters.

Prewriting is very purpose driven; it does not follow a set of hard and fast rules. The purpose of prewriting is to find and explore ideas so that you will be prepared to write. A prewriting technique like asking questions can help you both find a topic and explore it. The key to effective prewriting is to use the techniques that work best for your thinking process. Freewriting may not seem to fit your thinking process, but keep an open mind. It may work better than you think. Perhaps brainstorming a list of topics might better fit your personal style. Mariah found freewriting and asking questions to be fruitful strategies to use. In your own prewriting, use the 5WH questions in any way that benefits your planning.

Self-practice  Exercise 5.2

Using the prewriting you completed in   Self – Practice Exercise 5.1 , read each question and use your own paper to answer the 5WH questions. As with Mariah when she explored her writing topic for more detail, it is okay if you do not know all the answers. If you do not know an answer, use your own opinion to speculate, or guess. You may also use factual information from books or articles you previously read on your topic. Later in the chapter, you will read about additional ways (like searching the Internet) to answer your questions and explore your guesses .

5WH Questions

_____________________________________________________

Now that you have completed some of the prewriting exercises, you may feel less anxious about starting a paper from scratch. With some ideas down on paper (or saved on a computer), writers are often more comfortable continuing the writing process. After identifying a good general topic, you, too, are ready to continue the process.

You may find that you need to adjust your topic as you move through the writing stages (and as you complete the exercises in this chapter). If the topic you have chosen is not working, you can repeat the prewriting activities until you find a better one.

More Prewriting Techniques: Narrowing the Focus

The prewriting techniques of freewriting and asking questions helped Mariah think more about her topic. The following additional prewriting strategies would help her (and you) narrow the focus of the topic:

Brainstorming

Idea mapping

Searching the Internet

Narrowing the focus means breaking up the topic into subtopics, or more specific points. Generating a lot of subtopics helps in selecting the ones that fit the assignment and appeal to the writer and the audience.

After rereading her syllabus, Mariah realized her general topic, mass media, was too broad for her class’s short paper requirement. Three pages would not be enough to cover all the concerns in mass media today. Mariah also realized that although her readers are other communications majors who are interested in the topic, they may want to read a paper about a particular issue in mass media.

Brainstorming  is similar to list making. You can make a list on your own or in a group with your classmates. Start with a blank sheet of paper (or a blank computer document) and write your general topic across the top. Underneath your topic, make a list of more specific ideas. Think of your general topic as a broad category and the list items as things that fit into that category. Often you will find that one item can lead to the next, creating a flow of ideas that can help you narrow your focus to a more specific paper topic.

The following is Mariah’s brainstorming list:

From this list, Mariah could narrow her focus to a particular technology under the broad category of mass media.

Writing at Work

Imagine you have to write an email to your current boss explaining your prior work experience, but you do not know where to start. Before you begin the email, you can use the brainstorming technique to generate a list of employers, duties, and responsibilities that fall under the general topic of work experience.

Idea Mapping

Idea mapping  allows you to visualize your ideas on paper using circles, lines, and arrows. This technique is also known as clustering because ideas are broken down and clustered, or grouped together. Many writers like this method because the shapes show how the ideas relate or connect, and writers can find a focused topic from the connections mapped. Using idea mapping, you might discover interesting connections between topics that you had not thought of before.

To create an idea map, start with your general topic in a circle in the centre of a blank sheet of paper. Then write specific ideas around it and use lines or arrows to connect them together. Add and cluster as many ideas as you can think of.

Mariah tried idea mapping in addition to brainstorming. Figure 5.2 : Idea Map shows what she created.

Figure 5.2  Idea Map

Notice Mariah’s largest circle contains her general topic: mass media. Then, the general topic branches into two subtopics written in two smaller circles: television and radio. The subtopic television branches into even more specific topics: cable and DVDs. From there, Mariah drew more circles and wrote more specific ideas: high definition and digital recording from cable and Blu-ray from DVDs. The radio topic led Mariah to draw connections between music, downloads versus CDs, and, finally, piracy.

From this idea map, Mariah saw she could consider narrowing the focus of her mass media topic to the more specific topic of music piracy.

Using search engines on the Internet is a good way to see what kinds of websites are available on your topic. Writers use search engines not only to understand more about the topic’s specific issues but also to get better acquainted with their audience.

Look back at the chart you completed in  Self Practice Exercise 5.2 . Did you guess at any of the answers? Searching the Internet may help you find answers to your questions and confirm your guesses. Be choosy about the websites you use. Make sure they are reliable sources for the kind of information you seek.

When you search the Internet, type some key words from your broad topic or words from your narrowed focus into your browser’s search engine (many good general and specialized search engines are available for you to try). Then look over the results for relevant and interesting articles.

Results from an Internet search show writers the following information:

Who is talking about the topic

How the topic is being discussed

What specific points are currently being discussed about the topic

If the search engine results are not what you are looking for, revise your key words and search again. Some search engines also offer suggestions for related searches that may give you better results.

Mariah typed the words music piracy from her idea map into the search engine Google (see Figure 5.3 Useful Search Engine Results ).

Figure 5 .3  Useful Search Engine Results

Note: Not all the results online search engines return will be useful or reliable. Carefully consider the reliability of an online source before selecting a topic based on it. Remember that factual information can be verified in other sources, both online and in print. If you have doubts about any information you find, either do not use it or identify it as potentially unreliable.

The results from Mariah’s search included websites from university publications, personal blogs, online news sources, and a lot of legal cases sponsored by the recording industry. Reading legal jargon made Mariah uncomfortable with the results, so she decided to look further. Reviewing her map, she realized that she was more interested in consumer aspects of mass media, so she refocused her search to media technology and the sometimes confusing array of expensive products that fill electronics stores. Now, Mariah considers a topic on the products that have fed the mass media boom in everyday lives.

Self-practice Exercise 5.3

In   Self – Practice Exercise 5.2 , you chose a possible topic and explored it by answering questions about it using the 5WH questions. However, this topic may still be too broad. Here, in   this exercise , choose and complete one of the prewriting strategies to narrow the focus. Use brainstorming, idea mapping, or searching the Internet.

Collaboration : P lease share with a classmate and compare your answers. Share what you found and what interests you about the possible topic(s).

Prewriting strategies are a vital first step in the writing process. First they help you first choose a broad topic, and then they help you narrow the focus of the topic to a more specific idea. Use Checklist 5.1: Topic Checklist to help you with this step.

Checklist 5.1  Developing a Good Topic

Using this checklist can help you decide if your narrowed topic is a good topic for your assignment.

Am I interested in this topic?

Would my audience be interested?

Do I have prior knowledge or experience with this topic? If so, would I be comfortable exploring this topic and sharing my experiences?

Do I want to learn more about this topic?

Is this topic specific?

Does it fit the length of the assignment?

An effective topic ensures that you are ready for the next step. With your narrowed focus in mind, answer the bulleted questions in the checklist for developing a good topic. If you can answer “yes” to all the questions, write your topic on the line below. If you answer “no” to any of the questions, think about another topic or adjust the one you have and try the prewriting strategies again.

My narrowed topic: ____________________________________________

Key Takeaways

• All writers rely on steps and strategies to begin the writing process.
• The steps in the writing process are prewriting, outlining, writing a rough draft, revising, and editing.
• Prewriting is the transfer of ideas from abstract thoughts into words, phrases, and sentences on paper.
• A good topic interests the writer, appeals to the audience, and fits the purpose of the assignment.
• Writers often choose a general topic first and then narrow the focus to a more specific topic.

5.2 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

• Develop a strong, clear thesis statement with the proper elements
• Revise your thesis statement

Have you ever known someone who was not very good at telling stories? You probably had trouble following the train of thought as the storyteller jumped from point to point, either being too brief in places that needed further explanation or providing too many details on a meaningless element. Maybe the person told the end of the story first, then moved to the beginning and later added details to the middle. The ideas were probably scattered, and the story did not flow very well. When the story was over, you probably had many questions.

Just as a personal anecdote can be a disorganized mess, an essay can fall into the same trap of being out of order and confusing. That is why writers need a thesis statement  to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they are about to discuss in the body.

Just like a topic sentence summarizes a single paragraph, the thesis statement summarizes an entire essay. It tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, while the essay itself supports that point. It is like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.

Elements of a Thesis Statement

For every essay you write, you must focus on a central idea. This idea stems from a topic you have chosen or been assigned or from a question your teacher has asked. It is not enough merely to discuss a general topic or simply answer a question with a yes or no. You have to form a specific opinion, and then articulate that into a  controlling idea —the main idea upon which you build your thesis.

Remember that a thesis is not the topic itself, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic your instructor gives you, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful, and confident.

A thesis is one sentence long and appears toward the end of your introduction. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that are able to be demonstrated in the body. It forecasts the content of the essay and suggests how you will organize your information. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize an issue but rather dissects it.

A Strong Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement contains the following qualities:

Specificity: A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic. For example, health care is a broad topic, but a proper thesis statement would focus on a specific area of that topic, such as options for individuals without health care coverage.

Precision: A strong thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and to remain focused on the topic. If the specific topic is options for individuals without health care coverage, then your precise thesis statement must make an exact claim about it, such as that limited options exist for those who are uninsured by their employers. You must further pinpoint what you are going to discuss regarding these limited effects, such as whom they affect and what the cause is.

Arguability: A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.

Demonstrability: For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion. You can rely on personal observations in order to do this, or you can consult outside sources to demonstrate that what you assert is valid. A worthy argument is backed by examples and details.

Forcefulness/Assertiveness: A thesis statement that is forceful shows readers that you are, in fact, making an argument. The tone is assertive and takes a stance that others might oppose.

Confidence: In addition to using force in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as I feel or I believe actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing. Taking an authoritative stance on the matter persuades your readers to have faith in your argument and open their minds to what you have to say.

Even in a personal essay that allows the use of first person, your thesis should not contain phrases such as in my opinion or I believe. These statements reduce your credibility and weaken your argument. Your opinion is more convincing when you use a firm attitude.

Self-practice Exercise 5.4

On a sheet of paper, write a thesis statement for each of the following topics. Remember to make each statement specific, precise, demonstrable, forceful and confident.

Texting while driving

The legal drinking age in different provinces of Canada

Steroid use among professional athletes

Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements

Each of the following thesis statements meets several of the qualities discussed above: specificity, precision, arguability, demonstrability, forcefulness/assertiveness, and confidence.

