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Thinking and pre-writing

Turn an assignment or research topic into a specific, arguable working thesis and a short plan for what you still need to find out.

Do this first

Paste your assignment prompt or research question into a blank document. Underline the task verbs (analyse, compare, evaluate, argue), then write one sentence that answers the question, starting with “I will argue that”. Keep it rough; you will sharpen it in step 4.

Steps

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  1. Decode the task

    Underline the task verbs and scope words in the prompt: “analyse” asks how something works, “evaluate” asks for a judgement against criteria, and “compare” asks what the similarities and differences reveal. Note the length, the sources required and the marking criteria. If the prompt can be read two ways, ask your instructor or supervisor now rather than after drafting.

  2. Ask a real question

    Turn your topic into a question that informed people could answer in more than one way: not “What is microfinance?” but “Why do microfinance lenders reach fewer women in rural areas than in towns?” How and why questions lead to arguments; what and when questions usually lead to summary. For a thesis or dissertation, write one main research question and two to four sub-questions.

  3. Freewrite before you read further

    Write for ten minutes without stopping about what you already think, know and wonder about the question. Then highlight any sentence that sounds like a claim, since those are candidate theses. Doing this before heavy reading helps you keep a position of your own among your sources.

  4. Draft a working thesis

    A thesis makes a specific claim that a reasonable reader could dispute, and usually signals why it holds: “Achebe uses proverbs in Things Fall Apart as a record of how Igbo authority works, so Okonkwo's misuse of them marks his growing isolation.” Test yours: does it answer the question set, and could someone disagree? Treat it as provisional, because drafting often changes it.

  5. Take notes that keep sources separate

    Record the full citation the moment you open a source, and put copied wording in quotation marks with the page number. Write your own reactions underneath in a different colour or after your initials. Most accidental plagiarism starts in notes where copied and paraphrased text have blurred together.

  6. Plan your reading against the claim

    List the smaller claims your thesis depends on and, next to each, the evidence you have and the evidence you still need. This turns open-ended reading into a targeted search. It also shows early whether the thesis is too big for your word count.

Templates

Working thesis frames

Although [common view or earlier finding], I argue that [your claim] because [main reason].

[Case, text or data set] shows that [claim], which matters because [implication for the field].

This [essay / chapter / study] examines [question] and argues that [answer], based on [type of evidence or method].

Question ladder

Topic: [broad area]
Narrowed topic: [specific case, period, population or text]
Main question: How / Why does [X] [affect, shape or explain] [Y]?
Sub-questions: 1. [sub-question] 2. [sub-question] 3. [sub-question]
Why it matters: Answering this helps readers understand [larger issue or debate].

Check your draft

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In your field

Pre-writing usually starts from a gap in existing studies and a research question or hypothesis, and the “thesis” often appears as a stated aim or hypothesis rather than an argumentative claim. Lab notebooks and early data analysis are part of pre-writing, so record methods and decisions as you go.

Read more about this stage

A research question and a thesis are two sides of the same move: the question is what you ask, the thesis is your answer. In a short essay the thesis usually closes the introduction as a direct claim. In a thesis or dissertation you state aims, research questions and, in some fields, hypotheses, and the overall argument builds across chapters, but you should still be able to say it in two or three sentences.

If you write in an additional language, try pre-writing in the language you think in most easily. Getting the idea right comes first; you can work on the English wording during drafting and revision.