Guidelines for Presentation of Papers

Layout, Writing, The Literary EssayFormulating a ThesisHow to Quote Poetry CorrectlyHow to Write a Comparison/Contrast PaperHow to Cite Electronic SourcesThe Importance of ProofreadingAbbreviations on your Returned Papers. . .and if you'd like some help with your punctuation. . .

For a good general guide to college writing, you might also consultAdvice on Academic Writing from the University of Toronto

THE PRESENTATION OF PAPERS

Ideally, all students would take Composition I and Composition II in their freshman years. Since this is not the case, and since Bloomsburg does not have a strong prerequisite system to ensure that students take courses in some logical order, I have provided a brief summary of the conventions of writing a college-level essay, based (stylistically) on the MLA Handbook. These conventions will stand you in good stead in most departments, but of course every discipline has peculiarities and conventions of its own. I offer these as guidelines for papers written for my own courses. Ignore them at your peril.

LAYOUT AND PRESENTATION:

I am not a word-counter. On the other hand, I expect about the number of words assigned (give or take a few). Because each paper contains a different number of words per page, word-count takes precedence over page-count. If I suspect that a paper is significantly shorter than I have assigned, I will estimate the number of words and, if necessary, adjust the grade accordingly. (Hint: count the number of words on a full page and multiply. If you change printers or fonts, repeat the process.) N.B.: the word count is intended as a minimum. I will be happy to read longer papers.

Every paper should be either stapled (preferable) or paper-clipped together. (No plastic or other covers please.) NO LOOSE PAGES, PLEASE.

Every paper should have a title page, with a title. Your title should not be underlined or enclosed in quotation marks, nor should it appear on the page following the title page.

Number your pages, except the first (If you cannot teach your computer to do it, you may do it in ink.)

I will not accept hand-written papers.

I will not accept right-justified papers. If you cannot turn off the right justification on your computer, type your paper.

All papers produced on computers should be printed using letter quality and dark, readable ribbons (if you do not know what letter quality means, find out).

Leave ample (not excessive) margins at the bottom and sides of your text for my commentary; leave an extra large (empty) margin at the top of the first page of text.

In any quotation, you are free to adjust the capitalization of the first word and/or the final punctuation to suit your prose (e.g., do not end a quotation with a semicolon or comma if it makes no sense in the context in which you are using it. You may omit it or replace it with a period or comma). Always space once before opening parentheses.

Underline foreign words (that includes Middle English [not in quotations] and Latin).

Final punctuation (period) ALWAYS goes inside (i.e., to the left of) final quotation marks (and so do commas); semicolons and colons go outside. Footnote numbers go after all punctuation.

Type a dash with two hyphens and no spaces--like this. Type a hyphen with a hyphen: two-edged sword.

If a quotation contains a word or words in quotation marks, change them from double to single: "the 'wiggle' factor."

Do not use your conclusion to summarize your argument. If your reader cannot remember the argument of your paper by the time he or she comes to the end of it, something is wrong with the way you have constructed it.

A paragraph always consists of at least three sentences (aim for 100-word minimum). On the other hand, paragraphs of longer than a page are silly; aim for paragraphs between one-third and two-thirds of a page in length (assuming 250-300 words per page).

For matters beyond those dealt with here, please use MLA style, but you may single space blocked quotations. If you do not know what MLA style is, ask.

WRITING:

A paper without a thesis is not acceptable (see the page on formulating theses). If you have trouble finding a thesis, see me.

Do not use first person (I, we, us) or second person (you) and avoid the use of one as much as possible (one must...). Do not use contractions (note that it's is a contraction and means "it is"). Avoid such informal terms and phrases as kids/guys/a lot/great (as in "a great guy"). Avoid the passive. (If you do not know what it is, ask.)

"Quote" (noun) is a shortened form of the word "quotation"; use "quotation." Look up the word "unique"; if you use it, use it correctly. "Whereas" is one word. Avoid "due to"; try "because of" instead. Look up "downfall"; use it in the singular only. Eliminate the word "aspect" from your writing vocabulary.

Not a person that, but a person who (a dog that; a wheelbarrow or house that); a student who; an hero who; a singer who.