The societal and personal struggles of Floyd in the play Where the Blood Mixes, by Kevin Loring, symbolize the challenge of First Nations people of Canada who lived through segregation and placement into residential schools.

Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.

Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet spoils the outcome for the audience and weakens the plot.

J. D. Salinger’s character in Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, is a confused rebel who voices his disgust with phonies, yet in an effort to protect himself, he acts like a phony on many occasions.

Compared to an absolute divorce, no-fault divorce is less expensive, promotes fairer settlements, and reflects a more realistic view of the causes for marital breakdown.

Exposing children from an early age to the dangers of drug abuse is a sure method of preventing future drug addicts.

In today’s crumbling job market, a high school diploma is not significant enough education to land a stable, lucrative job.

You can find thesis statements in many places, such as in the news; in the opinions of friends, co-workers or teachers; and even in songs you hear on the radio. Become aware of thesis statements in everyday life by paying attention to people’s opinions and their reasons for those opinions. Pay attention to your own everyday thesis statements as well, as these can become material for future essays.

Now that you have read about the contents of a good thesis statement and have seen examples, take a look four pitfalls to avoid when composing your own thesis.

A thesis is weak when it is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay. Weak thesis statement: My paper will explain why imagination is more important than knowledge.

A thesis is weak when it makes an unreasonable or outrageous claim or insults the opposing side. Weak thesis statement: Religious radicals across the country are trying to legislate their puritanical beliefs by banning required high school books.

A thesis is weak when it contains an obvious fact or something that no one can disagree with or provides a dead end. Weak thesis statement: Advertising companies use sex to sell their products.

A thesis is weak when the statement is too broad. Weak thesis statement :  The life of Pierre Trudeau was long and accomplished.

Self-practice Exercise 5.5

Read the following thesis statements. On a piece of paper, identify each as weak or strong. For those that are weak, list the reasons why. Then revise the weak statements so that they conform to the requirements of a strong thesis.

The subject of this paper is my experience with ferrets as pets.

The government must expand its funding for research on renewable energy resources in order to prepare for the impending end of oil.

Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who lived in Baltimore during the 19th century.

In this essay, I will give you a lot of reasons why marijuana should not be legalized in British Columbia.

Because many children’s toys have potential safety hazards that could lead to injury, it is clear that not all children’s toys are safe.

My experience with young children has taught me that I want to be a disciplinary parent because I believe that a child without discipline can be a parent’s worst nightmare.

Collaboration : P lease share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Often in your career, you will need to ask your boss for something through an email. Just as a thesis statement organizes an essay, it can also organize your email request. While your email will be shorter than an essay, using a thesis statement in your first paragraph quickly lets your boss know what you are asking for, why it is necessary, and what the benefits are. In short body paragraphs, you can provide the essential information needed to expand upon your request.

Writing a Thesis Statement

One legitimate question readers always ask about a piece of writing is “What is the big idea?” (You may even ask this question when you are the reader, critically reading an assignment or another document.) Every nonfiction writing task—from the short essay to the 10-page term paper to the lengthy senior thesis—needs a big idea, or a controlling idea, as the “spine” for the work. The controlling idea is the main idea that you want to present and develop.

For a longer piece of writing, the main idea should be broader than the main idea for a shorter piece of writing. Be sure to frame a main idea that is appropriate for the length of the assignment. Ask yourself how many pages it will take to explain and explore the main idea in detail? Be reasonable with your estimate. Then expand or trim it to fit the required length.

The big idea, or controlling idea, you want to present in an essay is expressed in your thesis statement. Remember that a thesis statement is often one sentence long, and it states your point of view. The thesis statement is not the topic of the piece of writing but rather what you have to say about that topic and what is important to tell readers.

Look at Table 5.1: Topics and Thesis Statements  for a comparison of topics and thesis statements.

Table 5.1  Topics and Thesis Statements: A Comparison

The first thesis statement you write will be a preliminary thesis statement , or a working thesis statement . You will need it when you begin to outline your assignment as a way to organize it. As you continue to develop the arrangement, you can limit your working thesis statement if it is too broad or expand it if it proves too narrow for what you want to say.

Self-practice exercise 5.6

Using the topic you selected in   Self – Practice Exercise 5.3 , develop a working thesis statement that states your controlling idea for the piece of writing you are doing. On a sheet of paper, write your working thesis statement.

You will make several attempts before you devise a working thesis statement that you think is effective. Each draft of the thesis statement will bring you closer to the wording that expresses your meaning exactly.

Revising a Thesis Statement

Your thesis will probably change as you write, so you will need to modify it to reflect exactly what you have discussed in your essay. Remember, you begin with a working thesis statement, an indefinite statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process for the purpose of planning and guiding your writing.

Working thesis statements often become stronger as you gather information and form new opinions and reasons for those opinions. Revision helps you strengthen your thesis so that it matches what you have expressed in the body of the paper.

The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.

You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps:

Pinpoint and replace all nonspecific words, such as people, everything, society, or life, with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.

Working thesis: Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

Revised thesis: Recent college graduates must have discipline and persistence in order to find and maintain a stable job in which they can use and be appreciated for their talents.

The revised thesis makes a more specific statement about success and what it means to work hard. The original includes too broad a range of people and does not define exactly what success entails. By replacing the general words like people and work hard, the writer can better focus his or her research and gain more direction in his or her writing.

Clarify ideas that need explanation by asking yourself questions that narrow your thesis.

Working thesis: The welfare system is a joke.

Revised thesis: The welfare system keeps a socioeconomic class from gaining employment by alluring members of that class with unearned income, instead of programs to improve their education and skill sets.

Joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience. By asking questions, the writer can devise a more precise and appropriate explanation for joke. The writer should ask questions similar to the 5WH questions. By incorporating the answers to these questions into a thesis statement, the writer more accurately defines his or her stance, which will better guide the writing of the essay.

Replace any linking verbs with action verbs. Linking verbs gives information about the subject, such as a condition or relationship (is, appear, smell, sound), but they do not show any action. The most common linking verb is any forms of the verb to be, a verb that simply states that a situation exists.

Working thesis: British Columbian schoolteachers are not paid enough.

Revised thesis: The legislature of British Columbia cannot afford to pay its educators, resulting in job cuts and resignations in a district that sorely needs highly qualified and dedicated teachers.

The linking verb in this working thesis statement is the word are. Linking verbs often make thesis statements weak because they do not express action. Reading the original thesis statement above, readers might wonder why teachers are not paid enough, but the statement does not compel them to ask many more questions. The writer should ask him- or herself questions in order to replace the linking verb with an action verb, thus forming a stronger thesis statement, one that takes a more definitive stance on the issue. For example, the writer could ask:

Who is not paying the teachers enough?

What is considered “enough”?

What is the problem?

What are the results

4. Omit any general claims that are hard to support.

Working thesis: Today’s teenage girls are too sexualized.

Revised thesis: Teenage girls who are captivated by the sexual images on MTV are conditioned to believe that a woman’s worth depends on her sensuality, a feeling that harms their self-esteem and behaviour.

It is true that some young women in today’s society are more sexualized than in the past, but that is not true for all girls. Many girls have strict parents, dress appropriately, and do not engage in sexual activity while in middle school and high school. The writer of this thesis should ask the following questions:

Which teenage girls?

What constitutes “too” sexualized?

Why are they behaving that way?

Where does this behaviour show up?

What are the repercussions?

Self-practice exercise  5.7

In Section 5.1 , you determined your purpose for writing and your audience. You then completed a freewriting exercise on one of the topics presented to you. Using that topic, you then narrowed it down by answering the 5WH questions. After you answered these questions, you chose one of the three methods of prewriting and gathered possible supporting points for your working thesis statement.

Now, on a sheet of paper, write your working thesis statement. Identify any weaknesses in this sentence and revise the statement to reflect the elements of a strong thesis statement. Make sure it is specific, precise, arguable, demonstrable, forceful, and confident.

Collaboration: P lease share with a classmate and compare your answers.

In your career you may have to write a project proposal that focuses on a particular problem in your company, such as reinforcing the tardiness policy. The proposal would aim to fix the problem; using a thesis statement would clearly state the boundaries of the problem and the goals of the project. After writing the proposal, you may find that the thesis needs revising to reflect exactly what is expressed in the body. The techniques from this chapter would apply to revising that thesis.

• Proper essays require a thesis statement to provide a specific focus and suggest how the essay will be organized.
• A thesis statement is your interpretation of the subject, not the topic itself.
• A strong thesis is specific, precise, forceful, confident, and is able to be demonstrated.
• A strong thesis challenges readers with a point of view that can be debated and supported with evidence.
• A weak thesis is simply a declaration of your topic or contains an obvious fact that cannot be argued.
• Depending on your topic, it may or may not be appropriate to use first person point of view.
• Revise your thesis by ensuring all words are specific, all ideas are exact, and all verbs express action.

5.3 Outlining

• Identify the steps in constructing an outline
• Construct a topic outline and a sentence outline

Your prewriting activities and readings have helped you gather information for your assignment. The more you sort through the pieces of information you found, the more you will begin to see the connections between them. Patterns and gaps may begin to stand out. But only when you start to organize your ideas will you be able to translate your raw insights into a form that will communicate meaning to your audience.

Longer papers require more reading and planning than shorter papers do. Most writers discover that the more they know about a topic, the more they can write about it with intelligence and interest.

Organizing Ideas

When you write, you need to organize your ideas in an order that makes sense. The writing you complete in all your courses exposes how analytically and critically your mind works. In some courses, the only direct contact you may have with your instructor is through the assignments you write for the course. You can make a good impression by spending time ordering your ideas.

Order refers to your choice of what to present first, second, third, and so on in your writing. The order you pick closely relates to your purpose for writing that particular assignment. For example, when telling a story, it may be important to first describe the background for the action. Or you may need to first describe a 3-D movie projector or a television studio to help readers visualize the setting and scene. You may want to group your supporting ideas effectively to convince readers that your point of view on an issue is well reasoned and worthy of belief.

In longer pieces of writing, you may organize different parts in different ways so that your purpose stands out clearly and all parts of the essay work together to consistently develop your main point.

Methods of Organizing Writing

The three common methods of organizing writing are chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance, which you learned about in Chapter 4: What Are You Writing, to Whom, and How? You need to keep these methods of organization in mind as you plan how to arrange the information you have gathered in an outline. An outline is a written plan that serves as a skeleton for the paragraphs you write. Later, when you draft paragraphs in the next stage of the writing process, you will add support to create “flesh” and “muscle” for your assignment.

