Brainstorming Questions to
Focus on the Thesis
By: Sean Savoie
Finding your own ‘voice’ is a difficult task especially when writing
non-fiction. I have been stressing that the main idea of the sentence should, by
default, be the grammatical subject of most sentences. As mentioned before, this
type of focus makes essays far more concise and helps the young writer to
develop better usage of various sentence patterns. However, we should also
examine when first person point of view may make the writer him or herself the
focus. Under a time constraint, a student often has little time to compose a
strong essay, requiring the introduction and supporting paragraphs to be
condensed into one single paragraph. In the second paragraph, by way of
exampling, the writer may use an effective personal anecdote that shows not only
more clearly what is meant in the first paragraph, but also how the writer
arrived at this conclusion regarding the topic.
In order to illustrate this technique, we need a controversial topic that many
people can relate to……HHHMMmmmm….. TWU strike? An easy target, and a great
example!..... Why not? For students out there, if you get a question about the
transit strike, immediately consider the key issues. Start by brainstorming key
issues in the form of questions. Keep in mind that, in keeping with American
style, the question is simply ‘TWU strike……? Whassup’ yo?’
1.
Who is more at fault, the MTA (essentially, the State of
2. How much should popular support influence the legal decision? (….meaning: To what degree should popularity affect law?)
3. In each scenario (TWU wins or State wins), describe some potential outcomes (i.e. political power shifts, probability of other unions doing the same, effect on economy, federal government, criminal justice, business practices, further empowerment of the executive branch, etc…).
4. What possible good can result from this predicament?
5.
Do you predict (I am writing on
6. Are unions as necessary as in the past, or more so?
7. Will the strike go to the Supreme Court? (…and if so, what is your prediction based on the recent Court changes?)
8. How Constitutional is the strike? Explain based on more than one Amendment.
Etc…..
From this point on consider the scope of the idea, by which is meant: How much are you attempting to say in this one essay? If it is too wide, you will need to write a book, too narrow and you may not find enough support. At college level, you need to determine the type of essay necessary to address the topic. For example, the above topics 1 – 8 may all be written as a form of argument or thesis position, numbers 3, 4, 5, 7 concern the future. This more requires process analysis or cause and effect essays, which have different organizational styles. Number 8 involves a great deal of historical support. To stay with a standard academic thesis essay, why not look at number 1, who is more at fault, the MTA or the TWU?
Remember that personal experience and use of the first person are encouraged in this practice.