Creative writing Week 3 Source TECHNIQUES FOR COLLEGE

Creative writing Week 3

Source: • • • TECHNIQUES FOR COLLEGE WRITING: THESIS STATEMENT AND BEYOND Kathleen Muller Moore University of California, Riverside

Four Potential Problems with the Claim . . • • 1. The claim is self-evident. 2. The claim is a statement of fact. 3. The claim is a statement of summary. 4. The claim is a statement of a plan.

Problem #1: A claim should not be self-evident. • A claim should not be self-evident; it should be something worth writing about that is not readily apparent, something that demands thorough introspection or study, the results of which are presented in the paper. Truly interesting claims have a mark of creativity and ingenuity. They have a spark, and they invite the reader to take an interest in the paper. Admittedly, writing good claims takes practice. Most often they are the products of extensive reading, thinking, brainstorming

EXAMPLE: • In Shakespeare’s corpus of work, the play Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story.

Problem #2: A claim should not be self-evident. • A claim should not be self-evident; it should be something worth writing about that is not readily apparent, something that demands thorough introspection or study, the results of which are presented in the paper. Truly interesting claims have a mark of creativity and ingenuity. They have a spark, and they invite the reader to take an interest in the paper. Admittedly, writing good claims takes practice. Most often they are the products of extensive reading, thinking, brainstorming, and prewriting— strategies that are covered in the next few chapters of this book. • EXAMPLE: • In Shakespeare’s corpus of work, the play Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love stotyt

Problem #3: A claim should not be a statement of fact. • A claim should not be a statement of fact; it should be an insightful assertion that offers an opportunity for disagreement. It should not be a belief that is so widely held that it is virtually accepted as truth; you should be able to imagine at least one good counterargument. • Always test your claim to see if you can envision anyone disagreeing with it. A good claim is always more than a set of facts—it offers an interpretation based on facts. • EXAMPLE #1: • Cell phones have changed our society.

Problem #4: A claim should not be a statement of summary. • A claim should not be a statement of summary; it should be an interpretation of a subject rather than an overview of it. If the subject is a story or a novel, then the claim should articulate an opinion about it, rather than give a summary of its plot. If the subject is an event, such as a war, then the claim should offer a viewpoint about the war rather than simply present key events.

• If the subject pertains to a social issue, such as gun control, animal rights, or environmentalism, then the claim should offer a position or reveal some insight about the issue (or its society) rather than simply present an overview of the various arguments. In other words, a claim should not reduce the subject to a single sentence where the subject is described rather than interpreted. The claim should suggest why a subject has signifi cance. • EXAMPLE #1: • As one of many fi lms that depict human atrocities, Steven Spielberg’s fi lm Saving • Private Ryan presents the horrors of war.

THE THESIS STATEMENT CHECKLIST • Isolate your thesis statement and write it down. • Check your thesis statement’s C-S-C to be sure it has a solid context, subject, and claim. • Check to see that the insightful point that is offered pertains to thesis statement’s subject. If you can’t identify both the subject and the claim, you might have a complex subject masquerading as a claim.