what does it mean for a thesis to be defensible

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Thesis

November 20, 2021 by Beth Hall

One of the first steps of writing a rhetorical analysis essay is knowing how to write a rhetorical analysis thesis.

Rhetorical analysis thesis statements can seem intimidating, but they do not have to be.

While the thesis is a small portion of an essay, it carries significant weight and impact, especially on the AP® Lang exam. For example, on AP® Lang rubric, a defensible thesis is one out of six possible points.

So, what is a defensible thesis and how do you write one for a rhetorical analysis essay?

A defensible thesis means that the thesis or position can be justified, proven, or defended.

You can craft a rhetorical analysis thesis statement with the following steps:

Step 1: As you are reading the passage, look for strategies or choices the author utilizes. Ask: What rhetorical choices does the writer/speaker make? (ie. juxtaposition, allusion, etc) This will be the basis of your thesis statement.

Step 2: Mention the author’s purpose in the thesis. Ask: Why did he/she make these choices? Why did he/she write this?

Step 3: Consider the effect on the audience. This step is not mandatory or always appropriate, but it can strengthen the thesis. The effect is looking at the author’s call to action. Ask: How does he/she want the audience to think/act?

Now that you understand the basis of a thesis statement, let’s talk about where this thesis goes in the essay.

The thesis is best placed in the introductory paragraph. By placing it in the introduction, it gives you a direction for your writing (and often where readers go looking for the thesis). The introduction contains the hook, context, and thesis statement. Often, the context and the thesis are combined together (look at the example below). The context identifies the specific passage you are talking about in your essay.

You can write only a thesis statement for an introductory paragraph if you are short on time, but it is better to have a well-developed introduction. If you want to know more about writing an introduction, you can watch the video here.

Let’s put this information together and look at an example of a thesis statement.

In Leonid Fridman’s passionate article “America Needs its Nerds,” ← context

he defines “geek” and contrasts America with other industrialized nations to develop his argument that America values athletes more than intellectuals. ← thesis

By doing so, Fridman urges readers to reprioritize the current social hierarchy. ← Effect

If you are feeling unsure about thesis statements or need a place to start, sentence frames are a great way to begin a thesis statement. Below are several sentence frames and examples to help you navigate thesis statements.

In SPEAKER/WRITER’S (tone) speech/letter/article (to AUDIENCE), he/she uses ___ and ____ to PURPOSE.

Note: The blanks in this sentence frame should be choices or strategies (nouns). For example, “he uses repetition and juxtaposition to…” Saying “uses” and then a device is rather simple. However, this sentence frame can lead to a defensible thesis. Once you understand this style of thesis writing, you can try more advanced styles.

In SPEAKER/WRITER’S (tone) speech/letter/article (to AUDIENCE), he/she ____ and ____ to PURPOSE.

Example: In his patriotic speech to Congress, President Roosevelt repeats “attacked” and “deliberate” as well as appeals to patriotism in order to convince Congress to declare war on Japan.

Example: In his patriotic speech to Congress, President Roosevelt repeatedly emphasizes the deliberate nature of the attack on Pearl Harbor and appeals to patriotism in order to convince Congress to declare war on Japan.

When you are ready to begin writing thesis statements on your own, remember to keep the following items in mind:

• A thesis identifies the strategies / choices AND purpose. Without both of these, it is not a defensible thesis.
• A thesis does not restate the prompt. Use the prompt as a guide, not as a thesis.
• A thesis answers the prompt. This may seem obvious, but it can be easy to get caught up in writing and lose track of your goal

Looking for more tips about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, check out this post here.

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Thesis Defense – a guide to prepare best

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Definition: Thesis Defense
• 2 In a Nutshell
• 3 Before the Thesis Defense
• 4 What happens in a Thesis Defense?
• 5 What to include?
• 6 Tools for Thesis Defense
• 7 Thesis Defense Anxiety
• 8 Manage Thesis Defense Anxiety

Definition: Thesis Defense

A thesis defense is an act of presenting your work to a panel of professors so they can grade your presentation abilities. In retrospect, the argument is essential to ascertain that you understood the topic. You have to hand in your paper first so that the lecturer can grade it before you appear for the defense.

As a university student, you need to hand in a high-quality thesis paper and defend it before a panel of professors. So what is this that takes place during a thesis defense? Read along to find out.

In a Nutshell

So, there you have it. These tips should help you present your thesis defense and ace it. Remember that:

• You should present facts that are in the paper. Do not add any new information
• Make the thesis defense as enjoyable as possible
• Arrive early enough
• Do not exceed your allocated time
• Confidence goes a long way

Before the Thesis Defense

Before the day of the thesis defense, the qualifying students receive a timetable that shows the chronology of how the day will be. You are required to keep time, or else you will have to wait until the next allocated defense to present your paper. To qualify as a defending student, you have to hand in your paper at least one month before the thesis defense date.

What happens in a Thesis Defense?

Once you get to the hall, you need to introduce yourself and your topic, then present your paper to the lecturers. The professors will allocate you ¾ of the allotted time for the thesis defense. The remaining time is used up in the question and answer forum. Prepare yourself to answer several questions, such as:

• Your plans after completing the research
• The limitations you faced
• Things that you would change if given a chance
• How you chose your target audience
• How you intend to further your study on the subject
• The reasons for choosing your topic
• The most significant deductions you learned from the survey
• Reasons for choosing your research methodology, etc.

In some cases, the board may ask you to summarize your deductions from the study. The questions asked are not standard, which means you have to be thoroughly prepared to answer whatever the panel throws your way during the thesis defense. Other things that take place during the thesis defense include:

• Deliberations – At this point, the board of lecturers will ask you to leave the room as they deliberate on your thesis defense performance. They will then decide whether you move to the next level or you will defend again.
• Verdict – Finally, the team will invite you back in and tell you how you performed in the thesis defense. These panel members may ask you to make a few corrections before you can go ahead and publish your paper. You have to present your corrections to your facilitator, who will then give you the go-ahead to publish.
• Signing – The members will then sign your document to ascertain that you were part of the thesis defense team on the selected date.

