Developing Your Thesis

Worksheet Description

The “Research” worksheet is a comprehensive guide that assists students in developing a focused research question and thesis statement for a topic of their choice. It begins by encouraging students to identify a subject they are interested in exploring, prompting initial research to gain a broad understanding of the topic. The worksheet guides students through the process of narrowing down their interests to a specific aspect of the topic, suggesting the use of clustering information to organize what they know and pinpoint a particular area for in-depth study.

Once the area of focus is determined, the worksheet instructs students to formulate various questions related to their chosen topic, employing the critical interrogatives. These questions help in refining the research scope and lead to the selection of a main research question. The worksheet emphasizes the importance of crafting a clear and specific main question, avoiding any vague language. The final step involves writing a working thesis statement, which encapsulates the student’s preliminary answer to the research question. This statement is recognized as a dynamic part of the research process that may evolve as the investigation progresses. Overall, the worksheet is a structured approach to initiating and focusing scholarly research.