By now, you should have a firm grasp of the existing conversation on your topic after having surveyed the field on your topic so as to narrow the who, what, where, when, and why/how, so that you can fully formulate your own ideas and develop an original complex claim with which to place yourself in the scholarly conversation on your topic. Evaluating your working claim As you draft your working claim, evaluate its efficacy. A strong claim will be: Contestable: Intentionally writing a claim that someone can disagree with may seem counterintuitive, but consider that if no one could possibly disagree with what youre arguing, theres little point in writing about it. Being able to acknowledge and refute counterarguments will strengthen your claim, not weaken it. o POOR: Durham and Chapel ll have much in common, although they are different in some ways. Well, yeah, but who cares? o BETTER: Although Durhams industrial past has created a more deeply troubled economic caste system than found in Chapel ll, it has also created greater cultural diversity that is now helping to guide the citys economic renewal. There is certainly room for disagreement in this claim; as a result, it provides a much more interesting basis for discussion. The author is likely to support it more passionately than the first claim. Reasonable: While you want your claim to be contestable, you also want it to be reasonable. A claim can be radical, in the context of current dialogue on your topic, and still be reasonable if you have sufficient evidence to support it. Readers will recognize the difference between thoughtful, critical interpretations of evidence and contortions that twist evidence around to support an unreasonable claim. Specific: Broad claims are more difficult to support effectively than focused claims. Specific claims also tend to provide readers with more useful information than broad claims. o POOR: North Carolina apple farmers are responding to the current economic situation by finding new ways to generate income. o BETTER: With hurricanes causing significant crop losses over the past decade, North Carolina apple farmers are increasingly relying on agrotourism to generate reliable supplemental income. Significant: Consider the context of the course for which you are writing your paper. Is your claim adding anything meaningful to the current dialogue surrounding your topic? Note that as you become more familiar with the concerns of a given topic or discipline, you will be able to contribute more significantly to the discussion. Interpretive: Does your claim offer an interpretation of evidence or does it simply describe a situation? If it describes a situation it is a claim of fact. o POOR: The United States is a federal system that divides governmental powers between national and state authorities. Rather than offering an interpretation, this sentence describes an incontestable fact. While it may have truth value, it makes a poor thesis statement. o BETTER:ThedivisionofgovernmentalauthorityinherenttotheUnitedStatesfe deralsystem produces unnecessary competition between state and national jurisdictions. This division hinders the effectiveness of public policies at both levels of government. These two sentences (note that a thesis statement might be two sentences, not just one) offer readers an interpretation. They propose a specific relationship between a cause (i.e. the U.S. federal system) and its effects (i.e. less effective public policies), as well as the rationale behind the interpretation (i.e. competition between state and national authorities). After finishing your rough draft, its time to revise. As you do so, ask whether the evidence you discuss in the body of the essay supports your working claim. Can you make your central claim more specific and precise? Have you sufficiently addressed (as opposed to ignored) counterarguments that might undermine Your thesis? Has your position changed or evolved? In the process of revising, make sure your claim conveys precisely what you wish to argue and that the evidence you present is immediately relevant. 1. Introduction (1 page): In your current situation, or modified Literature Review, state the background on your topic. Place your research in the context of what is currently known and thought about your topic and set up your claim. You should show that you understand what others have already written about your subject by pointing out a gap or conflict that your research will fill or addresswhat will you add to this discussion. Your argument can also enter the research conversation on your topic by taking issue with the conclusions of previous researchers. Please note, you should edit your Literature review to a page, as this is an 8 page paper a longer introduction is not appropriate. 2. A clear argument/statement of your research question that disrupts the current situation or the current understanding of your topic. This is a statement of your research question that states what isnt known or fully understood about your subject. This typically begins with a but, however, or other signal word, and gives an answer or explanation. 3. Stakes: State the significance of your claim question/answer. This answers the so what question and is crucial to motivating reader interest. Show that you are addressing an issue that matters, and establish that there is more to be said about it. You can explain why your topic is important, how your approach to the topic is unique, or show that the research addresses an aspect of the issue still unresolved. 4. Counter argument: (1 page maximum) that acknowledges major alternative views and criticism and responds to anticipated questions and objections (also qualifying assertions). 5. Conclusion: that either: points out a new significance, a practical application, or new research. Or, conclude by setting your discussion into a different, perhaps larger, context; or, by considering the implications of your argument, or by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. You can also explain why this topic is timely or important, valuable or significant. 6. Adopt a Voice of Authority By writing in third person (and first when it is appropriate) and by Writing Concisely. Another way writers create an ethos of authority is by using a high percentage of meaning-carrying words Use Academic and Discipline-Specific Vocabulary. 8-9 double spaced pages, 12 pt. Times New Roman font Based on a narrow/specific, unique and complex stake-driven claim of your own, clearly articulated and supported throughout the text of the paper. A Complex claim is significant for the field, feasible, does not repeat the work of others, and poses and answers a research question -any primary sources that will help prove your claim. Remember: These are of an event, written by someone who experienced or witnessed the event in question. These (i.e., they are not about another document or account) are often diaries, letters, memoirs, journals, speeches, manuscripts, interviews and other such unpublished works. -An optional I paragraph, in which you assert your experience as another form of evidence (keep this to a paragraphas the main paper must follow the 3 academic uses of I besides this paragraphusing I to distinguish between arguments). Proper use of formatting and citations. Works Cited page, also in proper formatting (if you need help, please use Easy Bib); MLA is fine, unless you want to branch out into the citation style of your field. You must identify you citation style if not MLA, so I know which one you are using and will use that criteria to grade the citations.