When you write, your goal is not only to complete an assignment but also to write for a specific purpose—perhaps to inform, to explain, to persuade, or a combination of these purposes. Your purpose for writing should always be in the back of your mind, because it will help you decide which pieces of information belong together and how you will order them. In other words, choose the order that will most effectively fit your purpose and support your main point.

Table 5.2: Order versus Purpose  shows the connection between order and purpose.

Table 5 . 2  Order versus Purpose

Writing an Outline

For an essay question on a test or a brief oral presentation in class, all you may need to prepare is a short, informal outline in which you jot down key ideas in the order you will present them. This kind of outline reminds you to stay focused in a stressful situation and to include all the good ideas that help you explain or prove your point. For a longer assignment, like an essay or a research paper, many instructors will require you to submit a formal outline before writing a major paper as a way of making sure you are on the right track and are working in an organized manner. The expectation is you will build your paper based on the framework created by the outline.

When creating outlines, writers generally go through three stages: a scratch outline , an informal or topic outline , and a formal or sentence outline. The scratch outline is basically generated by taking what you have come up with in your freewriting process and organizing the information into a structure that is easy for you to understand and follow (for example, a mind map or hierarchical outline). An informal outline goes a step further and adds topic sentences, a thesis, and some preliminary information you have found through research. A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps you distinguish between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance. If your instructor asks you to submit an outline for approval, you will want to hand in one that is more formal and structured. The more information you provide for your instructor, the better he or she will be able to see the direction in which you plan to go for your discussion and give you better feedback.

Instructors may also require you to submit an outline with your final draft to check the direction and logic of the assignment. If you are required to submit an outline with the final draft of a paper, remember to revise it to reflect any changes you made while writing the paper.

There are two types of formal outlines: the topic outline and the sentence outline . You format both types of formal outlines in the same way.

Place your introduction and thesis statement at the beginning, under Roman numeral I.

Use Roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, etc.) to identify main points that develop the thesis statement.

Use capital letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) to divide your main points into parts.

Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) if you need to subdivide any As, Bs, or Cs into smaller parts.

End with the final Roman numeral expressing your idea for your conclusion.

Here is what the skeleton of a traditional formal outline looks like. The indention helps clarify how the ideas are related.

1) Introduction

Thesis statement

2) Main point 1 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 1

3) Main point 2 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 2 [same use of subpoints as with Main point 1]

• Supporting detail

4) Main point 3 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 3[same use of subpoints as with Main points 1&2]

5) Conclusion

In an outline, any supporting detail can be developed with subpoints. For simplicity, the model shows subpoints only under the first main point.

Formal outlines are often quite rigid in their organization. As many instructors will specify, you cannot subdivide one point if it is only one part. For example, for every Roman numeral I, there needs to be an A. For every A, there must be a B. For every Arabic numeral 1, there must be a 2. See for yourself on the sample outlines that follow.

Constructing Informal or Topic Outlines An informal topic outline is the same as a sentence outline except you use words or phrases instead of complete sentences. Words and phrases keep the outline short and easier to comprehend. All the headings, however, must be written in parallel structure.

Here is the informal topic outline that Mariah constructed for the essay she is developing. Her purpose is to inform, and her audience is a general audience of her fellow college students. Notice how Mariah begins with her thesis statement. She then arranges her main points and supporting details in outline form using short phrases in parallel grammatical structure.

Checklist 5. 2  Writing an Effective Topic Outline

This checklist can help you write an effective topic outline for your assignment. It will also help you discover where you may need to do additional reading or prewriting.

Do I have a controlling idea that guides the development of the entire piece of writing?

Do I have three or more main points that I want to make in this piece of writing? Does each main point connect to my controlling idea?

Is my outline in the best order—chronological order, spatial order, or order of importance—for me to present my main points? Will this order help me get my main point across?

Do I have supporting details that will help me inform, explain, or prove my main points?

Do I need to add more support? If so, where?

Do I need to make any adjustments in my working thesis statement before I consider it the final version?

Word processing programs generally have an automatic numbering feature that can be used to prepare outlines. This feature automatically sets indents and lets you use the tab key to arrange information just as you would in an outline. Although in business this style might be acceptable, in college or university your instructor might have different requirements. Teach yourself how to customize the levels of outline numbering in your word processing program to fit your instructor’s preferences.

Self-practice Exercise 5.8

Using the working thesis statement you wrote in   Self – Practice Exercise 5 . 3 and the reading you did in   Section 5.1: Apply Prewriting Models , construct a topic outline for your essay. Be sure to observe correct outline form, including correct indentions and the use of Roman and Arabic numerals and capital letters.

Collaboration: P lease share with a classmate and compare your outline. Point out areas of interest from your classmate’s outline and what you would like to learn more about.

Self-practice Exercise 5.9

Refer to the previous exercise and select three of your most compelling reasons to support the thesis statement. Remember that the points you choose must be specific and relevant to the thesis. The statements you choose will be your primary support points, and you will later incorporate them into the topic sentences for the body paragraphs.

Constructing Formal or Sentence Outlines

A sentence outline is the same as a topic outline except you use complete sentences instead of words or phrases. Complete sentences create clarity and can advance you one step closer to a draft in the writing process.

Here is the formal sentence outline that Mariah constructed for the essay she is developing.

The information compiled under each Roman numeral will become a paragraph in your final paper. Mariah’s outline follows the standard five-paragraph essay arrangement, but longer essays will require more paragraphs and thus more Roman numerals. If you think that a paragraph might become too long, add an additional paragraph to your outline, renumbering the main points appropriately.

As you are building on your previously created outlines, avoid saving over the previous version; instead, save the revised outline under a new file name. This way you will still have a copy of the original and any earlier versions in case you want to look back at them.

PowerPoint presentations, used both in schools and in the workplace, are organized in a way very similar to formal outlines. PowerPoint presentations often contain information in the form of talking points that the presenter develops with more details and examples than are contained on the PowerPoint slide.

Self-practice Exercise 5.10

Expand the topic outline you prepared in Self – Practice Exercise 5.7   to make it a sentence o ut line. In this outline, be sure to include multiple supporting points for your main topic even if your topic outline does not contain them. Be sure to observe correct outline form, including correct indentions and the use of Roman and Arabic numerals and capital letters.

• Writers must put their ideas in order so the assignment makes sense. The most common orders are chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance.
• After gathering and evaluating the information you found for your essay, the next step is to write a working, or preliminary, thesis statement.
• The working thesis statement expresses the main idea you want to develop in the entire piece of writing. It can be modified as you continue the writing process.
• Effective writers prepare a formal outline to organize their main ideas and supporting details in the order they will be presented.
• A topic outline uses words and phrases to express the ideas.
• A sentence outline uses complete sentences to express the ideas.
• The writer’s thesis statement begins the outline, and the outline ends with suggestions for the concluding paragraph.

5.4 Organizing Your Writing

• Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focussed
• Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay
• Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay
• Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay

The method of organization you choose for your essay is just as important as its content. Without a clear organizational pattern, your reader could become confused and lose interest. The way you structure your essay helps your readers draw connections between the body and the thesis, and the structure also keeps you focused as you plan and write the essay. Choosing your organizational pattern before you outline ensures that each body paragraph works to support and develop your thesis.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order

Order of importance

Spatial order

When you begin to draft your essay, your ideas may seem to flow from your mind in a seemingly random manner. Your readers, who bring to the table different backgrounds, viewpoints, and ideas, need you to clearly organize these ideas in order to help process and accept them.

A solid organizational pattern gives your ideas a path that you can follow as you develop your draft. Knowing how you will organize your paragraphs allows you to better express and analyze your thoughts. Planning the structure of your essay before you choose supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and targeted research.

Chronological Order

In  Chapter 4: What Are You Writing, to Whom, and How? , you learned that chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic

To tell a story or relate an experience

To explain how to do or to make something

To explain the steps in a process.

Chronological order is mostly used in  expository writing , which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first, second, then, after that, later, and finally. These transitional words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first, then, next, and so on.

At some point in your career you may have to file a complaint with your human resources department. Using chronological order is a useful tool in describing the events that led up to your filing the grievance. You would logically lay out the events in the order that they occurred using the key transitional words. The more logical your complaint, the more likely you will be well received and helped.

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research

Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating

Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and in what order, and establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem).

Self-practice Exercise 5.11

On a sheet of paper, write a paragraph that describes a process you are familiar with and can do well. Assume that your reader is unfamiliar with the procedure. Remember to use the chronological key words, such as   first ,   second , then , and   finally .

Order of Importance

Recall from  Chapter 4: What Are You Writing, to Whom, and How? that order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing

Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance

Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with your most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading.

For example, if you were supporting your thesis that homework is detrimental to the education of high school students, you would want to present your most convincing argument first, and then move on to the less important points for your case.

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly, almost as importantly, just as importantly, and finally.

During your career, you may be required to work on a team that devises a strategy for a specific goal of your company, such as increasing profits. When planning your strategy you should organize your steps in order of importance. This demonstrates the ability to prioritize and plan. Using the order of importance technique also shows that you can create a resolution with logical steps for accomplishing a common goal.

Self-practice Exercise 5.12

On a sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built on the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance.

Spatial Order

As stated in  Chapter 4: What Are You Writing, to Whom, and How? , spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it

Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)

Writing a descriptive essay

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your reader, whose perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you.

The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transitional words and phrases to include when using spatial order:

Self-practice Exercise  5.13

On a sheet of paper, write a paragraph using spatial order that describes your commute to work, school, or another location you visit often.

Self-practice Exercise 5.14

Look back at your outline from Self – Practice Exercise 5.9. Please share your formal sentence outline with a classmate and together evaluate whether you have organized your points chronologically, by order of importance, or spatially . D iscuss if you have organized your paragraphs in the most appropriate and logical way.

In the next chapter, you will build on this formal sentence outline to create a draft and develop your ideas further. Do not worry; you are not expected to have a completed paper at this point. You will be expanding on your sentences to form paragraphs and complete, well-developed ideas.

• The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to your thesis statement.
• A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
• Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
• Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
• Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
• Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.

Supplemental Exercises

On a separate sheet of paper, choose one of the examples of a proper thesis statement from this chapter (one that interests you) and form three supporting points for that statement. After you have formed your three points, write a topic sentence for each body paragraph. Make sure that your topic sentences can be backed up with examples and details.

Group activity. Choose one of the topics from Self-Practice Exercise 5.4 and form a yes/no question about that topic. Then, take a survey of the people in your class to find out how they feel about the subject. Using the majority vote, ask those people to write on slips of paper the reasons for their opinion. Using the data you collect, form a thesis statement based on your classmates’ perspectives on the topic and their reasons.