How much time does a Thesis Defense take and how many people should be in the room?

During a thesis defense, each student appears before the panel individually. The facilitators will ask you questions concerning your topic to see if you fully grasped the concept. Each thesis defense will vary from the other depending on the technicality of your paper and the kind of degree you are pursuing.

• Undergraduate degree – Your panel may include at least three lecturers from your faculty. Additionally, the defense may last up to one hour.
• Masters degree – You get to interact with four professors at this level, and each student is allotted 1½ hours to present and answer questions.
• Ph.D. degree – Considering that this is the highest education level, five professors avail themselves to vet you. More so, you may have to engage them for two hours.

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What to include?

A thesis defense follows a particular format, which cuts across all types of degrees, which is:

• Introduction  – Explain the need for this study
• Literature review  – Explain what other scholars have found on the subject
• Research methodology  – What research method did you use, and why did you use it?
• Findings and discussions  – In your research, what were the key deductions that you came upon?
• Implications, limitations, suggestions, and  conclusion  – Here, you have to exhaust the setbacks you encountered during the study, the consequences that your target audience will face if they do not follow the deductions, and then finally sum up the discussions.

Tools for Thesis Defense

Considering that a thesis defense may take you at least 45 minutes to present, it is essential to make the presentation lively. So, you can incorporate a slide show and use images to make it less wordy. Bullet points also make the text easier to digest as opposed to a block of text. So, a laptop and a projector will help you ace your presentation.

Thesis Defense Anxiety

Standing before a panel of people waiting to hear how you conducted your research can be intimidating. This is especially so considering that you will be standing before a group of professors, who you believe to be superior to you in regards to the topic knowledge. More so, if you are not familiar with public speaking, it is easy to develop stage fright while defending.

Manage Thesis Defense Anxiety

In case you find yourself fidgeting before you begin presenting, use the following tips to help you get your composure back.

• If you have a problem with eye-balling the lecturers, look at the tips of their foreheads instead.
• Take a few seconds to breathe in and out so you can stabilize your speech if you begin to stammer.
• Go into the room with a positive mind, knowing that you will do your best.
• Most importantly, rehearse your thesis defense severally before the D-day.

What is a thesis defense?

A scholarly thesis defense is a forum that allows students to present their paper’s contents and defend their thesis topic before a panel of professors. The student is then required to answer all questions asked by the lecturers. At the end, the student is required to leave the room whilst the professors decide whether the thesis is ready to be published, or if it needs corrections.

How long is a thesis defense?

There is no general length for a thesis defense. The defense of a master’s thesis will take longer than the defense of a bachelor’s thesis. You will need to fit in an introduction , a literature review, your findings and even more into the time frame for your thesis defense, so it’s important that you’re well prepared. All in all, it depends on your paper and your academic field. Usually the thesis defense will last between one and two hours, but it also could be less than one hour.

What is the oral defense of a thesis?

Oral defense is simply another name for your thesis defense. If you’ve completed your thesis, you are required to defend it in front of a panel of professors. It is designed so that the committee can ensure that the students completely understand their thesis topic . The oral thesis defense is an examination of a completed body of work. Students will be assigned a date to defend their thesis.

What happens after the thesis defense?

After your thesis defense, you will be told to leave the room whilst the panel discusses your results. There are normally 2 outcomes. You may need to make changes to your thesis’ formatting or content. If this is the case, don’t stress! You’re able to try the thesis defense again once you’ve incorporated any required changes. The preferred outcome is that the panel is happy with your thesis and it’s then ready to be signed and published.

What defines a good thesis defense?

The thesis defense is the final step for your academic work. It’s important that you’re prepared and you’ve outlined what you’re going to say in each section of the defense. You need to know your thesis statement better than the back of your hand, otherwise you risk being sidetracked. Just like your thesis itself, your thesis defense has a specific structure. You can read more about this further on in the article. Try and prepare yourself for the potential types of questions that the professors will ask you so that you don’t have to think about your answers on the spot.

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What is a thesis defense?

A thesis defense has two parts: a thesis and a defense. The second mistake many students make is not knowing what their thesis is. The third mistake is not knowing how to defend it. (The first mistake is described later.)

What is a thesis?

Your thesis is not your dissertation. Neither is it a one-liner about what you are doing. Your thesis is "a position or proposition that a person (as a candidate for scholastic honors) advances and offers to maintain by argument." [Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary] "I looked at how people play chess" is not a thesis; "people adapt memories of old games to play new games" is. A thesis has to claim something.

There are many kinds of claims. Most of the work around here is either design (you built an AI program or learning tool) or modelling (you have a theory of how something works). Such work usually supports one of the following kinds of claims:

where "X" is your model of memory, learning algorithm, authoring tool, learning environment, etc., and "Y" is a task or goal, such as understanding text, learning algebra, writing programs to teach algebra, etc.

Besides being a proposition, a thesis has to have another property: it must say something new . "Understanding natural language requires context" is not a thesis (except maybe in a linguistics department). "Algorithm X is a feasible mechanism for understanding anaphoric references in newspaper text" is. So is "context is not required for visual understanding."

What is a defense?

A defense presents evidence for a thesis. What kind of evidence is appropriate depends on what kind of thesis is being defended. There are very different defenses for each of the kinds of claims given above.

