UGS 303: Films and Filmmakers of Italy / Bonifazio

Crafting a thesis statement is a point at which your skills in research and your skills in writing converge. It can be hard to know whom to ask for help, me, your librarian, or the Writing Center (luckily, we're both in PCL).

Find a few secondary source articles on your topic - from books or journals. What are the authors claiming? Here is where you think about your observations and analyses of what you have read.

Do you need to find more sources? What kind of sources? What perspectives are missing? You may need more research help from a librarian.

You've found some sources and you feel like you have a good idea of what each source is saying. You may even have a good idea of how these sources speak to one another and what that says about the conversation surrounding your topic. How will you put it all together? How will you craft an argument out of this? You may need writing help from a consultant at the UWC.

The Writing Center has a few handouts that may be helpful (linked below). Be sure to schedule an appointment with them to talk about your thesis statement.

Be sure to make an appointment with me if you feel like you are missing some research.

Talking through the research and writing process can be a valuable practice in and of itself.

Thesis Statements (from the University Writing Center)

Transitioning from high school to college writing (from the University Writing Center)

Paraphrasing (from the University Writing Center)