On a separate sheet of a paper, write an introduction for an essay based on the thesis statement from the group activity using the techniques for introductory paragraphs that you learned in this chapter.

Start a journal in which you record “spoken” thesis statements. Start listening closely to the opinions expressed by your teachers, classmates, friends, and family members. Ask them to provide at least three reasons for their opinion and record them in the journal. Use this as material for future essays.

Open a magazine and read a lengthy article. See if you can pinpoint the thesis statement as well as the topic sentence for each paragraph and its supporting details.

Journal entry #5

Write two to three paragraphs responding to the following.

Think back to times when you had to write a paper and perhaps struggled to get started. What did you learn this week that you will apply in future assignments to get the ideas flowing?

Reflect on all of the content you have learned so far. What did you find challenging but are now more confident with? What, if anything, still confuses you or you know you need to practice more? How have your study skills, time management, and overall writing improved over the past month?

Remember as mentioned in the Assessment Descriptions in your syllabus:

You will be expected to respond to the questions by reflecting on and discussing your experiences with the week’s material.

When writing your journals, you should focus on freewriting—writing without (overly) considering formal writing structures—but remember that it will be read by the instructor, who needs to be able to understand your ideas.

Your instructor will be able to see if you have completed this entry by the end of the week but will not read all of the journals until next week.

Writing for Success - 1st Canadian Edition Copyright © 2015 by Tara Horkoff; an author removed at the request of the original publisher; and Horkoff, Tara is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research Paper: A step-by-step guide: 3. Thesis Statement & Outline

• 1. Getting Started
• 2. Topic Ideas
• 3. Thesis Statement & Outline
• 4. Appropriate Sources
• 5. Search Techniques
• 6. Taking Notes & Documenting Sources
• 7. Evaluating Sources
• 8. Citations & Plagiarism
• 9. Writing Your Research Paper

About Thesis Statements

Qualities of a thesis statement.

Thesis statements:

• state the subject matter and main ideas of a paper.
• appear in the first paragraph and announces what you will discuss in your paper.
• define the scope and focus of your essay, and tells your reader what to expect.  
• are not a simple factual statement.  It is an assertion that states your claims and that you can prove with evidence.
• should be the product of research and your own critical thinking.
• can be very helpful in constructing an outline for your essay; for each point you make, ask yourself whether it is relevant to the thesis.

Steps you can use to create a thesis statement

1. Start out with the main topic and focus of your essay.

youth gangs + prevention and intervention programs

2. Make a claim or argument in one sentence.  It can be helpful to start with a question which you then turn into an argument

Can prevention and intervention programs stop youth gang activities?  How?  ►►►  "Prevention and intervention programs can stop youth gang activities by giving teens something else to do."

3. Revise the sentence by using specific terms.

"Early prevention programs in schools are the most effective way to prevent youth gang involvement by giving teens good activities that offer a path to success."

4. Further revise the sentence to cover the scope of your essay and make a strong statement.

"Among various prevention and intervention efforts that have been made to deal with the rapid growth of youth gangs, early school-based prevention programs are the most effective way to prevent youth gang involvement, which they do by giving teens meaningful activities that offer pathways to achievement and success."

5. Keep your thesis statement flexible and revise it as needed. In the process of researching and writing, you may find new information or refine your understanding of the topic.

You can view this short video for more tips on how to write a clear thesis statement.

An outline is the skeleton of your essay, in which you list the arguments and subtopics in a logical order. A good outline is an important element in writing a good paper. An outline helps to target your research areas, keep you within the scope without going off-track, and it can also help to keep your argument in good order when writing the essay.  Once your outline is in good shape, it is much easier to write your paper; you've already done most of the thinking, so you just need to fill in the outline with a paragraph for each point.

To write an outline: The most common way to write an outline is the list format.  List all the major topics and subtopics with the key points that support them. Put similar topics and points together and arrange them in a logical order.    Include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. 

A list outline should arrange the main points or arguments in a hierarchical structure indicated by Roman numerals for main ideas (I, II, III...), capital letters for subtopics (A, B, C...), Arabic numerals for details (1,2,3...), and lower-case letters for fine details if needed (a,b,c...). This helps keep things organized.  

Here is a shortened example of an outline:

Introduction: background and thesis statement

I. First topic

1. Supporting evidence 2. Supporting evidence

II. Second Topic

III. Third Topic

I. Summarize the main points of your paper II. Restate your thesis in different words III. Make a strong final statement

You can see examples of a few different kinds of outlines and get more help at the Purdue OWL .

