Introduction

Genre

Topic

Scope

Thesis or Question

Introduction

Example

Defining features

Constructing effective statements/questions

The "So What?" Test

Research

Outline

First Draft

Revisions

Proofreads

Additional Resources

Writing a Research Paper

Thesis or Question

The "So What?" Test

Whenever you plan on writing a research paper, there is an extremely important point that you must constantly keep in the forefront of your mind--even English teachers frequently mention it as something students fail to do time and time again. What is it? To be sure to choose a topic worth arguing about or exploring. This means to construct a thesis statement or research question about a problem that is still debated, controversial, up in the air.

So arguing that drinking and driving is dangerous-- while you could find a ton of evidence to support your view --would be pretty worthless nowadays. Who would want to read something they already knew? You wouldn't be persuading them of anything and all your work would be pretty meaningless.

What this means is that during the topic-formulating stage and again now, always keep asking "SO WHAT?", "WHO CARES?" or to paraphrase the famous Canadian journalist Barbara Frum: "Tell me something new about something I care about." That will automatically make your paper significant and interesting both for you to write and the reader to study.

Now let's apply this test to our music-grades thesis statement:

If you believe there might be evidence to back that argument up, it certainly seems a worthy thesis considering so many millions of students listen to their stereos while studying at home. Have parents been wrong all this time to tell their kids to shut off all distractions and stay on-task? Does a student's happiness, motivation, or alertness during studying (which now might be directly influenced by radio music) affect the way they approach school, tests, or even education in general?

Congratulations! You've asked and answered So What? and Who Cares? Whether it's a thesis or a question that looks at what music could be doing, people would certainly be interested in following your development on this issue. After all, you're not writing a paper trying to convince folks that studying results in better grades. Few would be interested in reading that.