People/characters seldom "state" things; they "say" or "declare" or "claim" or "repeat" or "beg" or "assert," etc., etc. See?

Do not capitalize words like "king" unless they are part of a name: ...King John... BUT The king was not a noble man.

THE LITERARY ESSAY:

Do not retell the story. I've read it. (You may provide immediate context for your analysis, however.)

Underline the titles of book-length works (novels, plays, very long poems, etc.); place titles of shorter works (short poems, essays, etc.) between quotation marks.

Discuss literature as if it were happening now, in the present tense, not in the past tense--and be consistent.

Unless you have some compelling reason to do otherwise (and you state it in your paper), quote from the text used in class--and, by the way, don't even attempt to write a literary essay without using plenty of quotations from the work you are discussing. That means that you can not write an essay from memory; you must go back and do some re-reading to write an effective essay.

ALWAYS identify poetry by (canto or book and) line number; if you wish to include the page number as well, that is fine with me (it helps me find the passage more quickly).

If you use references in your text (e.g., Sir Gawain, ll. 42-43, p. 123 OR Spenser, Bk. 4, l. 97 OR Spenser, 4.97), be sure to place the final punctuation after the reference--otherwise it "floats" between sentences instead of identifying the quotation that precedes it. For example

Spenser writes about "a gentle knight" (FQ, I.1).

(The exception to this rule is a ! or ?, which must follow the quotation immediately--supplemented by a period after the reference.)

MORE EXAMPLES:

"A man who is injured ought to protest" (Yvain, p. 9). "Welcome to the king!" (Yvain, p. 40).

N.B. You must identify all your sources.

Provide a separate Works Cited page--always. Be sure to cite the author and work, and not simply the title or editor of an anthology. Be sure to distinguish between author (e.g., Chaucer), editor (e.g., Grene & Lattimore), and translator (e.g., Wyckoff), where appropriate.

Pay careful attention to the How to Quote Poetry page.

Corrections in ink on your final draft are perfectly acceptable.

Do not depend on your spelling checker:

PROOFREAD. . .PROOFREAD. . .PROOFREAD. . .PROOFREAD

PROOFREAD

PROOFREAD

PROOFREAD

No unproofread paper is worth more than a

C. FORMULATING A THESIS

A topic is not a thesis. I assign a topic; you develop a thesis from it. The topic is designed to be general, to allow each student to develop his or her own ideas and understanding of the text into his or her own point of view on the topic (but you must support it with evidence from the poem). One way to know if you have a strong thesis is to ask yourself, "Could anyone disagree?" If not (or if the disagreement could only be slight or weak), you probably have little or no thesis.

You will realize from this that a paper about a literary work (whether it contains research or not) is very different from a report. A report might be about the way women were treated in ancient Greece. It would contain a lot of information, but it would have no point--except, of course, to summarize other people's work on women in ancient Greece. Reports are uncreative. They do not tax your brain--only your ability to shuffle paper and present information correctly. They are a pain to do but not very useful for gauging a student's insight into a subject or work of literature.

For example:

topic: Telemachus as a hero (or simply: Telemachus)

report: (You tell me all about Telemachus. In other words, you retell the story--as if I hadn't already read it.) possible theses:

1. Telemachus is a Greek hero in the making. [obvious, and therefore weak! Would/could anyone disagree?]

2. Homer presents Telemachus as a nearly perfect, young Greek hero, but he also shows us a very human young man. [show us both and contrast them]

3. The two conflicting forces in Telemachus, his new maturity warring with his immaturity, force the reader to evaluate Homer's idea of what constitues a true hero. [the paper will explain and demonstrate this]

4. Although Telemachus is presented as a young hero in the making, Homer makes it clear that he will never be as great a hero as his father. [because he has no Trojan war to fight? a time of peace is promised? he will always live in his father's shadow? the age of heroes is past? You decide on the evidence and present it (you may disagree with this altogether--I think I do)] etc., etc., etc.

A thesis (stated in a complete sentence, or possibly two) is what your paper is really about. In other words, there are as many theses to be constructed on the basis of any subject as there are students to construct them. Some will be stronger than others (some of my suggestions for theses probably seem contradictory). You may agree or disagree with any of them, but a thesis must contain an idea/position/attitude that is yours. That is the point.