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• Last Updated: Apr 18, 2023 12:12 PM
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Contents How to Develop a Thesis Statement :A Research Guide by Mike Palmquist Introduction. Drafting a Preliminary Thesis Statement Developing & Refining a Thesis Statement Have a language expert improve your writing Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free. Knowledge Base Dissertation How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal Published on September 21, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023. When starting your thesis or dissertation process, one of the first requirements is a research proposal or a prospectus. It describes what or who you want to examine, delving into why, when, where, and how you will do so, stemming from your research question and a relevant topic . The proposal or prospectus stage is crucial for the development of your research. It helps you choose a type of research to pursue, as well as whether to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like. You can download our templates in the format of your choice below. Download Word template Download Google Docs template Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes Table of contents What should your proposal contain, dissertation question examples, what should your proposal look like, dissertation prospectus examples, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about proposals. Prior to jumping into the research for your thesis or dissertation, you first need to develop your research proposal and have it approved by your supervisor. It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives . Depending on your department’s requirements, there may be a defense component involved, where you present your research plan in prospectus format to your committee for their approval. Your proposal should answer the following questions: Why is your research necessary? What is already known about your topic? Where and when will your research be conducted? Who should be studied? How can the research best be done? Ultimately, your proposal should persuade your supervisor or committee that your proposed project is worth pursuing. Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services Discover proofreading & editing Strong research kicks off with a solid research question , and dissertations are no exception to this. Dissertation research questions should be: Focused on a single problem or issue Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints Specific enough to answer thoroughly Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly What are the main factors enticing people under 30 in suburban areas to engage in the gig economy? Which techniques prove most effective for 1st-grade teachers at local elementary schools in engaging students with special needs? Which communication streams are the most effective for getting those aged 18-30 to the polls on Election Day? An easy rule of thumb is that your proposal will usually resemble a (much) shorter version of your thesis or dissertation. While of course it won’t include the results section , discussion section , or conclusion , it serves as a “mini” version or roadmap for what you eventually seek to write. Be sure to include: A succinct introduction to your topic and problem statement A brief literature review situating your topic within existing research A basic outline of the research methods you think will best answer your research question The perceived implications for future research A reference list in the citation style of your choice The length of your proposal varies quite a bit depending on your discipline and type of work you’re conducting. While a thesis proposal is often only 3-7 pages long, a prospectus for your dissertation is usually much longer, with more detailed analysis. Dissertation proposals can be up to 25-30 pages in length. Writing a proposal or prospectus can be a challenge, but we’ve compiled some examples for you to get your started. Example #1: “Geographic Representations of the Planet Mars, 1867-1907” by Maria Lane Example #2: “Individuals and the State in Late Bronze Age Greece: Messenian Perspectives on Mycenaean Society” by Dimitri Nakassis Example #3: “Manhood Up in the Air: A Study of Male Flight Attendants, Queerness, and Corporate Capitalism during the Cold War Era” by Phil Tiemeyer Don't submit your assignments before you do this The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Free citation check included. Try for free If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools! Research bias Survivorship bias Self-serving bias Availability heuristic Halo effect Hindsight bias Deep learning Generative AI Machine learning Reinforcement learning Supervised vs. unsupervised learning  (AI) Tools Grammar Checker Paraphrasing Tool Text Summarizer AI Detector Plagiarism Checker Citation Generator The research methods you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question . If you want to measure something or test a hypothesis , use quantitative methods . If you want to explore ideas, thoughts and meanings, use qualitative methods . If you want to analyze a large amount of readily-available data, use secondary data. If you want data specific to your purposes with control over how it is generated, collect primary data. If you want to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables , use experimental methods. If you want to understand the characteristics of a research subject, use descriptive methods. A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake. Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as: Your anticipated title Your abstract Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.) A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims, that you collect high-quality data, and that you use the right kind of analysis to answer your questions, utilizing credible sources . This allows you to draw valid , trustworthy conclusions. The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify: Your research questions and/or hypotheses Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative ) The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study ) Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations) Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management) Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests  or thematic analysis ) A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like. It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee. Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally. Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement . However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas: Researchability Feasibility and specificity Relevance and originality Cite this Scribbr article If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator. George, T. (2023, July 18). How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal. Scribbr. Retrieved September 7, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/thesis-dissertation-proposal/ Is this article helpful? Tegan George Other students also liked, a step-by-step guide to the writing process, 10 research question examples to guide your research project, dissertation & thesis outline | example & free templates, get unlimited documents corrected. ✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. 11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal Learning objectives. Identify the steps in developing a research proposal. Choose a topic and formulate a research question and working thesis. Develop a research proposal. Writing a good research paper takes time, thought, and effort. Although this assignment is challenging, it is manageable. Focusing on one step at a time will help you develop a thoughtful, informative, well-supported research paper. Your first step is to choose a topic and then to develop research questions, a working thesis, and a written research proposal. Set aside adequate time for this part of the process. Fully exploring ideas will help you build a solid foundation for your paper. Choosing a Topic When you choose a topic for a research paper, you are making a major commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of research and writing—and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding. Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience. (For more information about purpose and audience, see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” .) Choosing a topic that interests you is also crucial. You instructor may provide a list of suggested topics or ask that you develop a topic on your own. In either case, try to identify topics that genuinely interest you. After identifying potential topic ideas, you will need to evaluate your ideas and choose one topic to pursue. Will you be able to find enough information about the topic? Can you develop a paper about this topic that presents and supports your original ideas? Is the topic too broad or too narrow for the scope of the assignment? If so, can you modify it so it is more manageable? You will ask these questions during this preliminary phase of the research process. Identifying Potential Topics Sometimes, your instructor may provide a list of suggested topics. If so, you may benefit from identifying several possibilities before committing to one idea. It is important to know how to narrow down your ideas into a concise, manageable thesis. You may also use the list as a starting point to help you identify additional, related topics. Discussing your ideas with your instructor will help ensure that you choose a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment. In this chapter, you will follow a writer named Jorge, who is studying health care administration, as he prepares a research paper. You will also plan, research, and draft your own research paper. Jorge was assigned to write a research paper on health and the media for an introductory course in health care. Although a general topic was selected for the students, Jorge had to decide which specific issues interested him. He brainstormed a list of possibilities. If you are writing a research paper for a specialized course, look back through your notes and course activities. Identify reading assignments and class discussions that especially engaged you. Doing so can help you identify topics to pursue. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the news Sexual education programs Hollywood and eating disorders Americans’ access to public health information Media portrayal of health care reform bill Depictions of drugs on television The effect of the Internet on mental health Popularized diets (such as low-carbohydrate diets) Fear of pandemics (bird flu, HINI, SARS) Electronic entertainment and obesity Advertisements for prescription drugs Public education and disease prevention Set a timer for five minutes. Use brainstorming or idea mapping to create a list of topics you would be interested in researching for a paper about the influence of the Internet on social networking. Do you closely follow the media coverage of a particular website, such as Twitter? Would you like to learn more about a certain industry, such as online dating? Which social networking sites do you and your friends use? List as many ideas related to this topic as you can. Narrowing Your Topic Once you have a list of potential topics, you will need to choose one as the focus of your essay. You will also need to narrow your topic. Most writers find that the topics they listed during brainstorming or idea mapping are broad—too broad for the scope of the assignment. Working with an overly broad topic, such as sexual education programs or popularized diets, can be frustrating and overwhelming. Each topic has so many facets that it would be impossible to cover them all in a college research paper. However, more specific choices, such as the pros and cons of sexual education in kids’ television programs or the physical effects of the South Beach diet, are specific enough to write about without being too narrow to sustain an entire research paper. A good research paper provides focused, in-depth information and analysis. If your topic is too broad, you will find it difficult to do more than skim the surface when you research it and write about it. Narrowing your focus is essential to making your topic manageable. To narrow your focus, explore your topic in writing, conduct preliminary research, and discuss both the topic and the research with others. Exploring Your Topic in Writing “How am I supposed to narrow my topic when I haven’t even begun researching yet?” In fact, you may already know more than you realize. Review your list and identify your top two or three topics. Set aside some time to explore each one through freewriting. (For more information about freewriting, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .) Simply taking the time to focus on your topic may yield fresh angles. Jorge knew that he was especially interested in the topic of diet fads, but he also knew that it was much too broad for his assignment. He used freewriting to explore his thoughts so he could narrow his topic. Read Jorge’s ideas. Conducting Preliminary Research Another way writers may focus a topic is to conduct preliminary research . Like freewriting, exploratory reading can help you identify interesting angles. Surfing the web and browsing through newspaper and magazine articles are good ways to start. Find out what people are saying about your topic on blogs and online discussion groups. Discussing your topic with others can also inspire you. Talk about your ideas with your classmates, your friends, or your instructor. Jorge’s freewriting exercise helped him realize that the assigned topic of health and the media intersected with a few of his interests—diet, nutrition, and obesity. Preliminary online research and discussions with his classmates strengthened his impression that many people are confused or misled by media coverage of these subjects. Jorge decided to focus his paper on a topic that had garnered a great deal of media attention—low-carbohydrate diets. He wanted to find out whether low-carbohydrate diets were as effective as their proponents claimed. Writing at Work At work, you may need to research a topic quickly to find general information. This information can be useful in understanding trends in a given industry or generating competition. For example, a company may research a competitor’s prices and use the information when pricing their own product. You may find it useful to skim a variety of reliable sources and take notes on your findings. The reliability of online sources varies greatly. In this exploratory phase of your research, you do not need to evaluate sources as closely as you will later. However, use common sense as you refine your paper topic. If you read a fascinating blog comment that gives you a new idea for your paper, be sure to check out other, more reliable sources as well to make sure the idea is worth pursuing. Review the list of topics you created in Note 11.18 “Exercise 1” and identify two or three topics you would like to explore further. For each of these topics, spend five to ten minutes writing about the topic without stopping. Then review your writing to identify possible areas of focus. Set aside time to conduct preliminary research about your potential topics. Then choose a topic to pursue for your research paper. Collaboration Please share your topic list with a classmate. Select one or two topics on his or her list that you would like to learn more about and return it to him or her. Discuss why you found the topics interesting, and learn which of your topics your classmate selected and why. A Plan for Research Your freewriting and preliminary research have helped you choose a focused, manageable topic for your research paper. To work with your topic successfully, you will need to determine what exactly you want to learn about it—and later, what you want to say about it. Before you begin conducting in-depth research, you will further define your focus by developing a research question , a working thesis, and a research proposal. Formulating a Research Question In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider