Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill [210]
Nevertheless, the thesis of an inductive paper is generally deemed acceptable if a writer can demonstrate that the theory is based on a reasonably sized sampling of representative instances. Suffice it to say that a child who arrives at the thesis that all orange food tastes bad on the basis of squash and carrots has not based that theory on an adequate sampling of available evidence.
The Overlap
In most cases, induction and deduction operate in tandem (see Figure 15.1, C and D). Analysis by nature moves between the particular and the general, regardless of which comes first. Whether the overall shape of the analysis—its mode of progression—is primarily inductive or deductive, it will still gain in complexity from beginning to end as it confronts evidence.
It’s true that in some disciplines (philosophy, for example) the deductive pattern of argument prevails, but not exclusively. The analysis of evidence, though clearly designed to reflect a general principle, will also lead to new formulations that will modify the general principle in various ways.
THESIS SLOTS
Even in the most inductive forms of essay development, readers are guided by various formulations of the thesis. Here is a short list of the places in an essay that readers typically expect some version of the thesis to occur:
The first articulation of the working thesis usually occurs late in the opening paragraph or early in the second paragraph of a piece. This first articulation comes after the writer has presented the problem or question that establishes the tension the thesis aims to resolve, and after he or she has provided some kind of context for it.
Subsequent articulations of the thesis usually occur at points of transition, typically at paragraph openings following the analysis of complicating evidence. This kind of updating has the added benefit of providing unity to the essay, using the thesis as a kind of spine.
The final statement of the thesis occurs in the concluding paragraph, or perhaps the next to last one. It is usually offered in clear relationship to the terms offered in the introduction, so the reader is offered a last vision of where the essay has traveled.
THE SHAPING FORCE OF THESIS STATEMENTS
A sentence is the shape that thought takes. The shape of the thought in thesis statements has shaping force in the way the paper develops. Some thesis shapes are more effective than others.
A strong thesis usually contains tension, the balance of this against that
Thesis statements often begin with a grammatically subordinate idea that will get outweighed by a more pressing claim: “Although X appears to account for Z, Y accounts for it better.”
A less effective thesis shape is the list
The order of clauses in a thesis statement often predicts the shape of the paper. A thesis that begins with a subordinate clause (“Although X .….”), for example, might lead to a paper in which the first part of the paper deals with the claims for X and then moves to a fuller embrace of Y.
The advantage of the subordinate construction (and the reason that so many theses are set up this way) is that the subordinate idea helps you to define your own position by giving you something to define it against. The subordinate clause of a thesis helps you to demonstrate that there is in fact an issue involved—that is, more than one possible explanation exists for the evidence you are considering. In practice, using this shape will often lead you to