N.B.: A thesis cannot be either a question or a fact.

Consider the following weak theses:

For the most part, bravery is one of the key roles that Beowulf and Sir Gawain play. (Is bravery a role? Who would disagree?)

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there are many similarities between the hunting scenes and the bedroom scenes. (Who would disagree? What is the point or idea behind this paper? What takes it beyond simple description? See How to write a comparison paper.)

The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain are similar because both are brave heroes, but they are distinctly different because they were socialized into two different time periods and cultures. They exemplify the qualities found in their respective time periods. (I do not mind that this thesis is stated in two sentences. The first, however, is hardly debatable, and the second seems to be true almost by definition.)

Without imagery the story would be dull and boring. Imagery is what takes you to places when you read. (Way too general--and unprovable.)

Sir Gawain is a brave and honorable knight who throughout the poem is always trying to live up to his reputation as the greatest knight of the Round Table and as nephew of the great King Arthur. (Could you disagree?)

Gawain's culture believed in a guilt system where he can confess his sins and be completely absolved of them; on the other hand, in Beowulf's honor-based system, once someone loses his honor he can never regain it. (A fact, so nothing to discuss.)

It seems quite clear that the poet intended Sir Gawain to be a shining example of what a medieval knight should be. (If it is that clear, why write a paper about it? How could anyone disagree?)

(N.B.: A thesis may never begin "The purpose of this paper is . . ." or "In this paper I intend to . . .")

It is entirely cricket to decide on or to change your thesis after you have written a draft of your paper. If you have problems composing a thesis, see me. (Once again, a paper without a thesis is a report. Reports are often required in high school, but rarely in college.)

NOTE: A thesis generally (in 99% of papers) belongs at the end of your introduction, and each and every paragraph in your paper should carry out the idea in your thesis.

A word to the wise: the narrower (more specific, more focussed) your thesis is, the more likely it is that you will write a good, sound, meaningful paper. Choosing the largest possible subject = writing the most superficial essay. If your thesis does not force you to get into the poem up to your armpits, i.e., force you to quote specific passages and explain them, you are in trouble.

And another: if you find yourself retelling the story in your essay, something is wrong with your thesis--or you are not sticking to it. If you find yourself stuck in the storytelling mode, try reorganizing your paper so that you do not deal with your ideas in the order the story goes. By forcing yourself to begin with something that happens in the middle and then taking examples from the early part of the work, you will break up the "pull" the story has on you.

The writing center is open long hours to help anyone with preparing papers. They will help in initial organization and conceptualization, in organizing your ideas, in formulating an introduction or thesis, in reading drafts, in trouble-shooting already-written papers. Just walk in (Bakeless 206, run by Dr. Riley).

If you have questions about anything on this page, ASK.

HOW TO QUOTE POETRY CORRECTLY Please remember that quotations have to make sense grammatically. Do not quote a piece of a sentence unless that piece can stand by itself. If it can not, add in whatever bits will make it make sense (at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end). Anything inserted into a quotation must be surrounded by square brackets [ ], not parentheses ( ).

The idea in laying out poetry (or verse) in your paper is to make clear to your reader (1) that it is poetry and (2) the way it looks on the page in the original text. For these reasons, you must either block the poetry (i.e., indent each line so that it appears as a block in the middle of the page) or separate lines of poetry run into your own prose with space-slash-space (a slash is properly called a virgule), so the reader knows where line ends occur. If you block a quotation, present it EXACTLY as it appears in the original, beginning each line where the author does.

In fact a blocked quotation should look like a photograph of the original passage in the book.

As in all quotations,a) quote accurately (every comma, every capital, every letter);b) you are free to adjust the capitalization of the first word and/or the final punctuation to fit your sentence:

O venture bright!

can become:

When de la Cruz refers to his adventure as "o venture bright," he expects us to think of the Virgin Mary.

[Here the first letter is no longer capitalized and the final exclamation mark has been replaced by a comma.]

I have single-spaced the examples that follow. In your paper, you will double (or single-and-a-half) space your prose but you may single space blocked quotations.

