ENGL 102, Section 006, Fall 2021 Instructor:Jim Landers: Thesis Statement and Research

"After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument."

"Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way."

"A common starting point for developing a thesis statement is with the research question. Once you determine what your research question is, you can start doing more targeted research to help with constructing a thesis statement."