Writing a Thesis Statement, Body Paragraphs, and Using MLA Criteria

This article will provide some information to students interested in learning how to write body paragraphs and use MLA style citations correctly. 

Arguments

All evidence that you provide within your essay (quotes, paraphrased passages) should prove/support your thesis statement. One area of confusion is whether evidence you use in your essay should connect back to the thesis or the subargument. The answer is the thesis. Subarguments are just ways of categorizing information; they are not actual arguments. 

For example, take the following thesis statement - McDonalds is the best fast food restaurant in America, and consider the following six pieces of evidence (I’m making these up to illustrate, they are not factually accurate):

• The Big Mac sandwich has more nutrients and protein than any other main sandwich from competing brands [A]

• McDonalds nutrition information is transparent and accurate [B]

• McDonalds has earned more money than all other popular fast food chains [C]

• McDonalds started with 10 restaurants in the 1960s and currently is operating worldwide with 10,000 restaurants [D]

• McDonalds provides charitable payments to many war-torn countries [E] 

• McDonalds supports youth programs across the United States [F]

Each of these pieces of evidence proves the point that McDonalds is the best fast food restaurant. These pieces of evidence can be organized into three reasons (arguments): McDonalds is a good option for health-conscious people [points A & B]; McDonalds is financially successful [points C & D]; McDonalds is the socially conscientious fast food choice [points E & F]. Notice that all arguments are, are headings. 

As you search your essay for evidence to support your thesis, you may find too much evidence to place in one category and not enough in another. Your task as a writer is to rephrase the categories in such a way, so that you can use all of the evidence available to you in your essay. Your arguments/categories should be distinct and not overlap. 

The logic of your paper is then as follows:

• McDonalds is the best fast food restaurant in America because 

• It's good for health conscious people 

• Its financially successful 

• It’s good for socially conscious people 

Note the problem with logic. The arguments don’t naturally lend their way to their conclusion. This means that you have to rephrase your thesis. Thus, rewrite it in a way that’ll logically work and rephrase it as: “McDonalds is a great choice for consumers looking to purchase fast food.” However, when that’s done, argument 2 (financial success) doesn’t make sense. So, the conclusion here is that the points made in argument 2 don’t work in this essay. At this point, you will have to go back into the essay in order to find additional information that supports the new thesis that “McDonalds is a great choice for consumers.” If you can’t find such information, you’ll have to rephrase your thesis again. The focus should be on finding as many quotes as possible that support a point of view that you develop as you collect quotes. 

This leads me to a final point regarding thesis statements: they are not static. The more evidence you collect and the more you organize it, the more your statement will change and adapt to the new information.  

MLA Style

The Owl of Purdue (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html) website series is the most popular for learning how to write with MLA style in mind. Your teacher will have their own MLA style requirements and notes that they provide, but if you follow MLA style guides for in-text citation, paper formatting, and reference list, you won’t be steered in the wrong direction. Follow MLA style to the letter. Note where punctuation goes, note the italics changes and so forth. 

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