EXAMPLES:

(1) The passage as it appears in the book:

I hate and love. And if you ask me why, I have no answer, but I discern, can feel, my senses rooted in eternal torture. (Catullus, Lyric 85, p. 492)Your quotation of it:

Catullus, a poet of emotion, admits that his love is not rational:

I hate and love. And if you ask me why,

I have no answer. . . . (Lyric 85, ll. 1-3, p. 492)

He is more interested in the life of the "senses" (l. 4) than in the life of rational action. He is also interested in involving the reader in his experience--"and if you ask me why . . . " (l. 2)--in order to prevent him or her from remaining emotionally distant from his "hate and love."

[INDENTED (blocked) and laid out exactly as in the book.][ll. for lines (l. for line if you are quoting only one).][page number follows line number.] Block any quotations of more than 3-4 lines or any lines you want especially to highlight.

(2) The passage as it appears in the book:

When I perhaps compounded am with clay, Do not so much as my poor name rehearse; But let your love even with my life decay: Lest the wise world should look into your moan, And mock you with me after I am gone. (Shakespeare, "Sonnet LXXI," ll. 10-14)

Your quotation of it:

Shakespeare's speaker refuses to lay claim to his love after he has departed from the world. He pleads with her: "let your love even with my life decay: / Lest the wise world should . . . / . . . mock you with me after I am gone" (ll. 12-14).

Notice that the lines of poetry are separated by space-slash-space when the quotation is run into your own prose [and ONLY WHEN QUOTATION IS NOT BLOCKED, i.e., indented., SEE?] and that the capitalization of the first word of each line (e.g., Lest) is maintained. An elipsis (. . .) is made up of three (and only three) spaced dots (that are NEVER split between two lines). A fourth dot is added if a period is called for.Notice, too, the position of the final period, which comes after the identification of the quotation (i.e., at the end of the sentence).

(3) The passage as it appears in the book:

In the middle of the journey of our life I came to my senses in a dark forest, for I had lost the straight path.

Oh, how hard it is to tell what a dense, wild, and tangled wood this was, the thought of which renews my fear! (Dante, Inferno, Canto 1, lines 1-6)Your quotation of it:

In middle age, Dante the narrator finds himself "in a dark forest / for [he] had lost the straight path" of virtue (Dante, 1.2-3). He exclaims at the

complexity of a life filled with sin, in direct contrast to the orderly world of virtue he will discover in the Paradiso:

Oh, how hard it is to tell what a dense, wild, and tangled wood this was . . . ! (Dante, 1.4-5)

The life of sin is "dense" because the sinner cannot see clearly, "wild" because he is undisciplined, and "tangled" because sin makes the right way appear complicated. Taken together, according to Dante, "how they renew [his] fear! (l. 5).

[Notice the placement of the exclamation mark after the elipsis.][No space between book and line number (unless you write Canto 1, lines 4-5).][If you replace or add a word to make grammatical sense of a quotation, you must place it in square brackets.][Notice the placement of the exclamation mark before the reference as well as the period after the reference.]

Finally, what is poetry? You should be able to tell by the way the lines are laid out on the page. If the right margin is not straight, you probably have poetry on your hands. In early literature, epics are written in verse (poetry), and so are plays. Anything might be written in verse. Look at the page.

If all this is not crystal clear, ASK.

HOW TO WRITE A COMPARISON/CONTRAST PAPER

Every student should be able to write an effective comparison (exam, paper, or report). The chief weakness of most comparisons originates in the tendency of students to deal with the things they are comparing one after the other. Integrating the two, using ideas as the organizational backbone, makes a better paper.

The second most common weakness is lack of a real thesis. "These two things are different in a number of ways" does not make a thesis (at least not for my classes) because such a paper has no point; it is merely an exercise. If there is no reason to compare or contrast two things (people, ideas, settings), don't bother doing it.

