The thesis statement

The Thesis Statement

Putting the Tree Back Into Your Paper

Good metaphors help people remember material. Bad ones confuse people.Hopefully, this one will be the former, and not the latter.

- The Thesis Statement –We all know it is important, but just because I know the president is important doesn’t mean I know how

he does his job.

In this presentation, we will investigate:

The purpose of a thesis statementWhere a thesis statement comes fromHow a thesis statement can changeHow the thesis is connected to the essayThe different types of theses and their different effects

…and we will do all of this by comparing your essay to a tree…

What Comes First: the Seed or the Tree?When a tree drops a seed, it doesn’t just drop one seed, it drops tons! But very few, if any, will actually root. The

same thing happens in writing. When you get an assignment, think of it as the mother tree. When you

brainstorm and do prewriting, you are coming up with a whole bunch of seeds to see what will take.

Assignment: Write

about your

history with or

opinions on

reading or writing

Reading history

Writing history

Reading opinions

Writing opinions

First reading

Early writing

Writing now Reading now

When stopped reading

Journal writing H

elpful reading

Writing for business

Writing in the w

orld

Choosing the Right “Seed”

Sometimes a few seeds seem like they will take, but after a while, they too die off. It can be difficult to tell what idea will

work best for your essay, so don’t be discouraged if you follow up on an idea that doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s better to start

a new plant than try to resurrect a dying one.

Writing nowWriting for business

Journal writing

Reading now

Early writingWriting history

First readingWhen stopped

reading

From Seed to PlantThe “seed” you choose is not your thesis, it is just your subject—what you

are interested in writing about. But you need a “treatment” for the subject. Without a “treatment” or way of approaching the subject, your essay will feel aimless and meandering. We will call the “treatment” the warmth and wetness the seed needs to grow. Having a “treatment” or

way of approaching your subject will enable your essay to “grow” focused and coherent.

Wha

t

I Read

Now

Helps me to live better.Makes me think more.

Lets me in on other people’s lives.

Putting Down RootsThe roots that come from the seed are the underground structure of the

tree. Every essay also has an “underground” or unseen structure, whether the essay was written from an outline or not. (Because I am a

huge proponent of outlining, and because it works best for the metaphor, we will consider the root system the outline of the essay.) When a seed starts growing, it usually only has a couple of roots that come out. Similarly, when you begin thinking about your essay and outlining it, either in your head or on paper, your structure will be

pretty basic.

WhatI

read

no

whel

ps

meliv

ebett

er.

magazines

mystery booksself-im

provement

books

newspapers

websit

es

textboo

ks

WhatI

read

no

whel

ps

meliv

ebett

er.

magazines

mystery booksself-im

provement

books

newspapers

websit

es

textboo

ks

The Roots and the Trunk

Notice that in all trees, there is a trunk from which everything

else grows. Think of this trunk as the thesis statement—it is always there, always at the

heart of things, and is always what connects everything

together.

Once you’ve got your basic root system and outline, you can begin to actually write. The

writing is the part of the tree we see—the stems and leaves.

When I read self-improvement

books, I see the aspects of my

personality that are hurting me.

Once I see these things, I can

begin to change them…

Reading textbooks helps keep

my mind focused, and also

helps me understand how

businesses operate…

Growing BiggerAs you write more and more, the tree grows bigger and bigger.

Remember though, in a tree, everything always

connects back to the trunk, and to the roots.

Also, the tree only grows because it gets

nutrients—rain and sun, most basically. So

everything you write needs to be informed

by not only your subject, but also your

treatment of the subject—in short, your thesis statement. And just as branches and

leaves don’t float apart from the rest of the

tree, you need to SHOW and EXPLAIN how what

you are writing is connected to the thesis.

Reading textbooks

helps keep my m

ind

focused, and also

helps me

understand how

business operate…

Whe

n I r

ead

self-

impr

ovem

ent

book

s, I

see

the

part

s of

mys

elf t

hat

are

hurt

ing

me.

Onc

e I s

ee th

ese

part

s, I

can

begi

n to

chan

ge th

em…

What I

ReadNowHelps

Me Live

Better

What I

ReadNowHelps

Me Live

Better

Readi

ng te

xtbo

oks

help

s kee

p m

y m

ind

focu

sed,

and

also

hel

ps

me

unde

rsta

nd h

ow

busin

esse

s ope

rate

…

When I read self-im

provement

books, I see the parts of

myself that are hurting m

e.

