After selecting a topic and conducting research, you will need to organize your data to identify themes. Organizing your data will help you develop your thesis statement and create an outline of your paper. Consider the outline as the bones of what will grow into your five page paper. This lesson will address ways to develop a thesis statement and construct an outline to support it.
Lesson Objectives
- define and describe a thesis statement
- identify the required components of an outline for a research paper in African Humanities
- produce an outline that includes in-text citations
- critique at least two student outlines using criteria established in the web lesson
Developing a Thesis Statement
Now that you have conducted scholarly research, you likely have a more informed understanding of your selected topic and a better ability to make a more confident declarative thesis statement about your topic. In academia, a thesis is a conclusion based on observable evidence produced through scholarly research. An undergraduate research paper is a student’s thesis (conclusion) that is based on and supported by evidence published in scholarly articles. The goal is to move beyond simply defining and describing other people’s research and toward developing your own idea or perspective on a topic in African Humanities.
For example, after conducting research on the general topic of ‘Politics and the Media in North Africa,’ a student may draw the conclusion that social media played a critical role in mobilizing people during the Arab Spring uprising in 2011. The body of the paper is then dedicated to supporting that statement with articles that provide evidence supporting it. For this class, your statement does not need to be groundbreaking, but it does need to be supported with information gathered from your research.
Once you have decided on a statement, you will need to organize information from your research by creating an outline for your paper. Its important to note that it is not unusual to change a thesis statement while writing an outline. This is what makes an outline so important, because it allows the writer to identify problems with the statement or the research before attempting to write the paper.
Anatomy of a Paper Outline
The outline is the bones that you will build into your paper. A good outline will make it much easier to write a full paper. For this class, the outline does not need to consist of complete sentences or paragraphs. It can be fragments of notes taken from your research. In fact, it is better to avoid copying and pasting direct quotes from your sources so you can ensure that the content in your paper is in your own words.
In this class, the outline should include your thesis, an historical background section, at least three subheadings that support your thesis, a conclusion, and your bibliography. Use the paragraph chart in the GELO assignment description (located in the Research Paper page) as your guide.
| Introductory Paragraph | Place your thesis here. You will develop this section into a paragraph when your write the paper. This thesis can change at any time. |
| Socio-Historical Context | List the historical events directly related to your thesis. Include in-text citation(s) of the source(s) you will use as a reference. You do not need to give a complete history in this section. For example, a paper about the Arab Spring Uprising in North Africa should provide the reader with a brief overview of colonialism, independence and the political circumstances that led to the uprisings in several North African countries. |
| #1 Subheading for Supporting Data | List the specific data you will use to write this paragraph. Include in-text citation(s) of the source(s) you will use as a reference. For example, a paper about social media and the Arab Spring may describe how increased access to the internet and cell phones among common people in North Africa. |
| #2 Subheading for Supporting Data | List the data you will use to write this paragraph. Include in-text citation(s) of the source(s) you will use as a reference. For example, this paragraph may describe the role of Facebook during the Tunisian uprising in a paper on social media and the Arab Spring. |
| #3 Subheading for Supporting Data | List the data you will use to write this paragraph. Include in-text citation(s) of the source(s) you will use as a reference. For example, this paragraph may describe the role of Twitter during the Egyptian uprising in a paper on social media and the Arab Spring. |
| Conclusion | The concluding statement should reflect the thesis, but to a reader that has been more informed by reading your paper. If possible, try to tie your research to a more broad arena such as Africa or the world. In a paper about the role of social media in the Arab Spring uprisings, for example, the writer end by concluding; In light of the role of social media in the Arab Spring uprisings, social media should be considered a powerful tool for democracy and social justice movements in Africa. |
| References | Provide a list of properly formatted references cited in the text. It does not matter which style you use. They do not need to be annotated. |
For Discussion in Canvas
Produce and submit an outline of your research for in-class peer review, and provide constructive criticism to at least three of your classmates. Simply telling someone they did a great job does not earn credit. Review their outline, and consider the following:
- Is there a declarative thesis statement about the topic?
- Is there an historical background section regarding relevant events?
- Are there at least three data paragraph subheadings to organize data in the body?
- Do the background and data paragraph sections have in-text citations designating the sources of the data that will be used in each paragraph?
- Is there a bibliography with formatted references?