For example, you are asked to compare Antigone with her mother Jocasta. Your first impulse is to tell us about (describe, recount the story of) Jocasta, then to tell us about Antigone, then maybe tell us a little about both. Your paper breaks in two (all about Jocasta + all about Antigone), and you inevitably spend far too much time re-telling the story. A much stronger way to organize your paper (exam, or whatever) would be to ask yourself first in what ways they (the people, ideas, objects you are comparing) are alike and different. In this case, you might come up with a list that looks something like this:

Similarities

BOTH:are womenare strongtry to do goodgive up a great deallove strongly, but love ends unhappilydie by the same means--suicide by hanging

Differences

JOCASTA:

Early life happyNo way of knowing her end fateDies thinking of herself

ANTIGONE:

Life never happyInvites her deathDies thinking of others

(You may not agree with all of these.) Now, your job is to decide which are important and which are not, which can be combined and treated together, which should be eliminated. You must also decide whether you are going to deal mostly or entirely with similarities (comparison), with differences (contrast), or with both (comparison-contrast). (Note that the word "comparison" is often used to mean "comparison and contrast." Be sure you know which is being asked of you.)

You are ready now to write your paper. Its skeleton might look something like this:

Thesis: Although Antigone is much like her mother, her character is essentially different from that of her mother because of her early life experiences.

1st Main Point: They appear to be similar because both are strong women who are driven to commit suicide by hanging.

2nd Main Point: Life shaped their characters very differently: Jocasta knew only happiness and success until her husband was slain (and Oedipus took his place rather quickly), whereas Antigone's early life was one of displacement and rejection.

3rd Main Point: Therefore, the way they each face death is very different. Jocasta simply cannot face the awful truth, whereas Antigone has faced the truth and goes to her death with a clear conscience, thinking of her family and loved one (Haemon).

In this paper, description serves ideas, you avoid too much storytelling, comparison is going on throughout the paper, and your paper has real substance.

If you want to emphasize similarities, you might begin with a difference (always put your weakest or opposing ideas first, so that you can leave your reader with your strongest idea in the end) and then write about similarities. If you want to write only, say, about differences, you might mention some obvious similarities only briefly in you introduction, to set off the main interest of your paper.

Remember, always organize a comparison (comparison-contrast) paper, answer, or report around ideas that link or differentiate rather than around the two people, concepts, characters, objects, etc., that you are being asked to compare.

Your essay must have a point!

If you have questions, ask.

Why?Because the form in which you submit your paper says something about how much you respect your teacher as well as how much you respect yourself. If you turned in a sloppily presented piece of work, you are saying (or the teacher is hearing), "I don't care about it/you/myself. It doesn't matter much to me." It should come as no surprise that you cannot be rewarded for that level of work or that attitude. It takes no more than a few minutes to make sure that the quality of the presentation of your work matches the quality of the work that went into it.

If you would like a more practical, less theoretical, reason, consider this: if you do not take care in presenting your prose (resume, letters, reports, etc.), you will not

--get the job you apply for, --get treated as well by your boss as you think you deserve, --get the response you want from your professional colleagues, or --get the promotion you expect.

You may not even keep your job.

Abbreviations you will find on the papers returned to you

It is very important that you look over the papers returned to you carefully and, if you don't understand any of my markings, that you stop in to see me so we can go over your work together (that is, if you would like a better grade on your next paper). These are the commonest markings I use:

wc = word choiceEither you do not know the exact meaning of the word or it has the wrong connotations for the sentence in which you use it.

sp = spelling (of course) awk = awkward

It is not always easy to indicate briefly why a phrase is awkward. If you cannot see it for yourself, ask.

frag = sentence fragmentMost fragments have "fallen off" the sentence that precedes. If you don't see how to solve the problem, ask.

You will also find a number of underlinings. You should look at these phrases/passages carefully. My assumption is that you should be able to see the problem with a little thought, but if that is not the case, ask.

I often circle incorrect punctuation. It is up to you to figure out what punctuation mark would be correct. (If you can't, you know what to do.) I also circle thin air on occasion. There ought to be some mark of punctuation in that empty spot.

I try to control my prejudices at all times, but I admit to having trouble dealing with writers who do not believe in apostrophes or who insist on using "it's" in papers they submit to me. A word to the wise is sufficient.

And please read the guidelines again before you turn in your next paper. Thank you.

