APA-1a: Forming a working thesis

APA-1aForm a working thesis.

Once you have read a range of sources, considered your issue from different perspectives, and chosen an entry point in the research conversation (see R1-b), you are ready to form a working thesis: a one-sentence (or occasionally a two-sentence) statement of your central idea. (See also C1-c.) Because it is a working, or tentative, thesis, you can remain flexible and revise it as your ideas develop. Ultimately, your thesis will express not just your opinion but your informed, reasoned answer to your research question—a question about which people might disagree (see R3-c). Here, for example, is a research question posed by Luisa Mirano, a student in a psychology class, followed by her thesis in answer to that question.

research question

Is medication the right treatment for the escalating problem of childhood obesity?

working thesis

Treating cases of childhood obesity with medication alone is too narrow an approach for this growing problem.

The thesis usually appears at the end of the introductory paragraph. To read Luisa Mirano’s thesis in the context of her introduction, see APA-5b.