Thesis: X is a feasible way to do Y

One defense for this kind of claim is an analysis of the complexity, or completeness, or whatever, of the theoretical algorithm. In AI, the more common defense is based on empirical results from running a program. A good defense here means more than one example, and answers to questions such as the following. What are the capabilities and limits of your program? How often do the things that your program does come up in the real world? What's involved in extending it? If it's easy to extend, why haven't you? If your program is a piece of a larger system, how realistic are your assumptions about input and output?

Analogous questions arise in the design of learning environments. You should be able to argue that your environment can support learning in more than one specific arena, and what would be involved in implementing it elsewhere. You should be clear and specific about when it would not be a good approach.

Thesis: X is a better way to do Y

The same kind of defense applies here as in the previous case, but now serious comparisons with previous systems are required. In AI, can your program do the same examples the previous programs did, or can you make them do yours? Can you prove they couldn't do your examples? If you claim to be more efficient, what are you measuring?

In the learning sciences, what do you mean by "better" and how are you measuring it? Are you sure the other approaches wouldn't work just as well if they had you spending all that time on them?

Thesis: doing Y requires X

This is usually defended by a logical argument. It is usually very tough to do, even if the argument doesn't have to be formalized.

Thesis: people use X to do Y

Many students in AI make the mistake of picking a cognitive modelling thesis to defend, thinking that something that looks cognitively plausible is therefore OK. Defending a cognitive model requires serious experimental evidence. Selected excerpts from protocols and surveys of your officemates are not psychological evidence, no matter how much they might have inspired your work.

I have lots of theses in my dissertation. Which one should I pick for my defense?

Collecting enough evidence to really defend a thesis is hard. If you think you have a lot of theses, you probably just have a bunch of undefended claims. One good thesis, or two so-so theses, with adequate description and defense, is more than enough to fill up a dissertation.

I have the opposite problem. I don't think I have any thesis by these standards.

Highly unlikely. If you're bright, educated, and have worked hard on a topic for more than a year, you must have learned something no one else knew before.

The first mistake that AI students make is to think that a thesis has to be grander than the theory of relativity. A thesis should be new and interesting, but it doesn't have to change the foundations of all we believe and hold dear.

How do I pick my thesis to avoid these problems?

There's a mistaken view of thesis research that it starts with a thesis and then an investigation to prove or disprove the thesis. That only happens in fields that have matured to "filling in the blanks," and even then it only happens with advisors who like to stick to tried and true questions.

In young fields such as AI and the learning sciences, you'll never start with a claim. Very few of you will even get to start with a question! You start by exploring one or more problems in some task domain. You'll start with some initial ideas, naive or clever, and push them hard for a year or so. Then, you need to stop and think about what you've done and what you've learned. Among your accomplishments and experience, there will be several good candidate theses. Pick one. Test it out on your advisor and other faculty members. Test it out on other students. Watch out for the following flaws:

Once you refined your claim, now you can determine what kind of defense is appropriate for it and what more you need to do. This is where the psychologically hard part comes, because to create a defense for your thesis, you're going to have to attack it harder than anyone else. What happens if the thesis fails? Negate it and defend that! In a year or so of focussed research, you should be ready for a real thesis defense.

See how easy it is, once you know how?

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How to prepare an excellent thesis defense

What is a thesis defense?

How long is a thesis defense, what happens at a thesis defense, your presentation, questions from the committee, 6 tips to help you prepare for your thesis defense, 1. anticipate questions and prepare for them, 2. dress for success, 3. ask for help, as needed, 4. have a backup plan, 5. prepare for the possibility that you might not know an answer, 6. de-stress before, during, and after, frequently asked questions about preparing an excellent thesis defense, related articles.

If you're about to complete, or have ever completed a graduate degree, you have most likely come across the term "thesis defense." In many countries, to finish a graduate degree, you have to write a thesis .

A thesis is a large paper, or multi-chapter work, based on a topic relating to your field of study.

Once you hand in your thesis, you will be assigned a date to defend your work. Your thesis defense meeting usually consists of you and a committee of two or more professors working in your program. It may also include other people, like professionals from other colleges or those who are working in your field.

During your thesis defense, you will be asked questions about your work. The main purpose of your thesis defense is for the committee to make sure that you actually understand your field and focus area.

The questions are usually open-ended and require the student to think critically about their work. By the time of your thesis defense, your paper has already been evaluated. The questions asked are not designed so that you actually have to aggressively "defend" your work; often, your thesis defense is more of a formality required so that you can get your degree.

• Check with your department about requirements and timing.
• Re-read your thesis.
• Anticipate questions and prepare for them.
• Create a back-up plan to deal with technology hiccups.
• Plan de-stressing activities both before, and after, your defense.

How long your oral thesis defense is depends largely on the institution and requirements of your degree. It is best to consult your department or institution about this. In general, a thesis defense may take only 20 minutes, but it may also take two hours or more. The length also depends on how much time is allocated to the presentation and questioning part.

Tip: Check with your department or institution as soon as possible to determine the approved length for a thesis defense.

First of all, be aware that a thesis defense varies from country to country. This is just a general overview, but a thesis defense can take many different formats. Some are closed, others are public defenses. Some take place with two committee members, some with more examiners.

The same goes for the length of your thesis defense, as mentioned above. The most important first step for you is to clarify with your department what the structure of your thesis defense will look like. In general, your thesis defense will include:

• your presentation of around 20-30 minutes
• questions from the committee
• questions from the audience (if the defense is public and the department allows it)

You might have to give a presentation, often with Powerpoint, Google slides, or Keynote slides. Make sure to prepare an appropriate amount of slides. A general rule is to use about 10 slides for a 20-minute presentation.

But that also depends on your specific topic and the way you present. The good news is that there will be plenty of time ahead of your thesis defense to prepare your slides and practice your presentation alone and in front of friends or family.

Tip: Practice delivering your thesis presentation in front of family, friends, or colleagues.

