In this module, we learned about two of the most essential (and most confusing) elements of academic writing: argument and thesis. The argument makes a claim and gives the reader reasons why they should recognize that claim as valid. The thesis pulls together the whole argument as a single statement. Often, the task of writing a thesis (which usually comes toward the end of the writing process) helps us to see whether the argument is clear and consistent. If it’s impossible to pull the strands of the argument together into a thesis, the argument itself might need some work. Needless to say, we’ll return to the question of argument and thesis many times in the course of these writing workshops!