Thesis statements; a simple concept, right?

This guest blog post, authored by Morgan Flagg-Detwiler discusses the first steps of the research process in her 9th grade classes specifically related to creating cohesive thesis statements.  Before delving into thesis statements, however, she has found that finding a way to check student research is imperative.

Thesis statements; a simple concept, right?

Unfortunately for many of my freshmen, writing a cohesive thesis statement for their research papers can prove to be cumbersome.  One of the biggest issues I have encountered is they try to formulate a thesis too early.

We spend a good amount of time going over which topics they want to delve into and what interests them about the time period.  I find that allowing them a bit of autonomy in their topic choices allows for better researchers- they become more curious about their chosen topics rather than me dictating to them what they must write about.  I only have two requirements: 1. It must be within the Civil War time period. 2. They must focus on how their topic impacted the Civil War (or vice versa). So the interest is there. We have everything from amputations to prison camps and animals in the war to weaponry.  A little something for everyone.

Once we have our topics we start to research.  The students are required a minimum of three sources, one of which must be a print source.  This is where the problem begins. The students are solely grabbing titles and scanning them over. THEY AREN’T READING THEM.  They feel as though once they have met the requirement, they are good for the next step. That next step is thesis writing.

I, along with our coveted librarian Mrs. Hornberger, go over a powerpoint catered to freshmen writers about thesis statements.  We focus on their purpose, do’s and don’ts, give several examples, discuss the difference between enumerative and umbrella thesis statements and much more.  Then, they take a stab at it. As Mrs. Hornberger and I walk around the room, it is then that I notice some students do not know what subtopics they want to employ in their thesis.  They are stuck and frustrated. This is because they do not know much at all about their topic, despite having met the minimum requirements for sources. So clearly the research aspect is falling short somewhere.  This is most likely because they are not reading their sources through, or getting the appropriate information out of them.

How do we alleviate this?  Well, I am going to try something new this year. Not only will they need to have a minimum of three sources when we begin researching, they are going to have to fill out a note sheet that corresponds with that source! This note sheet has been modified from the note sheet students use in their senior class for their graduation project.  Once we can ensure they are extrapolating the appropriate information from the sources, then we can move on to writing cohesive, thoughtful thesis statements.  Fingers crossed this will help!

Morgan Flagg-Detwiler teaches 9th grade U.S. history and 12th grade Cultural Diversity.  Both of these classes house important pieces of the school’s research writing curriculum, and she works on making the process of research and writing just as important as the writing itself.  Understanding the importance of the “process” in any situation is also incorporated into her work with the Student Government kids as she is the adviser.