potential research questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy to answer. To determine your research question, review the freewriting you completed earlier. Skim through books, articles, and websites and list the questions you have. (You may wish to use the 5WH strategy to help you formulate questions. See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information about 5WH questions.) Include simple, factual questions and more complex questions that would require analysis and interpretation. Determine your main question—the primary focus of your paper—and several subquestions that you will need to research to answer your main question. Here are the research questions Jorge will use to focus his research. Notice that his main research question has no obvious, straightforward answer. Jorge will need to research his subquestions, which address narrower topics, to answer his main question. Using the topic you selected in Note 11.24 “Exercise 2” , write your main research question and at least four to five subquestions. Check that your main research question is appropriately complex for your assignment. Constructing a Working ThesIs A working thesis concisely states a writer’s initial answer to the main research question. It does not merely state a fact or present a subjective opinion. Instead, it expresses a debatable idea or claim that you hope to prove through additional research. Your working thesis is called a working thesis for a reason—it is subject to change. As you learn more about your topic, you may change your thinking in light of your research findings. Let your working thesis serve as a guide to your research, but do not be afraid to modify it based on what you learn. Jorge began his research with a strong point of view based on his preliminary writing and research. Read his working thesis statement, which presents the point he will argue. Notice how it states Jorge’s tentative answer to his research question. One way to determine your working thesis is to consider how you would complete sentences such as I believe or My opinion is . However, keep in mind that academic writing generally does not use first-person pronouns. These statements are useful starting points, but formal research papers use an objective voice. Write a working thesis statement that presents your preliminary answer to the research question you wrote in Note 11.27 “Exercise 3” . Check that your working thesis statement presents an idea or claim that could be supported or refuted by evidence from research. Creating a Research Proposal A research proposal is a brief document—no more than one typed page—that summarizes the preliminary work you have completed. Your purpose in writing it is to formalize your plan for research and present it to your instructor for feedback. In your research proposal, you will present your main research question, related subquestions, and working thesis. You will also briefly discuss the value of researching this topic and indicate how you plan to gather information. When Jorge began drafting his research proposal, he realized that he had already created most of the pieces he needed. However, he knew he also had to explain how his research would be relevant to other future health care professionals. In addition, he wanted to form a general plan for doing the research and identifying potentially useful sources. Read Jorge’s research proposal. Before you begin a new project at work, you may have to develop a project summary document that states the purpose of the project, explains why it would be a wise use of company resources, and briefly outlines the steps involved in completing the project. This type of document is similar to a research proposal. Both documents define and limit a project, explain its value, discuss how to proceed, and identify what resources you will use. Writing Your Own Research Proposal Now you may write your own research proposal, if you have not done so already. Follow the guidelines provided in this lesson. Key Takeaways Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research question, and developing a working thesis. A good topic for a research paper interests the writer and fulfills the requirements of the assignment. Defining and narrowing a topic helps writers conduct focused, in-depth research. Writers conduct preliminary research to identify possible topics and research questions and to develop a working thesis. A good research question interests readers, is neither too broad nor too narrow, and has no obvious answer. A good working thesis expresses a debatable idea or claim that can be supported with evidence from research. Writers create a research proposal to present their topic, main research question, subquestions, and working thesis to an instructor for approval or feedback. Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted. Three Minute Thesis Competition The Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) is an exciting, fast-paced event showcasing the research of graduate students across campus. Each scholar is given three minutes to present their research displayed to the audience and judging panel in a single presentation slide. The competition boasts cash prizes for winners in each category. You'll be amazed at what these scholars can fit into a three-minute presentation. You don't want to miss this competition! Our graduate students have had an impressive showing at the regional 3MT competition at the Western Association of Graduate Schools annual conference. In 2023, Jennifer Heppner won third place and in 2024, Kendra Isable won second place.  The 2024 competition will be hosted in the Spring semester with two preliminary rounds in early March and the finals in April. Learn more about our competition Join our competition, preliminary round. The top four contestants from groups A1, B1, A2 and B2 will be awarded $300 and will compete in the final round. Submit your presentation using the appropriate Group description link below. Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Education/Business Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124) Group A1: Doctoral Dissertation Students Group B1: Master's Thesis Students Sciences/Engineering/Mathematics/Health Sciences Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124) Group A2: Doctoral Dissertation Students Group B2: Master's Thesis Students Final round Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124) In the final round you'll compete against the eight finalists at your degree level: Group A — Doctoral Students (Four students from A1 and four students from A2) Group B — Master's Students (Four students from B1 and four students from B2) Award amounts Winners from each group of the final round will be awarded as follows: First Place: $1,000 Second Place: $600 Third Place: $400 Peoples' Choice: $500 Deadline and application form Applications are due February 29 by 11:59 p.m. Preliminary submission form Competition rules and terms Presentation:. A single, static PowerPoint slide in 16x9 format is required (pdfs not allowed). Include your presentation title, full name, and graduate program on the slide. First-place winners from the last year's 3MT competition are ineligible to compete, however, last year's second- and third-place winners are eligible to compete. No slide transitions, animations or on-screen movement of any description are allowed. The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration. No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted. No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted. Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified. Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs). Presentations are to commence from the stage. Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech. The decision of the adjudicating panel is final. All monetary awards for both preliminary and final rounds are pre-tax amounts. Abstracts are limited to 250 words. Students must be graduate students to enter the competition. While advancement to candidacy is not required, students must have made significant progress towards completion of their dissertation, thesis, or professional project in order to enter the competition. Winners will be announced approximately one week after the competition. You will be asked to sign a photo-video release at the event to allow the University of Nevada, Reno to use your likeness in photos/videos of the competition. Judging criteria Comprehension & content. Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance? Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes? Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence? Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience? Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points? Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed? Engagement & Communication Did the oration make the audience want to know more? Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research? Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research? Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention? Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance? Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise? View past Three Minute Thesis winners View the winners of each year since 2014! View past winners 2022-2023 Finalists and winners Doctoral category First place: cody cris. Graduate program:  Cell and Molecular Biology Title:  Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics Faculty advisor:  Subhash Verma SECOND PLACE: Anithakrithi Balaji Graduate program: Biomedical Engineering Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation Faculty advisor: Jihwan Yoon THIRD PLACE: Noah Nieman Graduate program:  Civil and Environmental Engineering Title:  Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions Faculty advisor: Floriana Petrone 2024 Finalists: Francisco calderon abullarade. Graduate program: Ph.D. History Title: Creating the Enemy: The origins of the inter-american cold war in the 1940s Faculty advisor: Renata Keller Anithakrithi Balaji Graduate program: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation  Monika Bharti Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Literacy Studies Title: P re-service teachers experiences teaching K-8 Multilingual Students' (MLS) writing Faculty advisor: Rachel Salas and Fares Karam Cossette Canovas Graduate program: Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Title: Identifying predictors of racial trauma to inform treatment development  Faculty advisor: Lorraine Benuto Graduate program: Ph.D. Cell and Molecular Biology Title:   Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics  Faculty advisor: Subhash Verma Kaashifah  Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Equity, Diversity and Language Title: Bridging  the gaps: Evaluating the intervention programs to overcome academic disparities  Faculty advisor: Donald Easton-Brooks Noah Nieman Graduate program: Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering Title: Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions  Sanjeevan Pradhan Graduate program: Ph.D. Political Science Title: Tough sell: Rising powers, domestic legitimation and costly international initiatives  Faculty advisor: Xiaoyu Pu Patricia Berninsone People's Choice Award Abdulwarith kassim. Graduate program: Chemistry Title: Chemically recyclable dithioacetal polymers Faculty advisor:  Ying Yang Master's category First place: abdulwarith kassim. Faculty advisor: Ying Yang SECOND PLACE (TIE):  Name:  Elizabeth Everest Graduate program: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Title: Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake Faculty advisors: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear Name:  Cathy Silliman Title: Winterfat restoration in a changing climate Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger  Samantha DeTiberiis Graduate program: M.A. Criminal Justice  Title: What do our phones teach us about incarceration? A social media content analysis  Faculty advisor: Jennifer Lanterman Elizabeth Everest  Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology  Title:   Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake  Faculty advisor: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear Carolynn Fedarko  Title: Zeroing in on gun violence Faculty advisor: Weston Morrow Shipra Goswami Graduate program: M.S. Biochemistry Title: May the pericytes be with you: Transport engineers you never knew existed! Faculty advisor: Albert Gonzales Graduate program: M.S. Chemistry  Anthony Michell Graduate program: M.A. History Title: Pushed to the limit: How the 1998 China floods revolutionized the relationship between China and the natural world Faculty advisor: Hugh Shapiro Elizabeth Morgan Graduate program: M.S. Teaching History (M.A.T.H.) Title: Dust in the wind dude: The Owens Valley everywhere except, in the Owens Valley Faculty advisor: Edward Schoolman Cathy Silliman Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger September 5, 2024 Thesis Gold Updated PEA for Lawyers-Ranch Project: After-Tax NPV5% of C$1.28 Billion, IRR of 35.2% and 2.0 Year Payback Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – September 5, 2024) – Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (FSE: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) is pleased to announce positive results from the updated independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for its 100% owned Lawyers-Ranch Project (the “Project”) in the prolific Toodoggone Mining District of northern British Columbia. The updated PEA outlines a plan for developing the combined Lawyers-Ranch project using both open-pit and underground mining methods, with mineralized material processed at a single facility, achieving an estimated average gold recovery of 93%. The PEA was prepared by JDS Energy & Mining Inc. (“JDS”) of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). The updated NI 43-101 PEA Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and Thesis Gold’s website www.thesisgold.com within 45 days of this announcement. Strong Economics: Pre-tax internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 46.0% , pre-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate (“NPV5%”) of C$1.99 billion , after-tax IRR stands at 35.2%, and an after-tax NPV5% of C$1.28 billion , using US$1,930 per ounce of gold and US$24 per ounce of silver (see Table 1) . Gold Price Sensitivity: The project remains robust at a wide range of gold prices from US$1,750 to US$2,500 with after-tax IRR of 28.8% to 52.8% (see Table 2). Increased Production: The 2024 PEA saw a considerable increase in production versus the previous (2022) PEA with a 32% increase in annual average production to 215,000 gold-equivalent (“AuEq”*) ounces, including an average 273,000 gold-equivalent ounces annually over the first three years, and a 55% increase in Life-of-mine (“LOM”) production to 3.0 million gold-equivalent ounces, extending mine life to over 14 years. Low AISC: LOM all-in sustaining cash cost (“AISC”) of US$1,013 per ounce of gold equivalent. Quick Payback: The project offers a quick after-tax payback of 2.0 years, a 29% decrease compared to the previous (2022) PEA. Capex: Initial capital expenditure is estimated at C$598.4 million, with a compelling after-tax NPV5% to initial capital ratio of 2.1:1. Project Upside: Significant Mineral Resource growth potential remains across both Lawyers and Ranch projects. The underground Mineral Resource at Lawyers is still open for expansion at depth, while Ranch Mineral Resource zones also remain open. Additionally, there are over 20 unexplored targets that hold potential for further discoveries. Dr. Ewan Webster, President and CEO, commented, “Starting in 2023, we set an ambitious goal to focus our exploration and engineering efforts on optimizing our project establishing a low-cost future producer with a quick payback period and a projected mine life exceeding 10 years, while in parallel establishing substantial opportunities for future expansion. We are delivering on that promise, with 215,000 ounces per year over a 14-year mine life, a 117% improvement in NPV, and a 46% improvement in IRR. This translates to a robust