{"id":1272,"date":"2020-03-13T17:19:32","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T17:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/chapter\/1-5-1-video-identify-the-thesis-statement\/"},"modified":"2020-03-13T18:38:45","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T18:38:45","slug":"identifying-the-thesis-statement","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/chapter\/identifying-the-thesis-statement\/","title":{"raw":"Identifying the Thesis Statement","rendered":"Identifying the Thesis Statement"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>identify explicit thesis statements in texts<\/li>\r\n \t<li>identify implicit thesis statements in texts<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"p1\">You'll remember that the first step of the reading process,\u00a0previewing<strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0allows you to get a big-picture view of the document you're reading. This way,\u00a0you can begin to understand the structure of the overall text. The most important step in getting a good understanding of an essay or book is to find the thesis statement.<\/p>\r\nA thesis consists of a specific topic and a position statement on the topic. All of the other ideas in the text support and develop the thesis. The thesis statement is often found in the introduction, sometimes after an initial \"hook\" or interesting story; sometimes, however, the thesis is not explicitly stated until the end of an essay, and sometimes it is not stated at all. In those instances, there is an implied thesis statement, in which you can generally extract the thesis statement by looking for a few key sentences and ideas.\r\n\r\nAccording to author Pavel Zemliansky,\r\n<blockquote>Arguments then, can be explicit and implicit, or implied. Explicit arguments contain noticeable and definable thesis statements and lots of specific proofs. Implicit arguments, on the other hand, work by weaving together facts and narratives, logic and emotion, personal experiences and statistics. Unlike explicit arguments, implicit ones do not have a one-sentence thesis statement. Instead, authors of implicit arguments use evidence of many different kinds in effective and creative ways to build and convey their point of view to their audience. Research is essential for creative effective arguments of both kinds.<\/blockquote>\r\nEven if what you're reading is an informative text, rather than an argumentative one, it might still rely on an implicit thesis statement. It might ask you to piece together the overall purpose of the text based on a series of content along the way.\r\n\r\nMost readers expect to see the point of your argument (the thesis statement) within the first few paragraphs. This does not mean that you have to place it there every time. Some writers place it at the very end, slowly building up to it throughout their work, to explain a point after the fact. Others don\u2019t bother with one at all, but feel that their thesis is \u201cimplied\u201d anyway. Beginning writers, however, should avoid the implied thesis unless certain of the audience. Almost every professor will expect to see a clearly discernible thesis sentence in the introduction.\r\n\r\nThesis statements vary based on the rhetorical strategy of the essay, but thesis statements typically share the following characteristics:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Presents the main idea<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Most often is one sentence<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Tells the reader what to expect<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Is a summary of the essay topic<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Usually worded to have an argumentative edge<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Written in the third person<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIn academic writing, the thesis is often <strong>explicit<\/strong>: it is included as a sentence as part of the text. It might be near the beginning of the work, but not always--some types of academic writing leave the thesis until the conclusion.\r\n\r\nJournalism and reporting also rely on explicit\u00a0thesis statements that\u00a0appear very early in the piece--the first paragraph or even the first sentence.\r\n\r\nWorks of literature, on the other hand, usually do not contain a specific sentence that sums up the core concept of the writing. However, readers should finish the piece with a good understanding of what the work was trying to convey. This is what's called an <strong>implicit<\/strong> thesis statement: the primary point of the reading is conveyed indirectly, in multiple locations throughout the work. (In literature, this is also referred to as the <em>theme<\/em> of the work.)\r\n\r\nAcademic writing sometimes relies on implicit thesis statements, as well.\r\n\r\nThis video offers excellent guidance in identifying the thesis statement of a work, no matter if it's explicit or implicit.\u00a0As the video below argues, every piece of writing has a thesis statement.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=1291436&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=5&amp;video_id=di1cQgc1akg&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-nr6dsbu1-di1cQgc1akg\" width=\"640px\" height=\"420px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/course-building\/English+Comp\/Transcripts\/How+to+Identify+the+Thesis+Statement+.rtf\">Click here to download a transcript for this video <\/a>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>identify explicit thesis statements in texts<\/li>\n<li>identify implicit thesis statements in texts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">You&#8217;ll remember that the first step of the reading process,\u00a0previewing<strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0allows you to get a big-picture view of the document you&#8217;re reading. This way,\u00a0you can begin to understand the structure of the overall text. The most important step in getting a good understanding of an essay or book is to find the thesis statement.<\/p>\n<p>A thesis consists of a specific topic and a position statement on the topic. All of the other ideas in the text support and develop the thesis. The thesis statement is often found in the introduction, sometimes after an initial &#8220;hook&#8221; or interesting story; sometimes, however, the thesis is not explicitly stated until the end of an essay, and sometimes it is not stated at all. In those instances, there is an implied thesis statement, in which you can generally extract the thesis statement by looking for a few key sentences and ideas.