Once I see these parts, I can

begin to change them…

…That helps m

e

understand my job

better, and get

more respect from

my superiors. … Th

at en

ables

me t

o

be hap

pier in

my

day-to

-day

life.

Being SpecificAs a tree grows, the new growth is often the tiniest. As your writing “grows”—

that is, as you write more, you should be adding things that are more and more specific. Think of a branch as an idea, and the leaves growing off of it as

the specific examples that support that idea. The sunlight and rain that are taken in through the leaves of the plant cause the plant to grow. If you have a problem where you can’t write enough, where you have trouble getting your

essay to “grow,” it’s usually because you are missing specific examples.

Reading textbooks helps keep my mind focused, and also helps me

understand how businesses operate.

That helps me understand my job better, and get more respect

from my superiors. For instance, in my Marketing book, I learned that where a product is placed in a store can affect how many people may

buy it. This is an obvious concept, but one I had never considered. In my retail job, I moved some high-priced

items to a more visible place, and they started to sell. When the store manager took note of this, I was congratulated,

and he suggested that a promotion might be in the works.

In my English book, I learned about the importance of using the right words to explain things. We had been having some

communication problems at work, which I always thought were caused by other people. However, when I took the time to carefully choose my words, I found that the problems were

not nearly as bad. Now, we all spend time getting things done, instead of arguing about things.

GrowingAs a tree grows, it’s root system also grows. Everything grows and gets more complicated. When you write an essay, you will need to

be going back and forth between your writing, your thesis, and your outline or structure, and grow them all together. Remember

that basic thesis you had at the beginning? After writing your examples and thinking about the topic some more (getting some

more nutrients into the thesis), the thesis also may grow and develop.

The things I read,

especiallyself improve-

help me see

in my day

ment booksand textbooks,

situationsdifferently

-to-daylife.

ChangingFurthermore, for a variety of reasons, trees sometimes lose leaves and

branches. But they do so because in the end, it will strengthen the best parts of the tree. Similarly, don’t be afraid to cut out sentences or even paragraphs from your writing. This will strengthen your overall essay. Trees are always growing and changing in some way, and your essay will likely change at least

a little every time you read over it.

Reading textbooks helps keep my mind focused, and also helps me

understand how businesses operate.

That helps me understand my job better, and get more respect

from my superiors. For instance, in my Marketing book, I learned that where a product is placed in a store can affect how many people may

buy it. This is an obvious concept, but one I had never considered. In my retail job, I moved some high-priced

items to a more visible place, and they started to sell. When the store manager took note of this, I was congratulated,

and he suggested that a promotion might be in the works.

In my English book, I learned about the importance of using the right words to explain things. We had been having some

communication problems at work, which I always thought were caused by other people. However, when I took the time to carefully choose my words, I found that the problems were

not nearly as bad. Now, we all spend time getting things done, instead of arguing about things.

Since learning about punctuation and grammar, I have been typing out all of my text messages. I feel

good about getting in this extra practice with grammar.While this is a good example of textbook

learning applied to life, it has nothing to with business, or getting more respect from

superiors, and is obviously NOT as good an example as the other two.

Different Types of WritingOf course, there are many types of plants, not just trees, and many types of writing, not just essays. There are plants with different types

of root systems (bamboo & grasses, for instance), and plants with different types of

trunks (giant redwoods, or live oaks). And of course, plants with beautiful flowers and

strange leaves, plants that eat insects, plants that can survive with hardly any nutrients,

plants that don’t grow very much, plants that grow a lot… Similarly, there are almost that

many kinds of writing. But at base, all those plants at some point came from a seed of some

sort, and grow from nutrients. Similarly, all writing DOES have a thesis and structure,

although it may or may not be obvious to the reader.

- To Recap –When you are brainstorming, you’re “dropping seeds” to see what idea will take root.The idea you choose is your subject, but for a thesis, you also need a treatment, or what you think about that subject.The structure of your essay is like the root system: it’s may not be obviously visible, but you need some structure– without it, your essay will not have a leg to stand on!Just as everything in a tree is connected to the trunk, everything you write needs to be connected to your thesis statement.Just as most of the growth is in the small stuff– leaves and twigs– most of your writing needs to be specific examples.As you write more, your may find you need to adjust and develop your structure and thesis statement.Don’t be afraid to get rid of dead weight. Trees do it once a year; you should try to do it during every revision.

…and remember, metaphors are always imperfect. If this raises questions, at least it’s getting you to think about your writing.

Let me know what you think!