You can prepare your slides by using information from your thesis' first chapter (the overview of your thesis) as a framework or outline. Substantive information in your thesis should correspond with your slides.

Make sure your slides are of good quality— both in terms of the integrity of the information and the appearance. If you need more help with how to prepare your presentation slides, both the ASQ Higher Education Brief and James Hayton have good guidelines on the topic.

The committee will ask questions about your work after you finish your presentation. The questions will most likely be about the core content of your thesis, such as what you learned from the study you conducted. They may also ask you to summarize certain findings and to discuss how your work will contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Tip: Read your entire thesis in preparation of the questions, so you have a refreshed perspective on your work.

While you are preparing, you can create a list of possible questions and try to answer them. You can foresee many of the questions you will get by simply spending some time rereading your thesis.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your thesis defense:

You can absolutely prepare for most of the questions you will be asked. Read through your thesis and while you're reading it, create a list of possible questions. In addition, since you will know who will be on the committee, look at the academic expertise of the committee members. In what areas would they most likely be focused?

If possible, sit at other thesis defenses with these committee members to get a feel for how they ask and what they ask. As a graduate student, you should generally be adept at anticipating test questions, so use this advantage to gather as much information as possible before your thesis defense meeting.

Your thesis defense is a formal event, often the entire department or university is invited to participate. It signals a critical rite of passage for graduate students and faculty who have supported them throughout a long and challenging process.

While most universities don't have specific rules on how to dress for that event, do regard it with dignity and respect. This one might be a no-brainer, but know that you should dress as if you were on a job interview or delivering a paper at a conference.

It might help you deal with your stress before your thesis defense to entrust someone with the smaller but important responsibilities of your defense well ahead of schedule. This trusted person could be responsible for:

• preparing the room of the day of defense
• setting up equipment for the presentation
• preparing and distributing handouts

Technology is unpredictable. Life is too. There are no guarantees that your Powerpoint presentation will work at all or look the way it is supposed to on the big screen. We've all been there. Make sure to have a plan B for these situations. Handouts can help when technology fails, and an additional clean shirt can save the day if you have a spill.

One of the scariest aspects of the defense is the possibility of being asked a question you can't answer. While you can prepare for some questions, you can never know exactly what the committee will ask.

There will always be gaps in your knowledge. But your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. You are not expected to know everything.

James Hayton writes on his blog that examiners will sometimes even ask questions they don't know the answer to, out of curiosity, or because they want to see how you think. While it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, but you would need to do [...] in order to find out.” This shows that you have the ability to think as an academic.

You will be nervous. But your examiners will expect you to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions, for example. Dora Farkas at finishyourthesis.com notes that it’s a myth that thesis committees are out to get you.

Two common symptoms of being nervous are talking really fast and nervous laughs. Try to slow yourself down and take a deep breath. Remember what feels like hours to you are just a few seconds in real life.

• Try meditational breathing right before your defense.
• Get plenty of exercise and sleep in the weeks prior to your defense.
• Have your clothes or other items you need ready to go the night before.
• During your defense, allow yourself to process each question before answering.
• Go to dinner with friends and family, or to a fun activity like mini-golf, after your defense.

Allow yourself to process each question, respond to it, and stop talking once you have responded. While a smile can often help dissolve a difficult situation, remember that nervous laughs can be irritating for your audience.

We all make mistakes and your thesis defense will not be perfect. However, careful preparation, mindfulness, and confidence can help you feel less stressful both before, and during, your defense.

Finally, consider planning something fun that you can look forward to after your defense.

It is completely normal to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions for example if needed. Slow yourself down, and take a deep breath.

Your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. James Hayton writes on his blog that it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", but he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, you would need to do [...] in order to find out".

Your Powerpoint presentation can get stuck or not look the way it is supposed to do on the big screen. It can happen and your supervisors know it. In general, handouts can always save the day when technology fails.

• Dress for success.
• Ask for help setting up.
• Have a backup plan (in case technology fails you).
• Deal with your nerves.

Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

What Is a Thesis?

• First Online: 01 January 2014

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• David Evans† 4 ,
• Paul Gruba 5 &
• Justin Zobel 6  

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Simply defined, a thesis is an extended argument. To pass, a thesis must demonstrate logical, structured, and defensible reasoning based on credible and verifiable evidence presented in such a way that it makes an original contribution to knowledge, as judged by experts in the field. Among the many types of scholarly productions, theses are an oddity: each one is different, and there are no standard or generic constructions. Most of those who supervise theses have written just one, and, despite the effort they take to produce, the only people who carefully read a given thesis are the project supervisors, the examiners, and an otherwise rather select audience of specialized academics.

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Evans†, D., Gruba, P., Zobel, J. (2014). What Is a Thesis?. In: How to Write a Better Thesis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04286-2_1

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The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

David Elliott Department of Philosophy and Classics University of Regina

How To Write a Philosophy Paper

Writing a philosophy paper usually presents very different challenges than assignments in other courses. What the main objective of your paper should be and how you should address it is something you need to understand clearly before you begin to research or write your paper.

The Objective of a Philosophy Paper: Present a Reasoned Defense

Your paper must present a reasoned defense of some claim(s) that you make. The entire focus and content of your paper must amount to a carefully reasoned argument. It is not enough to present the opinions of other philosophers, nor is it enough to present your own opinions. You certainly should present your opinions (and the opinions of other philosophers), but where these form part of your argument they must always be rigorously defended. You must offer reasons designed to rationally convince someone who is unlikely to accept your claims on face value. This central focus on argument means that logic is a vitally important subject in philosophy---and that's why most philosophy programs insist that students have at least a basic working knowledge of the subject.

