Integrative Seminars, Dawson College Slides on Thesis Statement and Outline

1. Thesis Statement
Integrative Seminar

2. Thesis
• A condense presentation of your position on a topic
and your reasons – which will be discussed through
the paper.
• Purpose:
– Helps you organize your paper.
– Helps the reader understand the main points better.
– Helps you test your arguments.
• Thesis-support structure.
• Thesis vs. hypothesis. 2

3. Conditions
• Persuasive/controversial.
• Defendable by evidence.
– “mainly,” “primarily,” “for the most part”…
• Not just a personal opinion.
– Avoid “I think,” “in my opinion”…
• Argumentative, not merely descriptive.
– The “why” and/or the “how.”
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4. Conditions
• Not an open-ended question.
– Take a stand
– Do not state to conflicting ideas.
• Not too broad.
– Only address the points that you will discuss.
• Predict major divisions in the structure of the paper.
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5. Tips
• Ask the five journalistic questions about
your topic.
– Who, what, when, where, why.
• Is there published literature on your
topic?
• Three-part structure.
• Do not use “I”
– Avoid: “In this essay I will prove…”
– “The purpose of this paper is to …”
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6. Examples
• The dissatisfaction of home and office users with
Windows Vista was a main contributor to the success
of Apple in selling its Macintosh in 2006-2007.
• The recent financial crisis led the Canadians to favour
the Conservatives over the Green Party, because
people are more concerned with financial stability
than environmental conservation.
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7. Examples
• The ability to purchase television advertising is
essential for any candidate's bid for election to the
Senate because television reaches millions of people
and thus has the ability to dramatically increase
name recognition.
• The rapid economic growth of China in the recent
years cannot be sustained with their current form of
government and their lack of reliable property rights.
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8. Examples
What is the problem of the following thesis
statement:
• The lifestyle of a teenager in the Middle Ages was
very different from the lifestyle of most modern
American teenagers.
– So what?
– Why/how…
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9. Examples
• Since politicians are constantly
bombarding each other, how do they
expect anyone to know who is right and
who is wrong?
– Research question.
• Unless people are conscious of
pollution, the world will be destroyed by
the year 2050.
– Too broad for one paper.
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10. Examples
• In this essay I will try to prove that drugs such as
Prozac and Paxil are unnecessary and probably
dangerous.
– What is your reason for this?
Improved version:
• Because of the inconclusive evidence for the
usefulness of drugs such as Prozac or Paxil to treat
depression, their widespread usage should be more
carefully scrutinized.
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11. Examples
• Cigarette smoking wreaks havoc on the body.
– Vague.
– Direction, structure, arguments.
Improved version:
• Cigarette smoking harms the body be constricting the
blood vessels, accelerating the heartbeat, and
activating excessive gastric secretions in the stomach.
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12. The Outline
Integrative Seminar

13. Outline
• An ordered list of the topics covered
in the paper.
I. Main idea
A. Sub-idea
B. Sub-idea
1. Division of sub-idea
2. Division of sub-idea
a. Minor idea
b. Minor idea
II. Main idea
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14. Structure and Tips
• Minor ideas: examples/details.
• Divide your subject into 3 or 4 levels.
• All capital-letter entries must be equivalent in
importance, and so on.
• Same wording:
– Full sentence vs. shorthand
– “To…”
– “For…”
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15. Types of Outlines
1. Topic outline: entries are worded as phrases.
– Headings/subheadings.
– Good when the subject is simple and the points are
easy to detect.
2. Sentence outline: entries show up as complete
sentences.
– Suitable for complex subjects.
3. Paragraph outline: each entry as a complete
paragraph.
– Condensed version of the paper. 15