A finished ENG-105 Topic 1 working thesis statement example, narrowing a subject into a claim a reasonable reader could dispute, with the discarded versions kept visible. Searches like "eng 105 topic 1 assignment example", "eng105 topic 1 sample" and "eng-105 topic 1 example" land here.
What a finished ENG-105 Topic 1 working thesis statement looks like
The finished example is short and heavily worked. It carries one sentence a reasonable reader could refuse, and around it the record of how that sentence arrived. Earlier attempts stay on the page with a note saying what was wrong with each, usually that it announced a subject, reported a fact nobody disputes, or promised to discuss something. The final claim names what is being asserted and, in the same sentence or the next one, the ground it will be defended on. A short passage tests the claim against the readings supplied in the classroom, since a position no supplied source touches cannot be carried by them. The example closes by naming the strongest objection the claim will have to survive.
How an ENG-105 Topic 1 example is structured
The example runs from subject to claim and then to a test, which is the order that keeps a writer honest. It opens with the subject as it was assigned, stated plainly, so a reader can see the distance traveled. A second stretch shows the narrowing, moving from a field to a question and from a question to an answer, with each move given a reason rather than performed silently. A third stretch states the working claim in one sentence and marks which part of it is arguable, because a sentence can be specific and still assert nothing. A fourth stretch checks the claim against the material available, asking whether the supplied readings hold evidence for it and whether they hold evidence against. A closing stretch names the objection the writer expects and the words in the claim it attacks.
A sentence somebody could refuse
The working claim is written so a reasonable reader could take the other side, which is the whole test at this stage.
The narrowing left visible
Discarded versions stay on the page with the reason each one failed, since that reasoning is what the assignment is asking to see.
Subject, question, answer in order
The example moves from a field to a question and only then to an answer, rather than leaping straight at a position.
Checked against the supplied readings
A claim the classroom material cannot reach is unusable however interesting it sounds, so the example tests reach before committing.
The objection named in advance
The strongest challenge to the claim is written down early, because a claim with no opposition to it was never arguable.
Where marks go in ENG-105 Topic 1
The losses here concentrate in one place, which is a sentence nobody could disagree with. A claim announcing a subject, saying that this paper will examine the effects of something, commits to nothing and leaves a marker no position to grade. Facts stated as claims have the same problem, since a verified figure cannot be argued about. Claims so broad that the supplied readings cannot reach them force the writer to bluff for the rest of the paper. Two claims fused with an and produce a paper that half proves each. Claims that never name the ground of defense read as opinion. Writers who submit a first attempt, with no record of what was rejected, lose the reasoning the rubric is looking for.
Get an ENG-105 Topic 1 example written to your instructions
Send the ENG-105 Topic 1 assignment instructions and the rubric posted in your classroom, together with the subject you were given and the readings that came with it. We write a custom example against those criteria, showing the narrowing, the working claim tested for arguability and the main objection named, back in 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free.
ENG-105 Topic 1 questions, answered
What makes a claim arguable?
The test is whether an informed reader could hold the opposite position without being wrong about the facts. If nobody could disagree, you have a topic or a fact rather than a claim. Assertions about what should happen, about what causes what, or about which reading of the evidence is better all pass, because each leaves room for a reasoned no.
Can I change my claim later?
Yes, and in many sections that is expected. A working claim is a place to start, and the evidence you read afterward may not support it. What costs marks is leaving the original sentence at the top of a paper that goes on to argue something else, since a marker reads the claim first and then finds the argument disagreeing with it.
How specific does the claim have to be?
Specific enough that the readings you were given can actually reach it. A claim about an entire industry cannot be carried by the handful of sources supplied with the assignment, and a claim about one program in one place may be too narrow to sustain a paper. The workable version usually names a subject, an effect, and the ground you will argue on.