<\/p>\n<p>According to author Pavel Zemliansky,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Arguments then, can be explicit and implicit, or implied. Explicit arguments contain noticeable and definable thesis statements and lots of specific proofs. Implicit arguments, on the other hand, work by weaving together facts and narratives, logic and emotion, personal experiences and statistics. Unlike explicit arguments, implicit ones do not have a one-sentence thesis statement. Instead, authors of implicit arguments use evidence of many different kinds in effective and creative ways to build and convey their point of view to their audience. Research is essential for creative effective arguments of both kinds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Even if what you&#8217;re reading is an informative text, rather than an argumentative one, it might still rely on an implicit thesis statement. It might ask you to piece together the overall purpose of the text based on a series of content along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Most readers expect to see the point of your argument (the thesis statement) within the first few paragraphs. This does not mean that you have to place it there every time. Some writers place it at the very end, slowly building up to it throughout their work, to explain a point after the fact. Others don\u2019t bother with one at all, but feel that their thesis is \u201cimplied\u201d anyway. Beginning writers, however, should avoid the implied thesis unless certain of the audience. Almost every professor will expect to see a clearly discernible thesis sentence in the introduction.<\/p>\n<p>Thesis statements vary based on the rhetorical strategy of the essay, but thesis statements typically share the following characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Presents the main idea<\/li>\n<li>Most often is one sentence<\/li>\n<li>Tells the reader what to expect<\/li>\n<li>Is a summary of the essay topic<\/li>\n<li>Usually worded to have an argumentative edge<\/li>\n<li>Written in the third person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In academic writing, the thesis is often <strong>explicit<\/strong>: it is included as a sentence as part of the text. It might be near the beginning of the work, but not always&#8211;some types of academic writing leave the thesis until the conclusion.<\/p>\n<p>Journalism and reporting also rely on explicit\u00a0thesis statements that\u00a0appear very early in the piece&#8211;the first paragraph or even the first sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Works of literature, on the other hand, usually do not contain a specific sentence that sums up the core concept of the writing. However, readers should finish the piece with a good understanding of what the work was trying to convey. This is what&#8217;s called an <strong>implicit<\/strong> thesis statement: the primary point of the reading is conveyed indirectly, in multiple locations throughout the work. (In literature, this is also referred to as the <em>theme<\/em> of the work.)<\/p>\n<p>Academic writing sometimes relies on implicit thesis statements, as well.<\/p>\n<p>This video offers excellent guidance in identifying the thesis statement of a work, no matter if it&#8217;s explicit or implicit.\u00a0As the video below argues, every piece of writing has a thesis statement.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=1291436&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=5&amp;video_id=di1cQgc1akg&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-nr6dsbu1-di1cQgc1akg\" width=\"640px\" height=\"420px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/course-building\/English+Comp\/Transcripts\/How+to+Identify+the+Thesis+Statement+.rtf\">Click here to download a transcript for this video <\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1272\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Identify the Thesis Statement. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Checklist for a Thesis Statement. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Excelsior OWL. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/esl-wow\/getting-ready-to-write\/developing-a-thesis\/esl-checklist-for-a-thesis-statement\/\">https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/esl-wow\/getting-ready-to-write\/developing-a-thesis\/esl-checklist-for-a-thesis-statement\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Research Writing and Argument. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Pavel Zemliansky. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/learn.saylor.org\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=7163\">https:\/\/learn.saylor.org\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=7163<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Methods of Discovery: A Guide to Research Writing. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">All rights reserved content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>How to Identify the Thesis Statement. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Martha Ann Kennedy. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/di1cQgc1akg\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/di1cQgc1akg<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":16,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"How to Identify the Thesis Statement\",\"author\":\"Martha Ann Kennedy\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/di1cQgc1akg\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Identify the Thesis Statement\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Checklist for a Thesis Statement\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Excelsior OWL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/esl-wow\/getting-ready-to-write\/developing-a-thesis\/esl-checklist-for-a-thesis-statement\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Research Writing and Argument\",\"author\":\"Pavel Zemliansky\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/learn.saylor.org\/mod\/page\/view.php?id=7163\",\"project\":\"Methods of Discovery: A Guide to Research Writing\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"e5a80281-5480-4105-ae80-e4b80382a7c7, 2a7c4aaa-c404-40aa-a5ed-39ed4e187fd5, 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