E3-a: Asserting your claim before providing evidence

E3-aIn most academic papers, assert your claim before providing the evidence.

Readers in most academic situations will expect to see your claim—your thesis or main idea—before seeing your evidence or support for the claim (see “introduction” and “thesis” in your handbook). This is quite different from academic styles in some other languages, which leave the main point open to readers’ interpretations or which conclude rather than begin the essay with the main idea.

If you’re not accustomed to stating a thesis before providing support, you might find it useful to outline your essays carefully before beginning to write. (See C1-d.) Consider using the following steps until you feel comfortable with the academic English style.

  1. Outline your ideas in the method with which you are familiar (for example, with the main idea or claim at the end).
  2. Read your outline and highlight the main idea and the supporting points in your outline.
  3. Rearrange your outline so that the main idea is at the beginning.
  4. Use your rearranged outline as a guide when you draft your essay.

Don’t be concerned if this planning stage takes time. Remember that the planning stage of writing often takes longer than the writing stage does.

The original outline below shows several points of support, leading up to the main point in the last sentence. The revised outline below shows the preferred organization for an academic English essay, with the main point stated first, followed by the evidence or support.

original outline: main idea last

  1. In the United States, teenagers often move out of their parents’ homes when they turn eighteen.
  2. The parents’ money is considered only the parents’ money—not the money of their adult children.
  3. Without their parents’ financial help, young adults in the United States often struggle to find affordable housing, transportation, and jobs to pay for all their needs.
  4. The fast pace of their daily activities and their lack of job security can be very stressful.
  5. Even after they finish school, young adults in the United States may need their parents’ support to achieve lasting independence.

revised outline: main idea first

  1. Even after they finish school, young adults in the United States may need their parents’ support to achieve lasting independence.
  2. In the United States, teenagers often move out of their parents’ homes when they turn eighteen.
  3. The parents’ money is considered only the parents’ money—not the money of their adult children.
  4. Without their parents’ financial help, young adults in the United States often struggle to find affordable housing, transportation, and jobs to pay for all their needs.
  5. The fast pace of their daily activities and their lack of job security can be very stressful.

note: In most cases, each paragraph should state a main point first, followed by supporting evidence (see A4-e). There are, however, some exceptions to this pattern, particularly in the introductory and concluding paragraphs of an essay (see C2-a, C2-c).