So the objective of writing a philosophy paper is to put forward some particular claim or argument for consideration. Now what do you do? You should take up at least one or two of the following strategies. (I owe this list to James Pryor's wonderful page Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper .):

• Criticize that argument; or show that certain arguments for the thesis are unsound.
• Defend the argument or thesis against someone else's criticism.
• Offer reasons to believe the thesis.
• Offer counter-examples to the thesis.
• Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of two opposing views about the thesis.
• Give examples which help explain the thesis, or which help to make the thesis more plausible.
• Argue that certain philosophers are committed to the thesis by their other views, though they do not come out and explicitly endorse the thesis.
• Discuss what consequences the thesis would have, if it were true.
• Revise the thesis, in the light of some objection.

There are even more strategies possible for a good philosophy paper. But whatever strategy you adopt you must critically defend each step in that strategy. It is never enough to simply state things as true.

Avoid Assuming Your Position is Obvious

The trap that you should try very hard to avoid is presenting your view or reasons for a position in a way that assumes they are obviously true. This is a natural thing to happen, since you are already convinced that your thesis is true. It can easily appear to be obviously true. Philosophy, however, is very much in the business of making the obvious problematic. When I read your papers, I constantly ask myself, at every step in your argument, "Why should I believe that?" or "Are things really as you claim they are?" or "Are the cases you are comparing really similar?" etc. You must write your essay in way that assumes your reader will be thinking critically about every important statement that you make. Your reader (me) will not be reading for information (although it certainly isn't a bad thing if your paper is informative), nor for the creative writing quality of your paper (even though this is nice to see as well).

Begin With Generally Accepted Assumptions or Premises

Although you should always avoid assuming that your conclusions (or their reasons) are obviously true, you do have to start somewhere. Generally, good arguments begin with assumptions that most reasonable people accept, and then proceed from these, by means of rigorous argumentation, to more controversial claims.

Example : Suppose that you want to show that abortion is morally equivalent to murder. It would be perfectly reasonable in this case to assume that murder is morally wrong. You could simply ask your reader to accept this assumption. The interesting or creative thing about an argument like this would be how you can, by means of reasoned argument, make your claim about abortion being as wrong as murder. This claim really would not be obvious; you would need to rigorously defend it.

It is often the case that, in order to focus on the issue you are interested in, you will need to begin from assumptions or premises which really are controversial. This is perfectly acceptable. But to avoid circularity or triviality you must move to a conclusion that would not be obvious for people who would accept the same basic assumptions or premises you are asking the reader to accept. This requires you to present and defend an argument which is philosophically interesting (i.e., non-obvious or non-trivial).

Example : Suppose that you wanted to defend a position which > assumes that fetuses do not have moral status. Again, it is perfectly acceptable to ask your reader to assume this position (i.e., that fetuses have no status), provided that you are not going to conclude something obvious---e.g., that therefore abortions are morally permissible. What you would need to do now is to move toward some issue which people might reasonably disagree about even thought they might all agree that fetuses have no moral status. An example of this sort of issue is whether or not such a position entails that infanticide is morally permissible or not. Many liberals on the issue of abortion (e.g., Peter Singer) argue that a liberal position on abortion does entail that infanticide is permissible, while many others deny this (e.g., Mary Ann Warren). The point here, again, is that you must start somewhere, and it is reasonable to ask your reader to accept such a starting point. But after this, things should not be taken to be obvious. They must be rigorously defended.

State Your Main Thesis Clearly

Your paper should begin by stating your main thesis and giving your reader a general sense of how you plan to defend it. Stating this in a direct, straightforward way is common practice among professional philosophical writing. There usually is no need to begin your essay with platitudes like:

"Rene Descartes was a very famous philosopher..."

"Abortion is a very difficult issue on which very few people agree...".

Get right to your claim with statements like:

"In this paper I will argue that... I will show this claim to be defensible in the following manner... etc."

"X (i.e., some philosophical issue) raises questions about the soundness of the idea that Y (i.e., some other philosophical issue or assumption). In this paper I will show that these concerns about Y are generally unfounded (or well-founded)..."

Maintain a Narrow Focus

You should aim at defending a conclusion that you really can manage to defend. Aim at depth and rigor of argumentation rather than comprehensiveness. You should thus avoid the following structure for your discussion:

• Philosopher X claims that p.
• I would argue that not p.
• Philosopher X claims that q.
• I would argue that not q.

The problem here is that if that not p (or q) is worth bringing to your reader's attention, it should be something that is not obvious, and hence should require some defense. It is usually not provided in this straightforward manner. Furthermore, if the entire paper is of this structure, almost certainly you have been far too hard on yourself; you have raised more issues than you can deal with with the appropriate depth and rigor. You should also avoid concluding something that is stronger than your premises. A good philosophy paper makes a modest point, but makes it very clearly, straightforwardly, and rigorously. You usually need to narrow your scope or focus in order to do this. Also, by working with a narrow focus and staying with it, you show your reader (me again) that you can sort all of the various issues that arise with any philosophical problem, and then keep these issues sorted out as you continue with your discussion.

Be Creative

Students often seem puzzled when I tell them that they have not been philosophically creative enough. How can an entry-level philosophy student--they typically ask--be expected to come up with an entirely original solution to a problem that has baffled and avoided so many of the best minds in the past? Of course, this is not what is expected ---although it certainly would be appreciated by me if it were to happen! Originality is shown by your ability to think critically and reflectively about some issue or problem. Doing this thoroughly usually involves considerable creativity, but a very disciplined form of creativity, almost like the sort of creativity that a scientist or mathematician uses. (It is this, I believe, along with its focus on the logic of good argumentation, which makes philosophy more like a science than a creative writing exercise. I realize that some other philosophers disagree about this. But for the purposes of this course, this is our focus. We can take this issue up when you are in graduate school...).

