Prewriting and Thesis Statements-Choosing a Topic for a Researched Essay

Part 1: After you have read the APUS plagiarism policy, viewed the library welcome slide show, and taken the tutorial, think of a topic that you would like to write about for Essay 2, which is your first sourced essay in the class where you will need cited references. You will write about this new topic in the first part of the Week 3 forum.

Remember, Essay 1 required you to define a topic, and while you did not need references for that essay, you were able to use them;

you must use references for the final two essays!

Use the example in the Lesson as a guide, and then try to answer these questions:

1. Why did you pick this topic?

2. What do I already know about it?

3. What is my goal in acquiring new information through my research?

4. What information will I want to share with my reader?

Part 2: Next, post your thesis statement for Essay 2 here as a one-sentence thesis statement. Please bold it and identify it, so that we can all tell what it is.

Make sure you are writing one sentence only, and that you are not using a question. For example, "Should children wear uniforms in public schools?" is not a thesis sentence. To be a thesis sentence, the sentence must take a stand and be a declarative sentence.

After you type your thesis statement, discuss how you arrived at that one sentence. What process of thought led to that sentence? Did you conduct research on your topic before coming up with your thesis statement? Have you taken a stand in your thesis statement? Do you think that when you do more research on your topic, your stand might change? Did you start with one thesis and evolve into another?

(It is expected, in academic writing, that you may need to change your thesis statement as you work on your essay. You may believe one thing, only to find through research that your initial beliefs must be adjusted. Or, you may have to change your topic somewhat due to available research.)

After you have made your initial post, Part 1 and Part 2, respond to at least two classmates with ideas for how their thesis statement might be refocused, improved, or clarified. Be sure to read your classmates' posts and respond to them with your questions about their topic. This will help them to find new research directions as they begin to look for information in the online databases next week.

Remember, be constructive, and feel free to ask questions about directions for more research, like, "Did you consider whether uniforms lead to better scholastic performance-will you back that up with statistics?"