What Is a ŇMain PointÓ?
A main point is the writerŐs point of view,
perspective, opinion, or argument about its subject. The main point that
writers make is commonly referred to as their thesis statements. Since the thesis statement is the writerŐs
central idea, everything in the body of the essay is there to explain the
thesis, to support it, to explore its complexities, and to drive it home.
What Is a Good Main Point?
Some main points are better than others. Student
writers often come up with stronger main points when they have a genuine sense
of purpose, a reason why they want to convey something to their readers. A
weaker main point is often too mechanical (the writer is often thinking only
about completing the assignment because itŐs required, not about what she or he
genuinely thinks about the subject). Weaker main points are also often too
general, trite or clich (predictable and overused), or simplistic. Stronger
main points are precise, well-defined, and acknowledge the complexity of the
subject.
How Do I Come up with a Main Point?
Unless youŐre given an assignment that asks you to
write about a topic youŐve already given a lot of thought, itŐs often hard to
come up with a main point right away. Successful writers often write a fair
amount to explore their ideas and to discover what they think about a subject
without attempting to create a focused, structured draft, in order to come up
with a tentative main point. Often, these writers will discover a possible main
point at the end of their exploratory writing because the process of writing
helps them figure out what they think.
Because student writers often write only one draft,
the essays they turn in often are referred to as Ňdiscovery draftsÓ because the
main point may indeed come at the very end, and as a result, is not developed
sufficiently.
Once you have a tentative main point (and depending
on the topic, getting to one can involve many pages of exploratory
writing), you can try writing a structured draft that focuses on presenting
that point. Through subsequent drafts, keep reconsidering whether the point
youŐre writing about is really the point you want to make (you may write your
way into a better, more complex, more interesting one) and whether everything
in the paper helps develop that point.
What Is a Thesis Statement?
To ensure that the readers ŇgetÓ the essayŐs main
point, most writers state their thesis as directly as they can at some point in
the essay (most commonly at the end of the introductory section). A thesis
statement is one or more sentences that sum up the paperŐs main point.
Sometimes a simple sentence can be the thesis
statement:
By trying to save time, we often waste it.
To ensure that the readers ŇgetÓ the writerŐs main
point, most writers state their thesis as directly as they can at some point in
the essay (most commonly at the end of the introductory section). A thesis
statement is one or more sentences that sum up the writer's main point.
More often, a more elaborate statement is needed to
cover what the writer is really trying to say:
The power that the media has over the general
population is strong, influencing society's ideals and view of the
"American Dream" through methods equivalent to brainwashing. The
wealthy continue to uphold a destructive "American Dream," giving
people a distorted perception of success and ignoring the reality of limited
opportunity that exists today.
What Is a Thesis Statement Good For?
A thesis statement acts as a guide for the reader.
It shapes the readerŐs expectations of what to expect in the body of the paper.
For example, the preceding example would lead close readers to expect the paper
to go on to explain the following:
What
the writer has experienced that leads her to believe Americans are worried
about getting things done.
What
rhythms the writer believes govern our lives and Why.
How
these rhythms govern our lives.
What
the writer has experienced that leads her to believe AmericansŐ worries about
getting things done lead them to rarely understand these rhythms.
What
is important about the fact that many Americans donŐt understand these rhythms
and Why.
A thesis statement also acts as a guide for you as
the writer. It can help you know what you need to cover, when youŐre Ňdone,Ó
and when youŐre wandering off in the wrong direction.
How Do I Come up with a Thesis Statement?
Once you have a sense of the point you want to
make, try summing up your point as concisely as you can in a sentence or a few
sentences. This will probably take some effort. Then go on to write another
draft in which you try to stick to and fully develop that thesis statement.
Through subsequent drafts, as you continue to develop and refine your ideas,
keep coming back to and reconsidering your tentative thesis statement. A
tentative thesis statement needs to be continually reevaluated and revised over
subsequent drafts as the paperŐs main point becomes clearer and clearer to you.
