Putting It all Together

All kinds of texts share the following interdependent features:

• focus
• development
• organization

Using the example from the previous chapter, here is an example of these features at work in part of a writing project for an academic discipline in the humanities in MLA format.

The focus or overall point, stated in a thesis, is the following:

In order to be “taken seriously” in college, women students have had to work harder to achieve and prove their competence and literacy in certain fields of study, which is shown by the following discussion of various women’s literacy experiences in the 1950s-1970s.

The following is a well-developed point for that thesis:

1) Writer’s point/claim. Literacy sponsorship for women, especially in colleges and universities, has not always been through positive mentors.

2) Evidence from source texts. Rich writes, “At a time [the 1970s] when adult literacy is generally low, we need to demand more, not less, of women, both for the sake of their futures as thinking beings, and because historically women have always had to be better than men to do half as well” (448). In her interview, Smallwood explains that her professor singled her out for being a woman, and she describes how hard he was on her, giving her the most difficult questions to answer in class. She said, “He said to me, ‘I will make sure that every day is a living hell for you’” (Smallwood).

3) Writer’s interpretation/explanation/discussion of evidence (supporting/relating to the point). As sexist and cruel as her professor’s remarks and methods were in the classroom, by challenging her, it appears that Smallwood’s professor was indeed “taking women [like her] seriously” in college. One could argue that her professor was testing her, forcing her to work twice as hard as the male students, which enabled her to push forward and succeed to be a female pioneer in her field.

4) Writer’s development strategy (compare/contrast, cause/effect). If Smallwood’s professor were not taking her seriously, he most likely would not have called on her; he would have ignored her and demanded little from her. Fortunately, she was not discouraged and exceeded his expectations. This then paved the way for the next generation of female accountants, who were then not tested as hard as Smallwood was.

5) Writer’s transition to next paragraph. Whether he intended to or not, that professor, as Rich argues, demanded more of Smallwood, preparing her for her future career with not only knowledge of accounting, but also confidence.

Here is what this looks like in a well-organized body paragraph in the essay:

Literacy sponsorship for women, especially in colleges and universities, has not always been through positive mentors. Rich writes, “At a time [1970s] when adult literacy is generally low, we need to demand more, not less, of women, both for the sake of their futures as thinking beings, and because historically women have always had to be better than men to do half as well” (448). In her interview, Smallwood explains that her professor singled her out for being a woman, and she describes how hard he was on her, giving her the most difficult questions to answer in class: “He said to me, ‘I will make sure that every day is a living hell for you’” (Smallwood). As sexist and cruel as her professor’s remarks and methods were in the classroom, by challenging her, it appears that Smallwood’s professor was indeed “taking women [like her] seriously” in college. One could argue that her professor was testing her, forcing her to work twice as hard as the male students, which enabled her to push forward and succeed to be a female pioneer in her field. If Smallwood’s professor were not taking her seriously, he most likely would not have called on her; he would have ignored her and demanded little from her. Fortunately, she was not discouraged and exceeded his expectations. This then paved the way for the next generation of female accountants, who were then not tested as hard as Smallwood was. Whether he intended to or not, that professor, as Rich argues, demanded more of Smallwood, preparing her for her future career with not only knowledge of accounting, but also confidence.

Read on for more specifics about focus, development, and organization.

What About Context?

But wait, you say—isn’t there no such thing as writing in general? Isn’t writing dependent upon context to include discourse community, genre, and rhetorical situation? You’re right! Not all thesis statements look the same across different genres in academic writing—some don’t even include them. Furthermore, a thesis statement will look different for various rhetorical purposes, such as writing to argue, analyze, or report. Also, various discourse communities might accept certain development strategies, discourage others. Lastly, certainly genre often dictates writing project structure. The purpose of the following sections is to introduce you to these concepts and illustrate with some examples to support your college writing. Next your task will be to apply this knowledge of focus, development, and organization to other discourse communities, genres, and rhetorical situations you encounter in college and beyond.