Thesis and Observation Writing 101 - Prosser Career Academy



Thesis and Observation Writing 101

Whether you are writing a five-paragraph essay or an OEA paragraph, the steps you take to develop a good thesis or observation are the same.

1. Topic

Think of a topic that you would like to investigate. This topic should be able to fit on a bumper sticker, but it should not be the text’s theme (i.e. that love hurts, or that truth is best). Here are some examples:

* Role of women

* Symbols

* Allusions

* Character development

* Exposition

* Rising Action

* Resolution

* Doubles/foils/pairs

* Diction

* Tone

* Secondary characters

* Role of children

* Imagery

* Structure

* Time

* Setting

* Point of view

* Foreshadowing

2. Question

Turn this topic into an open-ended question by placing “How” or “What” or “Why” in front of it. You may also include the author’s name in this question. For example, if my topic is the color white and the text I am writing about is Native Son, my question would be:

* How does Richard Wright use the color white in Native Son?

--or--

* What is the significance of the color white in Native Son?

--or--

* Why does Richard Wright use the color white in Native Son?

3. Gather Evidence

Look back through your notes and the text to gather all quotations that relate to your topic. In my example, I would gather all quotations that refer to the color white. You might find that your topic is too broad (too much evidence) or too narrow (not enough evidence). Feel free to adjust/change your topic. If you completely change your topic, begin again at #1.

4. Come to a Conclusion—your Thesis!

Analyze your evidence and answer your question (come to a conclusion) about the topic.

After looking at all of the evidence gathered based on the following questions: How does Richard Wright use the color white in Native Son? / What is the significance?

I came to this conclusion:

* In Native Son, Richard Wright uses the color white, in the form of the white cat and Mrs. Dalton’s white clothes, to convey the racism that Bigger Thomas feels.

Although you ignored the text’s theme when choosing a topic, an overarching theme will often be present in the conclusion you reach after you examine the evidence simply because most authors make choices about their writing based on their purpose--to convey a message (form follows function). Here, Wright’s purpose in writing Native Son is “to convey the racism that Bigger Thomas feels.” Your conclusion is your thesis or observation statement, and it should include the topic that you focused on and the effect or significance of that topic.

5. Begin Writing

You should now be ready to write persuasive paper. Comb back through the evidence you compiled and decide which quotations will help you best prove your thesis. Organize your paper or paragraph, and begin writing.

Road Bumps

Beware of uncooked thesis statements. Your paper will be weak if you don’t fully answer the question and address the effect or significance of your topic. Here are some uncooked thesis statements that could have resulted from the example above:

1. In Native Son, Richard Wright uses the color white in the form of the white cat and Mrs. Dalton’s white clothes. (This doesn’t tell us how or why he used the color.)

2. In Native Son, Richard Wright uses the color white to convey racism. (This doesn’t tell us how he uses the color white, and based on the evidence, it is too vague and broad.)

3. In Native Son, Richard Wright conveys the racism that Bigger Thomas feels. (This doesn’t tell us how Wright conveys the racism.)

Concluding Thoughts:

Your thesis or observation is really a conclusion that you come to after:

1. Reading a Text (Understanding)

2. Picking out a Topic (Evaluating)

3. Asking Questions (Questioning)

4. Gathering Evidence (Investigating)

5. Examining Evidence / Answering your question (Analyzing/Synthesizing)

Therefore, your thesis (or observation) is really a CONCLUSION you come to about a text!!!

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