Some General Advice on Academic Essay-Writing

1. Miscellaneous observations on a topic are not enough to make an accomplished academic essay. An essay should have an argument. It should answer a question or a few related questions (see 2 below). It should try to prove something--develop a single "thesis" or a short set of closely related points--by reasoning and evidence, especially including apt examples and confirming citations from any particular text or sources your argument involves. Gathering such evidence normally entails some rereading of the text or sources with a question or provisional thesis in mind.  

2. When--as is usually the case--an assigned topic does not provide you with a thesis ready-made, your first effort should be to formulate as exactly as possible the question(s) you will seek to answer in your essay. Next, develop by thinking, reading, and jotting a provisional thesis or hypothesis. Don't become prematurely committed to this first answer. Pursue it, but test it--even to the point of consciously asking yourself what might be said against it--and be ready to revise or qualify it as your work

progresses. (Sometimes a suggestive possible title one discovers early can serve in the same way.)  

3. There are many ways in which any particular argument may be well presented, but an essay's organization--how it begins, develops, and ends--should be designed to present your argument clearly and persuasively. (The order in which you discovered the parts of your argument is seldom an effective order for presenting it to a reader.)  

4. Successful methods of composing an essay are various, but some practices of good writers are almost invariable:  

o They start writing early, even before they think they are "ready" to write, because they use writing not simply to transcribe what they have already discovered but as a means of exploration and discovery.

o They don't try to write an essay from beginning to end, but rather write what seems readiest to be written, even if they're not sure whether or how it will fit in.

o Despite writing so freely, they keep the essay's overall purpose and organization in mind, amending them as drafting proceeds. Something like an "outline" constantly and consciously evolves, although it may never take any written form beyond scattered, sketchy reminders to oneself.

o They revise extensively. Rather than writing a single draft and then merely editing its sentences one by one, they attend to the whole essay and draft and redraft--rearranging the sequence of its larger parts, adding and deleting sections to take account of what they discover in the course of composition. Such revision often involves putting the essay aside for a few days, allowing the mind to work indirectly or subconsciously in the meantime and making it possible to see the work-in-progress more objectively when they return to it.

o Once they have a fairly complete and well-organized draft, they revise sentences, with special attention to transitions--that is, checking to be sure that a reader will be able to follow the sequences of ideas within sentences, from sentence to sentence, and from paragraph to paragraph. Two other important considerations in revising sentences are diction (exactness and aptness of words) and economy (the fewest words without loss of clear expression and full thought). Lastly, they proofread the final copy.

Written by Prof. C. A. Silber, Department of English, University of Toronto

. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.

 

Visit these links for help on specific stages of the essay-writing process:  

Understanding the Topic Using Thesis Statements Providing Evidence (University of Victoria) Taking Notes from Research Reading Searching for Ideas (Purdue University) Overcoming Writer's Block (Purdue University) Organizing the Essay (University of Victoria) Preparing an Outline (University of Victoria) Revising the Essay (University of Victoria) Improving Sentence Construction (University of Ottawa) Improving Transitions (Purdue University) Eliminating Wordiness

Proofreading

Understanding Essay Topics: A Checklist

Before you plunge into research or writing, think through the specific topic you are dealing with. Remember, you are not being asked just to collect facts, but to develop and display your powers of reasoning. You can save yourself time and frustration by beginning this reasoning early in the process. Here are some steps:

1. Note the key terms, including those naming parts of the topic and those giving directions for dealing with it. Look especially for words that define the kind of reasoning you should be using: why, how, analyse, compare, evaluate, argue, etc. Be sure you understand the specific meanings of these terms.

o Analyse means look behind the surface structure of your source material. See the relationship of parts to whole. Be able to recognize relationships such as cause and effect, even if it's unstated in what you read. Look for underlying assumptions and question their validity. How and why imply an answer reached by analysis.

o Compare means find differences as well as similarities. You will need to formulate the aspects which you are looking at in each item; consider organizing your paper by using these aspects as headings.

o Evaluate stresses applying your judgement to the results of your analysis. It asks for an opinion based on well-defined criteria and clearly stated evidence. Wording such as to what extent also asks for an evaluation of an idea.

o Argue (or agree or disagree) likewise asks you to take a stand based on analysis of solid evidence and explained by clear reasoning. You will need to consider other possible viewpoints and defend your own in comparison.

