Thesis Statement Writing

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Thesis Statement Writing

• Creating Rhetorical Tension

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• According to Allyn and Bacon (2006), thesis
  writing is somewhat like an equation
• Whereas most people believe X, this paper
  asserts Y (p. 36).
• X is a public claim.
• Y is your position to the public claim/s.

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Example

• X
• In Red Passion and Patience in the Desert, Terry
  Tempest Williams (2005) claims that the language
  of desire, red, is equal to passion, destruction,
  and transformation.
• This is Williams rhetorical claim.

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Example cont.

• Y
• While I agree that the language of desire is
  transformative, Williams is writing from a
  feminist perspective that does not take into
  account . . . Point A, Point B and Point C.
• In my paper, I will talk about Williams view so
  that the reader understands it, then contrast it
  with my own view (or set of assertions).

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My Thesis Example . . .

• Although Terry Tempest Williams writes of the
  transformative power of red, or in other words,
  the transformative power of language through
  desire, her account of transformation follows a
  feminist lens that does not take into account .
  Point A, Point B, or Point C. In this paper, I
  will argue . . .

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A Surprise Thesis with Tension

• A good thesis always has an element of surprise
  and tension (Allyn Bacon, 2006).
• For Allyn and Bacon (2006), tension is a
  sensation a reader tangibly feels a pull away
  from familiar ideas into opposing ones.

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• Tension allows choice.
• It is an ideological space.
• Your goal in rhetoric is to create this tension
  for your readers.

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To create tension, use the words

• ALTHOUGH
• WHEREAS
• DESPITE

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The Equation

• Although X, I will argue Y.
• Whereas some people believe A, B, and/or C, I
  will argue A, B, and/or Y and Z.
• Despite the fact that X is rarely questioned in
  society, in this paper, I will assert X, Y and Z.
  

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Example 1

• Example 1
• Within transcendentalism, Emerson and Poe
  differed markedly in their views.

• Example 2
• Although Emersonian Transcendentalism served as a
  general spirituality that surpassed Calvinist
  principles, the work of Poe represented a darker
  side of transcendentalism that changed the way we
  think of death through Calvinistic terms.

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Example 2

• Example 1
• Emily Dickinson is noted for shaping a unique
  poetic tradition within American Romanticism.

• Example 2
• Whereas Emily Dickinson is generally considered a
  Romantic poet, her views of death are
  underrepresented in shaping the darker side of
  American Transcendentalism.

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Example 3

• Example 1
• The river in Huck Finns journey toward selfhood
  is symbolic of freedom from the society that
  intended to sivilize (Twain, 1988, p.1) him.

• Example 2
• Despite the freedom that Huck Finn and Jim find
  on the river, the Mississippi also symbolizes the
  danger Huck and Jim face in forging a morality of
  freedom apart from the values of an American
  society based on the wealth and degradation of
  slavery.

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Assignment

• As a group (based on your Romanticism/Transcendent
  alism Projects), write three thesis examples
  (based on your group focus).
• Prepare to select one as a whiteboard discussion
  example with the class.