You can typically (but by no means exclusively) show creativity in the following way:

• Some particular philosophical claim is presented.
• You take a clear position with respect to this claim and defend it, possibly in way that has been done before.
• Try to think of how someone who defended the position you are challenging would object to your defense. (This is usually not something that has been thought of before.)
• Respond to this objection. (Again, this is something that you will have to think up on your own).
• Try to take this further; try to think of ways that someone defending the original claim would respond to your defense. (This will probably be something you need to think of on your own.)
• Respond to this response---again, you will need to think of this on your own.

Many students never really get past steps 1 and 2 above. If so, then usually much of what you are doing is reporting on the various sides of the existing debate, and not framing the issue in your own terms. There are, of course, many ways that you can show philosophical creativity. Here are just a few:

• Show how the position you take on this issue is similar to a widely accepted form of reasoning (or conclusion) that people accept in some other, relevant case.
• Illustrate the claims you make with concrete examples--never leave things completely abstract; show how your principles or solutions work in ordinary situations.
• Make relevant distinctions between concepts relevant to your position/argument; show how these distinctions separate your view from other views that you want to avoid, etc.

Be Accurate

It is generally not good enough to show that you understand some particular philosophical claim or issue in general; you must show that you understand it precisely and exactly. You need to be very careful how you present another philosopher's arguments. You can almost be certain that if the view you are attributing to some philosopher we have considered appears silly or ridiculous you have probably interpreted inaccurately or uncharitably. I'm not particularly interested in stupid or silly arguments, and I would not ask you to read something that I thought was of this character. Even if, after every effort on your part to be accurate, the argument you are considering still seems ridiculous or silly, be as charitable as you can. Again, remember I am not interested in silly arguments, so it won't impress me that you have pointed out something that is obviously misguided. Try to see more charitable ways that this view might be defensible, and then direct your attention toward these claims.

Write Clearly

This point cannot be stressed enough. The most important reason why clarity is absolutely central in a philosophy paper is that your main goal is to construct an argument. You are trying to present a series of reasons which support some conclusion or conclusions. An argument becomes immediately unsuccessful if the reader is unclear about what your premises or conclusions are. And to the extent that your premises or conclusions are unclear, you have failed to provide convincing argumentation in support of your position. And, in turn, if you haven't supported your argument, you have failed to achieve the main goal of a philosophy paper.

A philosophy paper can become unclear in a variety of ways, but there appear two main levels on which this can happen: (a) at the sentence level and (b) at the paragraph, or structural, level. In the first case, your diction (choice of words) can leave the reader insufficiently clear about what you mean. In the second case, the reader can be at a loss about the direction or thrust of your general argument. It becomes difficult to follow from paragraph to paragraph.

There are various ways that you can make sure to preserve clarity in your discussion:

• If you use a term in a particular way in your paper, maintain that same meaning throughout---or explain very thoroughly why you have departed from the original meaning. Avoid worrying about changing terms merely for reasons of style or variety.
• Avoid the interregnum implementation of poly-syllabic constructs. Avoid big words! Use simple, ordinary language. Do not use jargon, unless it is explained thoroughly and clearly. (And please spare me vulgarities and expletives---unless, of course, these terms are quoted/referred to for some deeper philosophical point. Example: You refer to the term 'screwed' or 'f--ked' to make a point about sexist language, or how current linguistic practices reflect violent assumptions about (male?) sexuality, etc.)
• Avoid assuming that because I have more experience than you in dealing with philosophical terminology, that I will be able to sort out your terms. It is much better to assume that I don't know anything, and hence have to be "spoon-fed".
• Walk your reader explicitly through your argument/discussion. Your reader should know without any doubt which direction you are headed in, what you are doing now, how it relates to your overall conclusion, and where you have been. If necessary, constantly sum things up. (Example: "I have just argued that p and that q. I will now maintain that not p and that not q entail difficulties that cannot be adequately dealt with. These difficulties are, first, ... second..., third... etc.")
• Constantly and deliberately use the language or argumentation---i.e., logical indicator words like: 'since'; 'because'; 'entails that'; 'this shows that...'; 'thus'; 'therefore'; etc. Again, clearly indicate what statements you take to be reasons for (i.e., premises) other statements (i.e., conclusions).
• Avoid the repetitive use of rhetorical questions rather than clear, indicative statements to make your argument. (Rhetorical questions are phrases like the following, usually in a series: "Would anyone accept this? Would anyone want to be treated this way? Would any reasonable person accept this as moral behavior?... etc.") An unanswered question is at best an ambiguous statement, and ambiguous statements do not make good arguments.
• Philosophers use words that have a common usage in very precise, careful ways. But they are always very careful to explain and illustrate what they mean by these terms. (Example: In the abortion issue, philosophers standard use the term 'fetus' in a special way, to refer to all of the stages of a pre-born human being. This is a special use, since the term 'fetus' has a much more restricted biological meaning. It is used, however, to put a non-emotive term in place in a discussion where whether we are talking about a 'child' or a 'person' is being discussed.) You should thus avoid using ordinary terms in special, but unspecified ways. If you explain these terms carefully, however, it is generally okay to use ordinary-sounding words in particular ways. (Please note: this does NOT mean that you need to explain every single ordinary term that you use---e.g., 'argument' or 'valid argument' etc. You only need to explain those terms that have an ordinary use that you are using in a special way.)
• Avoid verbosity. Be concise in your statements. Make every word count. In most philosophical issues it is hard enough to grasp the point. If too many needless words or terms are used, things can easily become unclear and confusing.

