Transcript STATEMENT OF THESIS

STATEMENT OF THESIS
Proper research procedure begins with a statement
of thesis. From his preliminary reading, from
discussing the topic with his advisor, and from
thinking about the subject, the student should be
able to formulate a statement of thesis. This
statement will be the guide which will enable him
to focus his plan of attack and aid him in the
outlining of his paper. It is the controlling factor or
the focal point around which his research will
resolve. It will force him to clarify his thinking, to
determine what is relevant and irrelevant in his
reading.
STATEMENT OF THESIS (2)
• The thesis statement, or the statement of the problem, must
be written down after careful deliberation and polished
until it finally encompasses the central idea to the student’s
satisfaction. Usually it is stated in the form of a problem
that the researcher hopes to resolve through his research,
since a thesis statement technically is a statement of the
solution. In research the thesis is the anticipated result that
the research will either validate or invalidate.
• Assume that a student is researching the writings of
Stephen Crane. After preliminary reading he may have
limited the topic to “Crane as a naturalistic writer,” and
further limited it to “naturalism in The Red Badge of
Courage.”
STATEMENT OF THESIS (3)
• Since he is beginning to research his topic, he is not yet
certain that the book is naturalistic. Thus his problem is to
determine if there are indications of naturalistic philosophy
in the work and, if so, what these are. He would then
formulate his statement of thesis somewhat along these
lines:
• Statement of the problem: To determine what aspects of
naturalism are inherent in Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge
of Courage.
STATEMENT OF THESIS (4)
• Let us look at another possible topic. For his topic
a student has chosen “the extrinsic factors in the
interpretation of poetry.” Through his preliminary
reading, he may have limited his topic to “the
possible effect of biography in the interpretation of
selected sonnets by Elizabeth Barret Browning.”
He would then formulate his statement of thesis as
follows:
• Statement of the problem: To determine what
effect a knowledge of Elisabeth Browning’s
courtship with Robert Browning has on the
interpretation of her sonnets.