after-tax NPV5% of C$1.28 billion and an after-tax IRR of 35.2%, based on a conservative 3-year trailing average gold price of US$1,930 per ounce. With today’s gold price near US$2,500 per ounce, the substantial economic potential of the Lawyers-Ranch Project is clear. As we advance toward key project development milestones, we will continue to explore new targets within our expansive, highly prospective land package. This approach will further enhance a project that is not only straightforward and low-risk but also benefits from high-grade, easily accessible open-pit and underground ounces, combined with proximity to existing infrastructure. This positions the Lawyers-Ranch Project as one of Canada’s most prospective gold projects.” Bill Lytle, Non-Executive Chairman, added, “The 2024 PEA confirms the positive potential of the Lawyers-Ranch Project, utilizing industry-standard open-pit and underground mining methods alongside an optimized processing flowsheet that ensures exceptional recoveries from both Lawyers and Ranch streams, all while maintaining a compact project footprint. The inclusion of the Lawyers underground brings high-grade, easily accessible ounces into the early stages of the mine life, significantly enhancing the project’s economics compared to the 2022 PEA. With 301,316 meters drilled to date, 86.9% of the updated 2024 Mineral Resource is now classified as Measured and Indicated. Combined with well-advanced engineering and environmental baseline work, the project is rapidly moving towards Pre-Feasibility and an accelerated permitting timeline, while still offering substantial upside potential and opportunities for Mineral Resource growth.” PEA Overview The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The 2024 PEA considers a conventional truck and shovel open-pit mining (“OP”) operation with common equipment sizing feeding a 12,600 tonnes per day (t/d) industry standard processing plant with crushing, grinding, flotation, leaching and a Merrill Crowe recovery circuit, with production of precious metal concentrate and gold-silver doré bullion on site. The 2024 PEA considers a crossover to underground mining (“U/G”) using longhole stoping and a small zone of drift and fill to feed up to 2,500 t/d from the Duke’s Ridge, Cliff Creek and Ranch Deposits from years 2 to 14. The PEA is based on an update of the Mineral Resource Estimate announced by the Company on the June 1, 2024 press release. JDS was appointed as lead consultant in January 2024 to prepare the updated PEA in accordance with NI 43-101 and was assisted by Knight Piesold Consulting (“KP”) for tailings storage facility (“TSF”) and waste rock storage facility (“WRSF”) design and costing, Frank Wright Consulting (“Frank Wright”) for metallurgy, P&E Mining Consultants Inc. for Mineral Resource estimation, and One-Eighty Consulting for permitting. PEA Highlights Positive after-tax NPV (5%) of C$1.28 billion, 35.2% IRR and 2.0 Year Payback Period. Open pit and underground mining at the Lawyers and Ranch properties, with the inclusion of underground mining leading to an increase grade and tonnage compared to previous PEA. Inclusion of underground mining leading to an overall reduction in LOM strip ratio for the Project. Optimized flowsheet utilizing both flotation and leaching to maximize overall recovery. The addition of a flotation circuit allows for an increased gold recovery to 93% and silver recovery to 86.1% across a combined Lawyers and Ranch process plant feed. Increase Life of Mine of 14 years with 215, 000 oz AuEq* average annual production. Life of Mine (LOM) production of 64.7 Mt of Process Plant Feed at an average grade of 1.61 g/t AuEq*. Optimized infrastructure to increase operational efficiency. These results reinforce the economic potential of the project, highlighting efficient and effective processing strategies to maximize metal recovery. PEA Parameters and Assumptions The financial modeling for this PEA was done by JDS Energy & Mining Inc. and included the following parameters and assumptions: Sensitivity Analysis A sensitivity analysis was done on the financial model to verify the robustness of the outcomes and the impacts on the Project’s After-Tax NPV and IRR are tabulated below: Project Enhancements in the updated PEA Since the publication of the previous (2022) PEA, a comprehensive review was undertaken to identify and incorporate optimizations that would improve overall project economics and focus exploration activities on adding the most value to the project. The primary enhancement identified was the integration of underground mining methods at Lawyers. In the updated PEA, underground mining will extract 6.5 Mt at an average grade of 3.17 g/t AuEq*, representing approximately 10% of the process plant feed and 20% of the contained ounces. Compared to the previous (2022) PEA, this change brought forward higher grade ounces in the mine schedule, increased LOM production, extended mine life, and reduced the strip ratio of open-pit mining. Additionally, metallurgical test work focused on optimizing recovery, particularly silver, leading to the inclusion of a flotation circuit in the process flowsheet. Collectively, these changes, along with the updated Mineral Resource Estimate from June 1, 2024, result in improved annual production, particularly during the early mine years, and a notable increase in LOM production and extension of mine life (see Table 3). The results of the updated PEA were compared to the existing (2022) PEA and are detailed in the table below: Mineral Resource Estimate The PEA is based on the Mineral Resource Estimate prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc., and APEX Geoscience Ltd., and reported by Thesis Gold on June 1, 2024, which is summarized in the table below: Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimates of Pit-constrained and out-of-pit Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources assumed metal prices of US$1,850/oz Au, US$24/oz, 0.76 US$:CDN$ FX, with process recoveries of 91% Au and 88% Ag. A C$15/t process cost and C$5/t G&A cost were used. The Au:Ag ratio was 80:1. The constraining pit optimization parameters were C$3.5/t mineralized and waste material mining cost and 52° pit slopes with a 0.40 g/t AuEq* cut-off. The underground parameters were C$80/t mined with assumed 1.5x15x15 m stopes and a 1.50 g/t AuEq cut-off. Capital and Operating Costs The 2024 PEA estimates the initial capital requirements at $598.4 million, versus C$484.1 million in the previous (2022) PEA, representing a 24% increase, the majority from cost inflation and a 18% increase in the process plant throughput rate, from 10,700 t/d to 12,600 t/d, with cumulative sustaining and closure capital amounting to $594.2 million. LOM operating costs for the Lawyers-Ranch Project are estimated to average C$50.57 or US$37.42 per tonne processed. The PEA is based on owner-operated open pit and underground mining, which has an estimated LOM cost of C$14.75 per tonne processed. Open pit mining is projected to cost $22.21 per tonne processed, totaling $1.4 billion, while underground mining is estimated at $7.28 per tonne. Processing costs are estimated at C$15.85 per tonne milled. G&A costs are estimated at C$5.23 per tonne processed, which includes TSF handlings of C$0.22 per tonne processed. The capital and operating cost estimate was developed in Q3 2024 Canadian Dollars (C$). The capital cost summary is presented in Table 5 and the operating cost summary is presented in Table 6. The PEA assumes conventional open pit truck and shovel mining as well as underground mining using longhole stoping and drift and fill production designed to achieve a processing rate of 12,600 t/d. Open pit mining was used for the majority of the Mineral Resources due to its relative low cost and high productivity, as well as the proximity to surface of the mineralized material. Underground mining methods were utilized to target deeper higher-grade areas. The open pits were selected from a series of optimized pit shells for each deposit. Each of the selected shells was then divided into pushbacks to help optimize the production schedule. The mining sequence aims to maximize economic returns and achieve the target process plant feed rate of 4.6 Mt/a (12,600 t/d) by targeting the pushbacks in descending order of net unit value. Open pit mining activities will move an average of 64 kt/d with a peak of 84 kt/d over the 14-year mine life. Each of the underground mines was mined in a bottom up sequence, utilizing permanent sill pillars to allow for multiple production horizons. Underground mining will extract 6.5 Mt at an average grade of 3.17 g/t AuEq* Over the life of mine (LOM) the Project is expected to produce 64.7 Mt of process plant feed at an average grade of 1.61 g/t AuEq* with a total contained metal of 2,559 koz of gold and 68,798 koz of silver based on a pit cut-off grade of 0.43 g/t AuEq* for AGB, 0.39 g/t AuEq* for Cliff Creek, 0.52 g/t AuEq* for Ranch and an underground cut-off grade of 1.50 g/t AuEq*. Stripping ratios average 3.1:1 at AGB, 5.0:1 at Cliff Creek and 8.7:1 at Ranch. The peak combined mine production is approximately 84 kt/d. Figure 1: Mine Production Schedule To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_thesisgold001.jpg AuEq* = Au + Ag/87 Open Pit Mining The PEA mine design consists of four pits at the Lawyers Property and several small pits at the Ranch Property, with a mining sequence intended to maximize grade in the early years, smooth stripping requirements and maintain the processing facility at full production capacity. Approximately 58 Mt of open pit potentially mineable Mineral Resources have been defined with a grade of 1.44 g/t AuEq* containing 2,057 koz of gold and 54,730 koz of silver and an Open Pit strip ratio of 5:1. Mining activities will average 64 kt/d with a peak of 84 kt/d over a 14-year life of mine. The open pit mining activities for the Project will be undertaken by an owner-operated truck/shovel fleet with conventional drill, blast, load and haul operations. Bulk excavation will be performed using hydraulic excavators with back-up units of either hydraulic excavators or a front-end loader. Given the overall scale of operations and equipment requirements, a diesel-powered fleet has been selected. Figure 2: Lawyers & Ranch Open Pits and WRSFs To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_thesisgold002.jpg Underground Mining Underground mining will take place at Dukes Ridge, Cliff Creek, and Ranch Deposits. The underground will utilize a longhole stoping and a small zone of drift and fill to meet an average production rate of 2,500 t/d. Stopes will be extracted in a retreat sequence and backfilled with cemented rock fill (CRF) and/or unconsolidated waste rock. All the underground development waste hauled to surface will be used as backfill. The mine will be developed using conventional underground equipment consisting of development jumbos, longhole drills, bolters, LHDs, and haul trucks. Mineralized material will be hauled to the surface to stockpile facility near the portal where open pit equipment will transport stockpiled material to the crusher. Figure 3: Longitudinal Projection Looking West Lawyers Underground To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_62ae9862940ceb83_004full.jpg Figure 4: Longitudinal Projection Looking East Ranch Underground To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_62ae9862940ceb83_005full.jpg Approximately 6.5 Mt of underground potentially mineable Mineral Resources have been defined with a grade of 3.17 g/t AuEq * containing 502 koz of gold and 14,068 koz of silver. Underground mine production will occur during 9 years of the 14-year mine life. Lawyers underground will contribute 5.65 Mt at an average grade of 3.32 g/t AuEq*, and Ranch underground 0.85 Mt at an average grade of 2.19 g/t AuEq*. The preliminary metallurgical testing for a bulk tonnage open pit mining scenario at Lawyers was initiated in Spring 2020 and concluded in mid-2021. The 2020/2021 metallurgical laboratory testing included investigations into both flotation, and cyanide leaching. Leaching was evaluated on whole rock and on float concentrate under various operating conditions. Based on the tests results and economic considerations the 2022 PEA flowsheet design was directed to whole rock cyanide leaching. The laboratory data suggests an appropriate tank leach retention time of 32 hours. Washing of the pregnant leachate solution (PLS) would be by counter current decantation (CCD) with the PLS going to zinc precipitation in order to subsequently produce doré on site. Metallurgical testing of a combined Ranch and Lawyers mining scenario was initiated in September 2023 and concluded with a laboratory report issued by SGS Canada Inc. in June 2024. Based on this testwork and supported by earlier historical studies, a conceptual treatment flowsheet with accompanying mass balance and projected gold and silver recoveries was formulated. The study suggests that the various mineral zones of the two adjacent properties can be well served with a process flowsheet that consists of grinding the process plant feed to 80% passing a particle size of 125 micron (P 80 of 125 µm) when the flotation circuit is used, and a P 80 of 106 µm when the circuit is run as leach only. The comminution circuit will include a centrifugal gravity concentrator in the circulating load to scalp out coarse free gold to an intensive cyanidation unit. The comminution circuit will discharge to the flotation circuit, or in times where the feed is highly leachable, will bypass the flotation circuit directly to the leaching circuit. Flotation becomes particularly crucial for Ranch Mineral Resource material that exceeds approximately 1% total sulphur. The primary (rougher) flotation is where typically the majority of the precious metals would report into a saleable concentrate. This method uses a selective collector, with the rougher bulk product reground and cleaned in three stages, while increasing the slurry pH with lime to depress pyrite. The rougher tail is then sent to a scavenger float circuit to produce a low grade concentrate suitable for aggressive leaching procedures, with the primary purpose of improving overall silver recovery. The resulting leach residue is attrition ground and then added to the final float tailing for a second stage leach. The pregnant leachate solution (PLS), including from the gravity product is forwarded to Merrill Crowe precipitation, followed by refining for producing Dore on site. The samples responded well to a combination of these conventional mineral processing procedures. Following bench scale optimization, the laboratory study evaluated the conceptual flowsheet for a blended mill feed combined from Ranch and Lawyers. This included locked cycle flotation for accuracy in calculating the mass balance and metal recovery estimates. Three master composites of varying head grades were laboratory tested, with the envisioned flowsheet including differential flotation providing an overall gold circuit recovery averaging 93% for gold, and 86.1% for silver. Process Flowsheet Figure 5: Process Flowsheet To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_62ae9862940ceb83_006full.jpg Project Infrastructure The Project infrastructure is designed to support a mining and processing operation with a 12,600 t/d throughput, operating on a 24-hour per day, seven day per week basis. The overall site layout will include open pit mines, a processing plant, tailings storage facility, waste rock storage facility, and supporting infrastructure including an accommodation complex, administration office, mine dry, mine maintenance facility, assay lab, and bulk fuel storage. Site access will be via the existing access road connecting site to the Kemess mine. Power will be supplied by a new 230kV transmission line connecting site to Kemess, which is subsequently connected to BC Hydro’s Kennedy Siding Substation near Mackenzie BC. A 13.8 kV distribution system will be constructed to support site infrastructure. The overall layout showing the proposed location of the Lawyers on-site infrastructure is provided in Figure 6, and the Ranch layout showing infrastructure is provided in Figure 7. Figure 6: Lawyers Site General