You probably wonŐt be able to settle on the final wording of your thesis
statement until youŐre finished working out what you want to say about your
subject (and that can require many drafts).
DONŐT bog down trying to write the ŇperfectÓ thesis
statement as the first step in your writing process.
Length and Placement:
A thesis statement for a short paper is often (but
not always) one sentence. It is often (but again, not always) placed at the end
of an introductory paragraph. (The introduction serves to lead the reader up to
your assertion of your main point, which the body of the paper then goes on to
support.)
How Do I Recognize Whether My Tentative
Thesis Statement Needs More Work?
When reconsidering your thesis statement, look out
for the following problems:
A troublesome thesis statement is often worded very
generally or imprecisely. The core problem may be that the writer doesnŐt yet
really know what s/he wants to say and needs to further clarify her/his ideas.
ItŐs common for tentative thesis statements (the ones you write early on in
your drafting process) to be generally or imprecisely worded because youŐre
still clarifying your ideas. However, the final thesis statement needs to be very precisely worded.
A troublesome thesis statement can set up a topic
thatŐs too broad to be covered thoroughly in the number of pages youŐre
planning to write. (Keep in mind that readers will expect you to go on to
develop all aspects of your
thesis statement.) A thesis statement thatŐs too broad sets you up to write an
essay thatŐs too general, one that glosses over your ideas.
A troublesome thesis statement can also be too
narrow; it may not make enough of a point about your subject. A thesis
statement thatŐs too narrow may sum up one aspect of a bigger subject the essay
will cover but not the paperŐs overall point.
Sometimes student writers think a statement of
common knowledge or fact is their thesis statement. Here the core problem is
often that the writer hasnŐt yet figured out his or her point of view, perspective, or opinion on the
subject. In order to make a point about
a subject, you need to take some kind of perspective on it.
General & Specific Information
Each of
the general statements below is followed by details, only some of which support
the statement. Put a check mark by the relevant details and be prepared to
explain your choices.
General statement:
Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous are
effective because they give their members vital support in coping with
difficult problems.
Details: |
|
People draw comfort from knowing that others have
similar problems. Alcoholism and compulsive gambling are diseases. The Ňbuddy systemÓ is an essential part of such
programs; each member has at least one other member to call on. The group provides counseling to new members. Members who backslide and take a drink arenŐt
expelled from the group. Gambling can ruin a personŐs family life just as
drinking can. Now there are dieters anonymous groups for
larger-sized people and similar groups for child abusers. |
General statement:
Many people become vegetarians because livestock
are treated cruelly.
Details: |
|
Some people switch to a vegetarian diet after
they suffer heart attacks and were told by their doctors to reduce their
cholesterol intake. Most of the chickens consumed in the U.S. are
raised in ŇfactoriesÓ in which they suffer terribly. Not only do their extremely crowded cages cause
so much stress that chickens frequently peck each other to death, but the
cages also cause painful, bloody sores on their feet, often causing serious
infections. To combat the infections and protect his
commodity, the farmer often injects the chickens with antibiotics, which
usually only keep them alive, rather than cure the infection. The diseased animals, pumped up with antibiotics
and hormones, still end up in your grocerŐs freezer. Cholesterol, which comes only from animal
products, clogs arteries and causes arteriosclerosis. Certain vegetarians from India donŐt eat root
vegetables because harvesting them disturbs the environment and they continue
to grow even after being harvested. |
Exercise: Supply four supporting details
for each of the following general statements.
Many financially-strapped college students soon
discover the difficulties of renting houses together. For one thing, money
constantly seems to cause problems.
And the close quarters can also result in friction
between housemates, which often lead to arguments, especially when
personalities clash.
I never knew how many inconsiderate people existed
until I lived with housemates.
Exercise: Supply four supporting details
for each of the following general statements.
When I decided to move to San Francisco, I had to
weigh the pros and cons of having my dog in the city.
To succeed in school one must have self-discipline
and be willing to do things that one may not want to.
Write one of your own generalizations and give four
supporting points for it.