Note which concepts or methods the topic asks you to use. Are you to argue a point with others, or to explore your own responses? Does the topic ask you to go into depth about some material already covered? Or does it suggest that you evaluate a theory or model by applying it to an example from outside the course material? Whatever the design, an essay assignment expects you to use course concepts and ways of thinking; it encourages you to break new ground for yourself in applying course methodology.

To generate ideas from which you can choose the direction of your research or preliminary analysis, ask yourself questions about the specific topic in terms of the concepts or methods that seem applicable. Looking for controversies in the material will also help you find things worth discussing. You may want to look at some general articles in reference works such as encyclopaedias to see how others have framed questions or seen problems to discuss. (For further advice on methods of generating ideas, see Purdue's file on Invention.)

For an essay of argument, formulate a tentative thesis statement at a fairly early stage--that is, a statement of your own likely position in the controversy that most interests you, or your preliminary answer to an important interpretive question. You do not have to stick to this answer or statement, but it will help focus your investigation. (See Using Thesis Statements for advice on how and when to centre your papers on thesis statements.)

Now you will have some sense of direction--even if you eventually choose another path than the one you have mapped. You are ready to begin gathering and analysing your specific

material (see Taking Notes from Research Reading).  Using Thesis Statements

When you are asked to write an essay that creates an argument, your reader will probably expect a clear statement of your position. Typically, this summary statement comes in the first paragraph of the essay, though there is no rigid rule about position. Here are some characteristics of good thesis statements, with samples of good and poor ones. Note that the better examples substitute specific argumentative points for sweeping general statements; they indicate a theoretical basis and promise substantial support. (See Some Myths About Thesis Statements, below, for a discussion of times not to use a thesis statement. See also the file General Advice on Essay Writing. )

1. It makes a definite and limited assertion that needs to be explained and supported by further discussion:

trite, irrelevant Shakespeare was the world's greatest playwright.intriguing The success of the last scene in Midsummer Night's

Dream comes from subtle linguistic and theatrical references to Elizabeth's position as queen.

2. It shows the emphasis and indicates the methodology of your argument:

emotional, vague This essay will show that the North American Free Trade agreement was a disaster for the Canadian furniture industry.

worth attention Neither neo-protectionism nor post-industrial theory explains the steep reversal of fortune for the Canadian furniture industry in the period 1988-1994. Data on productivity, profits, and employment, however, can be closely correlated with provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement that took effect in the same period.

3. It shows awareness of difficulties and disagreements:

sweeping, vague Having an official policy on euthanasia just causes problems, as the Dutch example shows.

suitably complex Dutch laws on euthanasia have been rightly praised for their attention to the principles of self-determination. Recent cases, however, show that they have not been able to deal adequately with issues

involving technological intervention of unconscious patients. Hamarckian strategies can solve at least the question of assignation of rights.

Some Myths about Thesis Statements

Every paper requires one. Assignments that ask you to write personal responses or to explore a subject don't want you to seem to pre-judge the issues. Essays of literary interpretation often want you to be aware of many effects rather than seeming to box yourself into one view of the text.

A thesis statement must come at the end of the first paragraph. This is a natural position for a statement of focus, but it's not the only one. Some theses can be stated in the opening sentences of an essay; others need a paragraph or two of introduction; others can't be fully formulated until the end.

A thesis statement must be one sentence in length, no matter how many clauses it contains. Clear writing is more important than rules like these. Use two or three sentences if you need them. A complex argument may require a whole tightly-knit paragraph to make its initial statement of position.

You can't start writing an essay until you have a perfect thesis statement. It may be advisable to draft a hypothesis or tentative thesis statement near the start of a big project, but changing and refining a thesis is a main task of thinking your way through your ideas as you write a paper. And some essay projects need to explore the question in depth without being locked in before they can provide even a tentative answer.

A thesis statement must give three points of support. It should indicate that the essay will explain and give evidence for its assertion, but points don't need to come in any specific number.

Written by Dr. Margaret Procter, Coordinator, Writing Support, University of Toronto. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.