1. Inquiry Stages and
the Thesis Statement
based on the works of Ventura / Lannon
Cindy Cruz-Cabrera
about.me/cindycruzcabrera | en.gravatar.com/cindycatz

2. Inquiry Stages

3. • Asking the right questions
• Exploring a balance of views
• Focusing on essential views
• Achieving adequate depth in your
search
• Evaluating your findings
• Interpreting your findings

4. Range of Evidence

5. Surface Level
• Used for general consumption
• Skims only the surface of an issue
• Easy to digest and understand but
detailed
• Popular media
• Quoted from “Tech Writing” http://techwritingeng314.blogspot.com/2011/01/lannon-chapter-7.html

6. Second Level
• Made for moderately informed to
highly specialized persons
• Focuses on practice rather then
theory
• Information is accurate but reflect
bias
• Trade, business and technical
publications
• Quoted from “Tech Writing” http://techwritingeng314.blogspot.com/2011/01/lannon-chapter-7.html

7. Deepest Level
• Based on theory and practice
• Latest studies and debates
• Professional journals
• Government sources
• Quoted from “Tech Writing” http://techwritingeng314.blogspot.com/2011/01/lannon-chapter-7.html

8. How Do I Formulate a
Thesis Statement?

9. Discovering a Topic
• Narrowing Down the Topic
• Formulating a Thesis Statement
SUBJECT > TOPIC > Thesis Statement

10. SUBJECT:
USC Elections
TOPIC:
Apathy toward candidates
Low voter turnout
Indifferent students
Thesis Statement:
Student apathy is revealed by the general attitude
of students toward the USC elections.

11. SUBJECT
What problem, situation, or
issue would I like to study?

12. TOPIC
What aspect of this problem,
situation, or issue interests
me most?

13. ISSUE: what is it exactly?
• a problem
• usually in the form of a question
• that leads to a formulation of several
competing solutions as a means of
addressing a specific problem

14. Finding Issues to Write About
• Think about issues that can be resolved
in a number of ways.
• Think about issues that can be answered
concretely – one that can be proved in a
clear and consistent way.
• Whatever the issue is, state it as a
question in a way that suggests “how” it
can be answered.

15. Finding Issues to Write About
• Think about issues that can get you
started as soon as possible.
• Be careful about the terms you use in
phrasing your questions as well as your
answers. “Abortion is immoral / illegal.”
• Think about issues which you relatively
know about. It is your “feel” for the
subject that will sustain your interest and
provide clues on where to start.

16. Thesis Statement
• The answer to your chosen issue is ultimately
what your thesis statement should say
• Your thesis statement should be a stance that
is:
• SPECIFIC
• UNAMBIGUOUS
• NON-CONTRADICTORY
• CRITICAL

17. Thesis Statement
CLAIM OF FACT
Can I connect this issue to any
probable cause or effect?
• answers a “what” question
• need not rely on objective or scientific data
• may be based on criteria or standards that can
be verified by some systematic procedure

18. Generating Claims of Fact
• What claims of fact are
controversial?
• Which claims of fact are debatable,
or simply false?
• Is there any one way of finding out
whether it is true or false?

19. Thesis Statement
CLAIM OF POLICY
Can I suggest a specific course of
action to remedy or solve the
problem, situation, or issue
instead?
• Answers a “how” question
• Proposes a course of action, next step or solution

20. Generating Claims of Policy
• What should be done about the
situation in order to promote these
values?
• Is the policy the best one? For
whom?
• In what way does it solve the
problem?

21. Thesis Statement
CLAIM OF VALUE
Can I explain how the problem,
situation, or issue should be
viewed?
• expresses a quality based on judgment
• Seeks to show that something is right or
wrong, good or bad

22. Generating Claims of Value
• Do the following claims of fact
promote what is right or good?
• What values and interests should be
considered good and why?
• Do these values compete with
others, and if so, which ones are
more important, and why?

23. Relating Issues to
Thesis Statements

24. • Choose an issue that you have something to
say about.
• After coming up with a list of ideas, analyze
the different claims that each statement or
idea makes.
• Formulate a single claim based on an
immediate concern that you feel has to be
addressed.
• Ask some analytic questions, like “What do
the facts say or reveal about these concerns?
Are such concerns justified or not?” to help
sort out kinds of information to support claims

25. References
• On Your Own: Doing Research Without Plagiarizing by Eloisa
Ventura
• “Tech Writing”
http://techwritingeng314.blogspot.com/2011/01/lannon-
chapter-7.html