Dr. Matt Kuefler

2. DEVELOPING IDEAS INTO POINTS

How should points about the thesis be developed?

Once you have developed a thesis (see Writing Tip #1), you are ready to develop the main points in your essay. List all of the reasons why you feel that your thesis is true, at least four or five reasons. Make sure that these are real reasons, and not merely examples from the source or sources.

Example:

Suppose that your thesis statement is: Joan of Arc was rightfully condemned as a heretic, according to the standards of her day.

You now need to come up with reasons for this statement. Such reasons could be:

* Joan refused to obey the Christian authorities

* Joan claimed that she heard heavenly voices

* Joan thought that she had the right to challenge traditional gender roles

* Joan herself admitted that she was a heretic when she recanted

* Joan wore men's clothing

Note that most of these reasons support the view that Joan of Arc was a heretic, but a few of them need some revision. For example, the fact that "Joan claimed that she heard heavenly voices" is not in itself a sign of heresy, since many Christian saints also claimed to hear such voices. But if you revised this statement somewhat to read "Joan claimed that she heard heavenly voices, but was unable to identify them clearly," that revision is much better support for your thesis. Likewise, the fact that "Joan thought that she had the right to challenge traditional gender roles" does not really relate to the issue of heresy, since it is not in itself a religious matter, unless you add to that statement something that connects it to your thesis, such as: "Joan thought that she had the right to challenge traditional gender roles, and in doing so, to challenge the tradition of the Christian church that supported these roles." Finally, the fact that "Joan wore men's clothing" is not so much a reason in itself as an example of how Joan challenged traditional gender roles, which is already one of your points, so it should be eliminated as a point (but kept in mind to be used as an example).

Should I try to include my points in my thesis?

Definitely not in the thesis in your introduction. Since you are trying to encapsulate your thesis or main argument in one sentence, it would make that sentence too long and unwieldy to try to include your points. In addition, rehearsing your main points in a sense gives away much of the reason for your reader to read through the whole of your essay. And since each of your reasons should be followed by examples, it separates your argument from the examples used to back it up. If you want, and if it does not make the sentence too long or complicated, you may summarize your points in the restatement of your thesis in your conclusion. In neither the introduction nor the conclusion should your points be included in sentences other than the thesis.

Example:

Introductory thesis: Joan of Arc was rightfully condemned as a heretic, according to the standards of her day.

Concluding thesis: Given her refusal to obey the Church, her vague recollection of heavenly voices, her dismissal of Christian traditions about gender roles, and her own confession to heresy, Joan of Arc was rightfully condemned as a heretic, according to the standards of her day.

Notice that this concluding thesis is rather awkward because of all of the points included in it.

What do I do if I cannot think of enough reasons to support my thesis?

If you cannot find four or five good reasons to support your thesis, maybe you should reconsider what your thesis is. Think about ways of rewording the thesis to become a statement that you really believe and can argue for. Using the above example, you may decide that Joan was definitely a saint by the standards of her day, or that she was neither definitely a saint nor a heretic by the standards of her day. Once you are able to come up with four or five good reasons to hold a statement to be true, you will know that it is a thesis that you really believe, and can more easily argue for it.