Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Form a working thesis statement
Supporting a thesis
Writing Papers in APA Style

✵ 59 Supporting a thesis

✵ 60 Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism

✵ 61 Integrating sources

✵ 62 Documenting sources in APA style

o LIST OF APA IN-TEXT CITATION MODELS

o LIST OF APA REFERENCE LIST MODELS

✵ 63 APA format; sample research paper

Note: An in-text citation is a reference to a source that you place within your paper. A reference list entry is a reference to a source that you include at the end of your paper.

Most instructors in the social sciences and some instructors in other disciplines will ask you to use the American Psychological Association (APA) system for documenting sources. When writing an APA-style paper that draws on sources, you face three main challenges:

1. supporting a thesis statement (59)

2. citing your sources accurately and avoiding plagiarism (60)

3. integrating source material effectively (61)

Examples in sections 59—61 are drawn from one student’s research for a review of the literature on technology’s role in the shift to student-centered learning. April Bo Wang’s paper appears in 63b.

59Supporting a thesis

✵ Testing your thesis statement

Once you have read a range of sources, considered your subject from different perspectives, and chosen an entry point in the research conversation, you are ready to focus your research paper by forming a thesis statement and supporting that thesis with well-organized evidence. In a paper reviewing the literature on a topic, the thesis analyzes conclusions drawn by a variety of researchers.

59a Form a working thesis statement.

A thesis statement expresses your informed answer to your research question — an answer about which people might disagree. Start by developing a working thesis statement to help you narrow your ideas and clarify your purpose. As your ideas develop, you’ll revise your working thesis to make it more specific and focused.

Here, for example, is a research question posed by April Bo Wang, a student in an education class, followed by her working thesis in response.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Can educational technology improve student learning and solve the problem of teacher shortages?

WORKING THESIS STATEMENT

Educational technology can help solve teacher shortages by shifting the focus from teachers to students.

After you have written a rough draft and perhaps done more reading, you may decide to revise your thesis, as Wang did, to give it a sharper focus and to show readers why the thesis matters.

REVISED THESIS STATEMENT

In the face of mounting teacher shortages, public schools should embrace educational technology that promotes student-centered learning in order to help all students become engaged and successful learners.

The thesis usually appears at the end of the introductory paragraph. To read April Bo Wang’s thesis in the context of her introduction, see 63b.

See 54a for guidelines for testing your working thesis statement.