In writing your paper you should aim at realizing three main goals:

• You should formulate a clear statement of the problems and issues involved, giving the reader a sense of their interest and philosophical importance. The reader should not be left wondering "Why should I care?" In the course of doing this, you should exhibit an accurate interpretation of any texts on which your discussion is based, including the theses and arguments advanced to support them.
• You should provide a carefully argued critical perspective of your own on the central issues under discussion. This does not mean that your perspective should be completely original with you. Rather, you should at least try to take some position and be prepared to explain and defend it. (If the position does come from someone else, then this, of course, should be acknowledged.)
• You should arrive at an assessment of the issues, based on a discussion in which you should put forward the best possible defense of the position you think is the most satisfactory. This does not necessarily mean, however, that you should arrive at a firm and settled conclusion. Presenting your own position can quite well mean presenting a forceful dilemma which you are unable to solve. Many a successful paper is valuable precisely because it throws into sharp relief ambiguities and difficulties of interpretation and argument. Or sometimes such a paper will provide a multiplicity of perspectives which may be incompatible, but between which, for well argued reasons, the writer is unable to decide.

A Possible Structure for Your Paper

There is no 'recipe' for writing a good philosophy paper. It can be done in many different ways, since, as we noted above, it is largely a creative exercise in critical thinking. In spite of my hesitation about giving out a formula, it might be helpful to consider one possible structure that your paper might take:

• Introduction: State what your argument or inquiry is going to be and indicate briefly what method of challenge you propose. This should be only about a paragraph in length and should occur right on the first page.
• Exposition: Set out the views, theses or claims that you will be advancing and/or examining. You may construct the paper either around a thesis of your own, or around the views held by authors in the assigned readings. In either case, other views should be brought in as foils for your own discussion. Make sure you support your claims about your author's views by precise citations. Avoid, however, making extensive quotations. It's better, in this case, to paraphrase, citing page references to the text so that your readers can check up on you. Also, when discussing another author's argument it is always helpful to exhibit clearly the structure of his or her argument. Note the main premises, unexpressed assumptions required for the argument to have force, and the main conclusions. Pick out any crux of interpretation, define any special terms, and discuss any alternative definitions that might be appropriate. Sharpen any difficulty found by suggesting contrary alternative interpretations. When something remains unclear, don't gloss over it, but draw attention to it. That way, you will get points even for what you don't understand!
• Discussion: This will be the criticism of the views expounded in 2 (your exposition). In this step consider possible objections (perhaps taken from other authors, if you are highlighting a thesis of your own), and do your best to yourself or your author(s) against them. If an author's argument is bad, explain why. Ask yourself whether any of the main premises are false. If so, then the argument is unsound. Does the conclusion not follow from the premises? (This is what it means to say that the argument is invalid, if it is intended to be a deductive argument. If it is not intended to be a deductive argument, then the reasons may just be poor reasons for the conclusion.) Sometimes the best you can do might be to point out that the view you are criticizing has highly implausible consequences.Also consider whether the argument relies on assumptions that are unacceptable, arbitrary, highly controversial, and so on. The argument may contain crucial ambiguities or have rhetoric instead of sound argumentation at some crucial stage.
• Constructive Section: This is necessary only if you have started by considering other people's views. Here you may set out your own assessment of the issues in question, and show how it escapes the criticisms that you have leveled against the author(s) considered. You should also defend your view against any obvious objections that might or have been leveled against it.
• Conclusion: Here you should briefly recapitulate the gist of your argument and restate the central message that your paper has attempted to establish. Note, again, that this section should not be merely repetitive of what has been said above, nor should there be any particular surprises for the reader. What is best done here is the extension and summation of what has been argued for in detail in the body of your paper.

## Criteria that I Use to Grade Your Papers

It should be clear from what I have said above, but just to be as clear as possible, let me list the main criteria that I use when grading your papers:

• Interpretive Accuracy : : Have you interpreted any arguments or counter-arguments that are presented in an accurate, charitable fashion?
• Cogent Justification : : Are your own arguments strong and plausible? Do the premises of your main argument really support what you intend them to support (i.e., your main conclusion)?
• Coherent Justification : : Are your own arguments presented in a coherent fashion? Are there aspects which stand in contradiction to each other? Is your argument logically coherent?
• Consideration of Counterarguments : : Do you sufficiently consider the arguments of others that would object or take exception to your position? Are these counter-arguments sufficiently strong?
• Concrete Application/Illustration : : Do you present your position and/or arguments in a purely abstract fashion? Do you sufficiently explain your terms/arguments/claims, etc., with the use of concrete applications or illustrations?
• Definition of Central Terms : : Are the central terms sufficiently explained? Are you relying too much on jargon? Do you make the distinctions that you need to make for your argument?
• Originality/Creativity : : Have you sufficiently framed the issue in your own terms? To what extent does your discussion represent your own thinking or ideas, rather than the thinking or ideas of others? Even if your discussion largely relies on the ideas of others, have you presented these ideas in an intriguing and insightful way?
• Presentation : : How clear and accurate is your prose/diction? Does your prose get in the way of the reader's understanding of the issue(s) in question? Have you been sufficiently concise? Do you explain things sufficiently in your own words?
• Organization : : How well organized is your discussion? Do you present/unfold your argument in way that makes your case the strongest it could be? Is your line of discussion hard to follow? Do you sufficiently explain things before your engage them philosophically? How easy/difficult is it for the reader to determine what your main premises and main conclusion(s) is (are)?
• Philosophical Depth/Rigor : : Even if you have a good argument, and have present some important arguments, have you developed an argument which is philosophically deep enough? Have you taken things as far as could be expected from an excellent student working from the level of the course and within the space requirements of the assignment?

The Psychology and Practice of Writing Philosophy

If you have the option to choose a paper topic, always choose the one that interests you most. If you have no choice, get as (temporarily) interested as you can on the assigned topic. This is not as difficult to do as it sounds, and the point of it is especially noteworthy: your level of interest in the task at hand is usually transparent to your reader. If you are bored by an issue, it is almost certain that you will equally bore the reader.

