The first section of this book focuses on the development of a thesis statement, a declarative sentence that tells your reader what you think about a topic. In other words, it is your opinion. It is also a response to what we have called the topic question. | ing. It involves asking questions about our subject questions that might be as simple as What is this or Why did that happen Inquiry is particularly important in helping you to form a thesis statement and to make an argument. 1. Questions help to define the boundaries of a topic. 2. Questions limit the kinds of facts and or opinions that you collect. For example when you are researching your topic you collect only the facts that are related to your topic question. 3. Questions always precede any attempt to name concepts to organize them into categories or to make decisions. 4. Questions help you to identify the facts that are missing from your system of classification. 5. Questions help you to reorganize your thinking. B. CLASSIFICATION. To answer questions we first refer to our own personal system of classification which is composed of all the data we have accumulated over the years. When we use our system of classification to answer a question we compare the characteristics of the information that interests us with the characteristics of objects or ideas that we already have a name for. Then we look to see if there is any correspondence. 1. If the information appears to be similar to objects or ideas that we have a name for then we classify the information accordingly. EXAMPLE It walked like a duck and quacked like a duck therefore it must have been a duck. 2. If the information appears to be different then we give it an arbitrary name and classify the information in a larger category. EXAMPLE It looked like a duck but it had very unusual markings and it did not have webbed feet. Therefore I am going to call it the bird that I saw on Bantam Lake last Thursday and I am going to classify it as a variety of waterfowl. 46 C. CONCEPTS. A classification system is made up of concepts that depend on language and culture for their meaning. 1. A single concept can have several different names or synonyms. 2. Some concepts are easily translatable into other languages. .
