Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill.original_ [156]
—Laura Edelman, Professor of Psychology
The thesis is usually presented in the abstract and then again at the end of the introduction. Probably the most frequent writing error is not providing a thesis at all. Sometimes this is because the student doesn’t have a thesis; other times, it is because the student wants to maintain a sense of mystery about the paper, as if driving toward a dramatic conclusion. This actually makes it harder to read. The best papers are clear and up front about what their point is, then use evidence and argument to support and evaluate the thesis. I encourage students to have a sentence immediately following their discussion of the background on the subject that can be as explicit as: “In this paper, I will argue that while research on toxic eff ects of methyl bromide provides troubling evidence for severe physiological eff ects, conclusive proof of a significant environmental hazard is lacking at this time.”
I try to avoid the use of the term “hypothesis.” I think it gives the false sense that scientists always start with an idea about how something works. Frequently, that is not the case. Some of the best science has actually come from observation. Darwin’s work on finches is a classic example. His ideas about adaptation probably derived from the observation.
—Bruce Wightman, Professor of Biology
Economists do make pretense to follow scientific methodology. Th us, we are careful not to mix hypothesis and conclusion. I think it’s important to distinguish between what is conjectured, the working hypothesis, and what ultimately emerges as a result of an examination of the evidence. Conclusions come only aft er some test has been passed.
—James Marshall, Professor of Economics
So, in the natural and social sciences, successive reformulations of the thesis are less likely to be recorded and may not even be expressly articulated. But, as in all disciplines, the primary analytical activity in the sciences is to repeatedly reconsider the assumptions on which a conclusion is based.
SIX STEPS FOR MAKING A THESIS EVOLVE
As an overarching guideline, acknowledge the questions that each new formulation of the thesis prompts you to ask. The thesis develops through successive complications. Allowing your thesis to run up against potentially conflicting evidence (“but what about this?”) enables you to build on your initial idea, extending the range of evidence it can accurately account for by clarifying and qualifying its key terms.
Formulate an idea about your subject. This working thesis should be some claim about the meaning of your evidence that is good enough to get you started.
See how far you can make this thesis go in accounting for evidence. Use the thesis to explain as much of your evidence as it reasonably can. Try it on.
Locate evidence that is not adequately accounted for by the thesis. Actively search for such evidence because the initial version of the thesis will incline you to see only what fits and not to notice the evidence that doesn’t fit.
Make explicit the apparent mismatch between the thesis and selected evidence. Explain how and why some pieces of evidence do not fit the thesis.
Reshape your claim to accommodate the evidence that hasn’t fit. This will mean rewording your thesis to resolve or explain apparent contradictions.
Repeat steps two, three, four, and five several times, until you are satisfied that the thesis statement accounts for your evidence as fully and accurately as possible.
EVOLVING A THESIS IN AN EXPLORATORY DRAFT: THE EXAMPLE OF LAS MENINAS
The example is a student writer’s exploratory draft on a painting called Las Meninas (Spanish for “the ladies-in-waiting”) by the seventeenth-century painter Diego Velázquez. The method of analysis used here will, however, work with anything, print or non-print.
Look at the painting in Figure 11.3, and then read