The Learning Center Is Open:
Monday - Friday: 9:00 - 4:30
Writing Lab Walk-In Hours:
Monday 10am-6pm
Tuesday 10am-8pm
Wednesday 12pm-6pm
Thursday 12pm-6pm
Friday 12pm-4pm
Writing Lab Email:
Email us your paper (writinglab@grace.edu) along with the specific description of the assignment. We will comment on the paper in regards to purpose, organizational structure, internal organization, format, and patterns of grammatical error.
Writing Lab Purpose
The goal of the Writing Lab is to equip students with the communication tools necessary to develop stronger academic writing. Tutors do not correct, revise or edit student writing. They aim to guide and empower students toward becoming better independent writers. The Writing Lab is a student-to-student help available to all students desiring help with writing, including ESL tutoring. All services are offered at no cost to students.
The Writing Lab is available to students from any discipline for help with any stage of the writing process.
Tutors focus on assignment fulfillment, content, organization, and areas for which suggestions on improvement can be made.
The Writing Lab does not proofread papers; tutors help students learn how to recognize problems or errors and self-edit. Help is available with MLA, APA and other formatting as well as with grammar skills.
Writing resources (style/formatting manuals) and skills software are available for student use as well.
A thesis statement shows the reader the purpose and focus of the paper. The paper should then provide support and evidence for the thesis.
Clarity
A good thesis brings clarity to your paper--both for you and for your audience. First, writing your thesis forces you to articulate the main idea of your paper. Now, instead of a vague idea of what you are trying to accomplish, you have a statement that explains your purpose. Then, your thesis statement gives your reader the key to understanding the meaning of your paper.
Direction
Your thesis statement maps out the direction your paper will take. Again, this helps both you and your reader make sense of your paper.
Focus
Your thesis is the heart of your paper. Everything about your paper revolves around your thesis.
Focused
Your thesis should contain one main idea that will be the topic of your paper. Every point your paper makes should support your thesis. If you have a great idea, but it doesn't add to the argument for your thesis, write it down and save it to use on another paper.
Clear
It will probably take several drafts before you come up with the final version of your thesis. That's good! When you are first brainstorming your thesis, go ahead and let your ideas pour forth from your mind unhindered. But before you finalize what you are going to use for your essay, make sure the thesis is logical and well-articulated.
Specific
Avoid vague statements. Avoid being too broad. Once you have chosen your topic, work to narrow it down to something that you can actually address within the scope of your paper.
Arguable
Your thesis should NOT just be a statement of fact. It should be debatable. Your entire paper will need to explain the reasons for your thesis.
Supportable
Your thesis should also NOT just be a statement of opinion. You need to be able to make a logical argument for your position using facts.
Relevant
Be able to answer the question "So what?" Demonstrate to your reader why your topic and your position on the topic are important.
In a traditional academic paper, the thesis should be the last sentence of the first paragraph. You should also restate the thesis at the beginning of the last paragraph. Use different wording when restating your thesis. Don't change the thesis itself, just the way it's phrased. Instead of introducing the main point of your paper, you are concluding, and the wording of the thesis here should reflect that.
A Restatement of the Prompt
​When your professor gives you a prompt for an essay, that is a great place to start, but that is NOT your thesis. For example, if the prompt is: Describe a formative experience in your life, a good thesis is NOT "I had a formative experience in my life." A good theisis could be , "My trip to the Grand Canyon was formative because of what I learned about myself, my family and God."
Another Person's Idea
A thesis statement is NOT a direct quote. An intriguing quote can certainly be inspirational to your paper, but it should not be your thesis. This is YOUR paper! Use research and other people's ideas, but not as a substitution for your own thinking about the subject. Properly cited quotes add depth to your paper, but the correct place for them is NOT in your thesis.
A Question
Questions are excellent tools in the thinking process. They can provoke deeper thoughts about issues. However, by the time you formulate your thesis statement, you should be prepared not only to answer a question about your topic, but to defend your position. Do not leave the most important part of your paper up for interpretation. State your position clearly and decisively.
An Announcement
Do NOT say, "In this paper, I will demonstrate how the culture in the epic Beowulf values women, but in a way that the modern reader finds offensive." Don't tell the reader what you are going to do, do it! Say instead, "The culture portrayed in the epic Beowulf values women, but in a way that the modern reader finds offensive."
An Apology
Do NOT use phrases like, "In my opinion. . ." or "I think . . ." or "I could be wrong, but . . ." A thesis is supposed to be arguable. That means that some peole will disagree with you, but that doesn't mean you have to back down. State your view strongly. Be prepared to present facts to support it, but don't apologize for it.