From Inquiry to Academic Writing A Practical Guide, 3rd edition

118 ChAPTer 5 | From FormulATing To DeVeloPing A Thesis

parents, teachers, and students to think early about the costs of college and the

possibilities that exist to help children pursue a college degree.

In your own writing, you can make use of the strategies that O’Neill

uses in his essay. Words like although, however, but, instead, and yet can

set up the problem you identify. Here is a variation on what O’Neill writes:

“One might argue that vocational programs may provide a reasonable

alternative to meeting the needs of low-income students for whom college

seems unaffordable and out of reach; however [but, yet], such an approach

ignores the range of possibilities that exist for changing policies to ensure

that all children have access to a college education.”

Steps to Establishing a Context for a Thesis

■^1 Establish that the issue is current and relevant. Point out the

extent to which others have recognized the problem, issue, or

question that you are writing about.

■^2 Briefly present what others have said. Explain how others have

addressed the problem, issue, or question you are focusing on.

■^3 Explain what you see as the problem. Identify what is open to

dispute.

■^4 State your thesis. Help readers see your purpose and how you

intend to achieve it — by correcting a misconception, filling a gap,

modifying a claim others have accepted, or stating an hypothesis.

■ analyze the Context of a thesis

In “Teaching Toward Possibility,” educator Kris Gutiérrez argues that

teaching should focus on student learning and provide students with mul-

tiple tools from different disciplines to ensure that students engage in

what she describes as “deep learning.” She also explains that culture plays

a key role in learning, particularly for students from nondominant groups.

However, she reframes the notion of culture as a set of practices, as a verb,

which she distinguishes from inert conceptions of culture based on indi-

viduals’ membership in a particular ethnic community. Her essay, pub-

lished in 2011, is addressed to educators, teachers, and policy makers. As

you read the following excerpt, you may be puzzled by some of Gutiérrez’s

vocabulary and perhaps even excluded from the conversation at times.

Our purpose in reprinting this excerpt is to show through our annotations

how Gutiérrez has applied the strategies we have been discussing in this

chapter. As you read, make your own annotations, and then try to answer

the questions — which may involve careful rereading — that we pose after

the selection. In particular, watch for signpost words or phrases that signal

the ideas the writer is challenging.

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