If you are having trouble settling on topic you would like to write on, I always recommend to beginning students that they should focus on some argument that they very strongly disagree with---that simply appears or seems wrong. In following this, you will at least have some place to start. Furthermore, it is a lot easier to react to some existing view in a critical way, than to think up a positive view of your own about a philosophical subject.

Once you have done enough reading on a topic, most of your working time on the paper should be spent trying to understand and reflect on the issue before you. One of the reasons for getting you to write an essay is to reveal your grasp of the particular philosophical ideas and concepts involved in the topic assigned. To accomplish this you must express those ideas clearly in your own words, point out differences, similarities, and other relations between them, and then evaluate them, all within the confines of carefully structured and reasoned arguments. This takes time and care. It simply can't be crammed on the night before the due date.

Once you have read and thought about the topic sufficiently and have come to the point where you believe that you have something to say about it, write your ideas down in point form. Brainstorm, that is, don't labor over details at this point. Then work out a more organized sketch of your paper noting only the most essential points you want to discuss and the (logical or reasonable) sequence in which you will present them. The idea is to make sure you know where you're headed generally. Since the process of writing and rewriting a paper is itself a thinking process, the specific details of your work will usually become evident only after you have finished a first draft.

There seem to be two ways to get through the task of writing a philosophy paper, both of which I have just alluded to. First, one can focus on getting a very well-thought out, clear outline of your paper. If you really have done this right, sitting down to write your first draft is usually a fairly easy business. Second, one could begin by writing a draft and then re-writing and re-writing until the final draft is achieved. Many philosophers that I know use one of these methods. I personally prefer the former method, since it seems to involve less writing. Furthermore, once I get something written down, I seem too easily impressed by seeing it in writing, and perhaps become less critical of it. Once written down, I also find it difficult to throw out. So I prefer to do as much of this sort of thing in my head or on an outline. However, if you seem to have trouble thinking complex issues out entirely in your head (as I do with mathematics...), you may want to work with the latter approach. Many people it seems do not know what they think about an issue until they write it down. Hence the act of writing becomes a catalyst for thinking one's way through the issues.

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What Does it Mean to Defend a Thesis?

If you are in the process of researching or writing a thesis, you are probably aware that defending a thesis will be an integral component of completing the process. While you may be familiar with the phrase “defend your thesis,” this does not mean that you fully understand what this process will entail. Below you will find a brief summation of what a thesis is as well as what it means to successfully defend a thesis.

The Thesis-A Brief Overview

Although broadly defined, a thesis is basically a brief summary of a theory or idea that is submitted in the form of a textual document, such as an academic paper. While research papers and argumentative essays will typically contain a thesis statement, the term “thesis” generally refers to a longer document that is prepared by a graduate-level student. In these cases, the thesis can be a precursor to graduation. Yet another factor you can consider to gain clarity regarding what constitutes a thesis is the difference between a thesis and a dissertation. The thesis is typically the final aspect of attaining a master’s degree while individuals who complete a dissertation do so to obtain a doctoral degree.

Defending a Thesis-The Basics

Individuals who write a graduate-level thesis will almost always be required to defend a thesis. While the requirements for this process will typically vary from institution to institution, defending the thesis generally incorporates presenting your main argument to an academic faculty and supporting your primary points with clear, convincing logic that lends credence to the fundamental concepts being advanced within the body of the work. For example, if an individual completes a thesis arguing that meat consumption is unethical, she or he might present arguments pertaining to the cruel abuse animals are subjected to in farms or factories to legitimate the claim.

Getting It Right-Components To Success

In order to make the process of defending your thesis as successful as possible, the following components of the endeavor are often emphasized:

Presentation Skills

In order to successfully defend a thesis, you need to be able to present your arguments effectively. To accomplish this objective, you should practice and attain feedback regarding your presentation strengths and weaknesses. In many cases, a learning institution will offer free workshops designed to help students enhance their presentation skills. These workshops can provide you with feedback on things such as the overuse of filler words like “um.”

The Dry Run

To ensure that your presentation skills can be objectively analyzed and critiqued by others, it’s a good idea to do a dry run. By delivering your thesis to colleagues or trusted friends, you can obtain feedback that helps you improve upon your presentation abilities. To accomplish this objective, the dry run audience needs to be proficient in:

• offering feedback regarding the effectiveness and coherence of your presentation • asking questions you haven’t considered yet • asking you questions which you think an examining committee might ask • providing you with feedback regarding your presentation skills in terms of any ineffective physical or verbal behaviors you may be participating in • offering feedback regarding which aspects of the presentation were strong, coherent, convincing, or otherwise effective

Anticipating Questions

When you defend your thesis, examiners will ask questions based on the information you present. To ensure that you perform well during this portion of the presentation, it is important that you try to anticipate the types of questions that will be asked . For example, if you are defending a thesis regarding why meat consumption is unethical, an examiner might ask you whether the presence of humane factory farms delegitimate your primary arguments. By anticipating the questions that examiners are likely to ask, you gain the opportunity to formulate clear, articulate responses that will strengthen your presentation.

While there are several aspects of graduate-level learning that can facilitate personal growth and intellectual development, defending a thesis can be particularly effective in generating these outcomes. Now that you have a basic understanding of what defending a thesis involves and how to do it well, you can move forward with confidence in the completion of this academic project.

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Definition of defensible

Examples of defensible in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defensible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English defensable, defensible "ready to fight, easily defended," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Late Latin dēfensābilis "able to be defended," from Latin dēfensāre "to act in defense" (frequentative of dēfendere "to defend ") + -bilis "capable (of acting) or worthy of (being acted upon)" — more at -able

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near defensible

defense mechanism

Cite this Entry

“Defensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defensible. Accessed 12 May. 2024.

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