Arrangement To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_62ae9862940ceb83_007full.jpg Figure 7: Ranch Site General Arrangement To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/222217_62ae9862940ceb83_008full.jpg Project Enhancement Opportunities The PEA demonstrates the potential of becoming a commercially robust project. Additional opportunities to enhance the Project value include: Pre-concentration of Ranch mineralized material to increase average grade and reduce trucking costs. An initial assessment, conducted by ABH Engineering Inc. with test work performed by Tomra Mining in Germany, shows promising results for Ranch “Mineralized Material” Sorting. The Mineral Resource has not been fully delineated and there is an opportunity to expand the potentially mineable Mineral Resource, with potential for improved pit designs and high-grade underground mining at depth at Cliff Creek and Duke’s Ridge. Additional drilling at nearby targets such as Marmot Lake could further increase the Mineral Resources. Improved pit strip ratios and slopes with newly identified, better than expected geotechnical conditions. Collaboration with Indigenous Groups to develop the Project Closure and Reclamation Plan to meet long term Indigenous End Land Use objectives. Opportunity to improve capital and operating expenditure at the waste rock storage facility and tailings storage facility by optimizing the distribution system and self source construction materials. Opportunity to improve economics of the underground via paste backfill as opposed to CRF. Permitting and Studies Thesis holds the required permits and approvals to continue exploring the areas comprising the Project. Historical environmental studies were conducted prior to and during the operation of the Cheni Mine, with recent monitoring overseen by the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. In the past two years, Thesis initiated extensive baseline environmental studies to support ongoing exploration and prepare for an environmental assessment application. The Lawyers Project, located on Crown land in British Columbia within the traditional lands of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation, Kwadacha Nation, Takla Nation, and Tahltan Territory, will require additional permits, including an Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) and a federal decision statement. The project will undergo a concurrent environmental and impact assessment process, determined by federal and provincial regulators after the submission of an Initial Project Description. The region has Indigenous communities with strong land and resource use traditions. Thesis has secured agreements with Indigenous groups, including a trilateral Exploration Cooperation and Benefit Agreement (Tsay Keh Dene Nation, Kwadacha Nation, and Takla Nation) as well as an Exploration Agreement with the Tahltan Central Government. Furthermore, Thesis has established committees to facilitate ongoing engagement, share project updates, and explore economic opportunities throughout the project’s lifecycle. Project Update and Next Steps With the PEA now complete, Thesis is advancing to a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Lawyers-Ranch Project. Currently, a 10,000 m drill program is underway, focusing on infill drilling to upgrade Inferred Mineral Resources to the Indicated category and indicated Mineral Resources to the Measured category, for potential conversion to PFS Mineral Reserves. In addition, significant progress has been made, with many PFS/FS data inputs either already completed or on track for completion, including: Tailings Storage Facilities (Lawyers-Ranch). Process Plant/Camp Foundations (Lawyers-Ranch). Open Pits (Lawyers). Waste Rock Storage Facility (Lawyers). Completion of the monitoring well network to support the development of a site-wide water balance. Open Pits (Ranch). Waste Rock Storage Facility (Ranch). Mineral processing and recovery testwork to validate processing methods and for optimization of PFS flowsheet. Planned “Mineralized Material” Sorting Testwork for inclusion in the PFS study. Ongoing Geochemical Characterization of Lawyers-Ranch waste and mineralization, including static and kinetic testwork. Near Completion of a 2-Year Environmental Baseline Program, which includes aquatics, terrestrial, and geochemical data collection. On behalf of the Board of Directors Thesis Gold Inc. “Ewan Webster” Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo. President, CEO, and Director About Thesis Gold Inc. Thesis Gold is unlocking the combined potential of the Lawyers-Ranch Gold-Silver Project in the Toodoggone mining district of north central British Columbia, Canada. A 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers project alone projected an open-pit mining operation yielding an average of 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span 1 . By integrating the Ranch Project, the Company aims to enhance the economics and bolster the overall project’s potential. Central to this ambition was the expansive 2023 drill program, which continues to define a high-grade out-of-pit Mineral Resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The project now boasts a combined Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 4.0 Moz and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 727 koz, at respective grades of 1.51 and 1.82 g/t AuEq* 2 . The Company roadmap includes, new metallurgical work (now delivered), a robust 2024 exploration and drill program, and a combined updated Preliminary Economic Assessment slated for Q3 2024. Through these strategic moves, Thesis Gold intends to elevate the Ranch-Lawyers Project to the forefront of global precious metals ventures. 1 Please refer to the Company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment titled, “Preliminary Economic Assessment, Lawyers Gold-Silver Project” with an effective date of September 9, 2022 filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . 2 Details of the Mineral Resource Estimate are provided in a Technical Report with an effective date of May 1, 2024, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“ NI 43-101 “). The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc, P.Geol., P.Geo., and Carly Church, P.Eng., PMP, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact: Dave Burwell Vice President Corporate Development Email: [email protected] Tel: 403-410-7907 Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company’s recently completed financings and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company’s most recent annual management’s discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. OUR LOCATION 1111 West Hastings Street, Suite 780 Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2J3 INFORMATION Preliminary 4.3 magnitude earthquake strikes in Lake County By nbc bay area staff • published 4 hours ago • updated 29 mins ago. A preliminary 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Lake County in Northern California on Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey .  The quake, which struck at 7:30 a.m., was centered about 3.4 miles south-southwest of Cobb and 13.2 miles north-northwest of Healdsburg. The quake was followed by a preliminary 3.9 magnitude earthquake about a minute later in the same area. Watch NBC Bay Area News 📺 Streaming free 24/7 Further information was not immediately available. This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates. Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter. This article tagged under: 438 IMAGES PPT A detailed guide on thesis statement with examples PPT Short Guide To Developing A Thesis Paper PPT Basic Elements and Format of the Thesis Manuscript Preliminary VIDEO Developing Your Thesis or Dissertation for Grad School Complete Your Thesis/Dissertation with 9 easy steps Developing A Thesis Statement How To Avoid Supervisor HELL 🔥🔥🔥 Practical Tips To Maximise The Relationship Performance Optimized Tilt-Wing eVTOL with INDI How to Write a Research Paper, Part II COMMENTS How to Write a Thesis Statement How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples Step 5: Develop a Preliminary Thesis Statement Step 5: Develop a Preliminary Thesis Statement Developing a Thesis Statement A thesis statement defines the core elements involved in the question around which a research project is built. With it you can shape and implement a plan of action for conducting your research. You begin by creating one or more suppositions-or hypotheses-as to what the answer to that question might be. Think of them as preliminary thesis ... Developing a Thesis Statement A thesis statement . . . Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic. Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. Is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper. Is generally located near the end ... Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements - Purdue OWL Developing a Thesis Statement Exercise A: Choose a topic, brainstorm for a few minutes, and come up with a basic list of questions. Then, write a preliminary or open thesis. Stage II: Tentative Thesis or Hypothesis. A tentative thesis or hypothesis is more specific than the preliminary or open thesis, and it is particularly important for a research paper. What is a Thesis Statement: Writing Guide with Examples A thesis statement is a sentence in a paper or essay (in the opening paragraph) that introduces the main topic to the reader. As one of the first things your reader sees, your thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your entire paper—but also one of the hardest to write! In this article, we explain how to write a thesis ... The Bedford Research Room: Drafting a Preliminary Thesis Statement Drafting a Preliminary Thesis Statement. Your research question provides the basis for creating a preliminary thesis statement about the issue you've decided to address. A preliminary thesis statement is a tentative answer to your research question. It's the important first step in the process of developing your thesis statement. For now, think ... What Is a Thesis? What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples 5.2 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement A strong thesis is specific, precise, forceful, confident, and is able to be demonstrated. A strong thesis challenges readers with a point of view that can be debated and supported with evidence. A weak thesis is simply a declaration of your topic or contains an obvious fact that cannot be argued. Developing a Tentative Thesis Developing a Tentative Thesis. The thesis statement of an essay is to your argument paper what the topic sentence is to the paragraph: a guide, a control--a single promise. It indicates the subject, the approach, and the limitations of your topic. It also suggests your position, your attitude, and a commitment to the subject. PDF Developing a Preliminary Thesis Developing a Preliminary Thesis Your thesis is the sentence that states what your essay is about. It is often placed at the very end of the introductory paragraph. It lets your reader know your writing topic and the central point you will make about that topic. Thesis: The current television rating system does little to help parents make wise Chapter 5. Putting the Pieces Together with a Thesis Statement The first thesis statement you write will be a preliminary thesis statement, or a working thesis statement. You will need it when you begin to outline your assignment as a way to organize it. ... Using the topic you selected in Self-Practice Exercise 5.3,develop a working thesis statement that states your controlling idea for the piece of ... Research Paper: A step-by-step guide: 3. Thesis Statement & Outline can be very helpful in constructing an outline for your essay; for each point you make, ask yourself whether it is relevant to the thesis. Steps you can use to create a thesis statement. 1. Start out with the main topic and focus of your essay. youth gangs + prevention and intervention programs. 2. Make a claim or argument in one sentence. 5.1: Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement The first thesis statement you write will be a preliminary thesis statement, or a working thesis statement. ... Using the topic you selected in Section 4.6 "Prewriting Strategies", develop a working thesis statement that states your controlling idea for the piece of writing you are doing. On a sheet of paper, write your working thesis ... PDF Essay Planning: How to Develop a Working Thesis Statement examine why thesis statements are crucial to a paper. For a Reader Thesis statements act as a roadmap that drive readers from one paragraph to another. Having a thesis statement gives the reader a "notice" on points that will be discussed in the paper. Moreover, having a thesis statement gives the reader a reason to continue reading. Without a The Bedford Research Room: Introduction Introduction. A thesis statement presents the main point you want to make about the issue you've addressed in your research question. Developing an effective thesis statement begins with creating a response to your research question. This response is called a preliminary thesis statement. Once you've created your preliminary thesis statement ... PDF Preliminary Outlining Preliminary Outlining A preliminary outline • is a rough list of the major ideas that will develop into a preliminary thesis statement. • will help one determine the order of note taking; that is, as one takes notes from different sources, s/he can put titles from the outline beside each note. Thesis Generator Thesis Generator How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis Proposal When starting your thesis or dissertation process, one of the first requirements is a research proposal or a prospectus. It describes what or who you want to examine, delving into why, when, where, and how you will do so, stemming from your research question and a relevant topic. The proposal or prospectus stage is crucial for the development ... 11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal 11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal PDF THE WRITING PROCESS A thesis statement usually evolves only after considerable reading, writing, and thinking has been done on your topic. You can begin the writing process of an essay with a preliminary or open thesis, move on to a tentative thesis or hypothesis, and finally arrive at your closed or final thesis. During your writing, you will become more secure ... Three Minute Thesis at Nevada This exciting graduate student competition highlights research in a fast-paced and fun way that's enjoyable for everyone in attendance. One scholar. One slide. One panel of judges. And three minutes ot give it all they've got. Thesis Gold Updated PEA for Lawyers-Ranch Project: After-Tax NPV5% of C Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 5, 2024) - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (FSE: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) is pleased to announce positive results from the updated independent Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for its 100% owned Lawyers-Ranch Project (the "Project") in the prolific Toodoggone Mining District of northern British Columbia. The updated PEA outlines a PDF Developing a Thesis Statement A final thesis statement removes the doubt inherent in a preliminary thesis and provides a solid basis for your project. The rightness of you position will be advanced and argued in your research paper. Creating a Preliminary Thesis Statement Creating a preliminary thesis is the first step. For this, you must already have a research question. Preliminary 4.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Lake County A preliminary 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck Lake County Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake, which struck at 7:30 a.m., was centered about 3.4 miles ... Preliminary 4.3 magnitude earthquake strikes in Lake County A preliminary 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Lake County in Northern California on Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake, which struck at 7:30 a.m., was ... essay homework paper phd project resume review study thesis