Structure, Sound & Sense:

Writing Projects

Research Paper

Task 3:Working thesis statement

Every research paper begins with a main point—a working thesis statement. Your job is to come up with a main point, then use the facts you turn up in your research to argue for or against it. Developing a good working thesis statement now will make your life much easier later.

A good thesis statement is:

·        Interesting to you and your audience.

·        An opinion about your topic. If your thesis statement is a fact instead of an opinion, there will be nothing to argue.

·        A complete sentence that summarizes your point.

1. Use what you learned in your preliminary research to select your main point—the position you intend to argue. Example: You have already selected a topic—the techniques used in human cloning.

From your preliminary research, you’re pretty convinced that the techniques currently available aren’t advanced enough to produce a real, living human clone. That’s your main point.
 

2. Make your topic and your main point into a complete, opinion-based sentence. This becomes your working thesis statement. Example: Put your your topic and main point together:

techniques used in human cloning/won’t produce a living human clone

Next, make it into a sentence:

The techniques used in human cloning won’t produce a real, living human clone.
 

3. Make sure your thesis sentence expresses your topic and your point accurately, and that it’s clearly based on opinion, not fact. If necessary, fine tune it. Example: The techniques currently used in human cloning are unlikely to produce a real, living human clone.
 

4. To make sure your thesis is an opinion, try to write an antithesis—a statement taking the opposite position. If you can come up with an antithesis that makes sense, you're on the right track: Example: Antithesis—The techniques currently used in human cloning will produce a real, living human clone.
 

Task 4: Research

Your next job is to make yourself an expert on your topic.

1. Begin your research by tracking down information about your topic. Look for library books, periodicals, Web sites, and any other good sources of information. Tip: If any of the books you need are already checked out, talk to your school librarian about how to proceed. You might be able to reserve the book, or even request it from or a nearby public or university library.
 

2. Read, read, read. Start with general background sources to get better handle on your subject, then move to more specific sources. Soon, you’ll begin to find bits of information that support your working thesis.

3. As you read, note any information you find that supports your thesis. These are the facts you’ll use to make your argument later. Every time you take a note, cite the reference—that is, jot down exactly where you found the information, including the title of the source, its author and publisher, the publication date and location, the type of source it is (book, newspaper article, Web page), and a page number if appropriate. You’ll need this information to compose your bibliography later. Tip: Take a few minutes now to determine what information on each source that you’ll need for your bibliography. For example, does your teacher require you to list your source’s publisher and where it was published? Knowing exactly what you need now will save you the hassle of having to go back to look up additional information later.
 

4. Read even more. Continue to gather specific information that support’s your thesis statement. Take as many notes as you need. It’s better to have too much material to choose from when writing your paper than to have too little.

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