AP® English Language and Composition review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/lang/units/4/4-3)
Unit 4 · Topic 4.3
4.3 Theses that preview the line of reasoning
A thesis can preview the line of reasoning by hinting at the reasons or the structure the essay will follow. It doesn't have to list points, and a thesis can be strong without naming every point. Readers also use a writer's thesis to predict how an argument is organized.
Key terms
- thesis
- preview
- line of reasoning
- defensible claim
Previewing is optional
Some teachers require a thesis that lists three points. The AP Lang exam doesn't. A thesis earns Row A by taking a defensible position that answers the prompt. A preview can help readers follow your reasoning, and it can help you plan, but it isn't required. A thesis also doesn't need to name every device, every source or every piece of evidence you'll use.
In Question 2, a preview often takes the form of naming the writer's main choices in the order they appear, tied to the purpose. That can work well, as long as the choices are specific to the passage and connected to what the writer is trying to do.
Three ways a thesis can point ahead
| Kind of thesis | Example (written for this page) | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Open (no preview) | Our town should build a protected bike lane on Main Street. | A position, with the reasons still to come |
| Structure hinted | Although a bike lane would cost parking spaces, the safety and business benefits outweigh the loss. | The essay will address the cost first, then argue for benefits |
| Reasons previewed | A protected bike lane would make Main Street safer, bring in more shoppers and cost less than repaving. | Three body paragraphs in that order |
Reading a thesis for structure
When you read, a stated thesis often tells you how the rest of the text will go. Words like "although" warn that a concession is coming; a list of reasons predicts the order of sections; "either... or" sets up a comparison of two outcomes. Lincoln's "House Divided" thesis (see topic 2.5) ends with the country becoming "all one thing, or all the other," which prepares listeners for a speech about which way the nation is heading. Reading questions sometimes ask what a thesis suggests about the structure of the argument that follows.
When a preview helps and when it hurts
A preview helps when your reasons are clear and your essay follows them in order. It hurts when it locks you into a rigid formula, such as "ethos, pathos and logos," that turns the essay into a list. It also hurts when the body paragraphs don't match the preview. If your plan changes while you write, fix the thesis so it matches what you actually argued.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Choosing a rhetorical analysis thesis for the Gettysburg Address
Prompt (written for this page): Analyze the rhetorical choices Lincoln makes in the Gettysburg Address to achieve his purpose. Which thesis is strongest, and why? (A) "Lincoln uses ethos, pathos and logos in the Gettysburg Address." (B) "In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln honors soldiers who died in the Civil War." (C) "Lincoln moves from the nation's founding to the battlefield to the unfinished task ahead, turning a ceremony of grief into a call for the living to finish the war so that the nation's founding ideals survive."
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: A lists labels that fit any speech. It has no purpose and isn't specific to this text.
- Step 2: B states a fact about the speech's subject. It doesn't analyze any choice, so it doesn't meet Row A for Question 2.
- Step 3: C names a choice (the movement from past to present to future), a purpose (getting the living to finish the war) and the effect (grief turned into resolve). It also previews the structure: the essay can follow the speech's three time frames.
Answer: C is strongest. It takes a defensible position about how Lincoln's choices serve his purpose, and its past-present-future structure previews an essay that follows the speech from beginning to end. A and B would not earn the thesis point.
- Example 2
A thesis that previews a concession
Practice prompt (written for this page): "Should cities ban cars from their downtowns?" Write a thesis that previews a line of reasoning including a concession.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Take a position: yes, on selected streets, not everywhere.
- Step 2: Name the strongest objection you'll answer: harm to businesses and deliveries.
- Step 3: Use "although" to signal the order: concession first, then your main reasons.
Answer: Thesis: "Although banning cars could hurt some businesses at first, cities should close their busiest downtown streets to cars, because pedestrian zones tend to bring more foot traffic, cleaner air and safer streets than the parking they replace." The "although" clause tells readers the essay will deal with the business objection, then build the case for safety, health and foot traffic.
Common mistakes
- Believing a thesis must list exactly three points to earn credit.
- Previewing a list of devices instead of the writer's purpose and choices.
- Writing a preview that doesn't match the order or content of the body paragraphs.
On the exam
- Remember: the thesis may set up a line of reasoning, but it doesn't have to in order to earn the point. A clear, defensible position comes first.
- Writing questions may ask which revision of a thesis best previews the argument that follows. Check each option against the paragraphs actually in the passage.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 4.3 Theses that preview the line of reasoning. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Written for this practice set: the opening of a student's draft of an argument for the town newspaper.
Based on the thesis in sentence 4, which topics should readers expect the body paragraphs to discuss?
The writer is considering revising sentence 4 to "The market should stay on Main Street for three reasons: business, community and tradition." Should she make this change?
Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New York, "The Strenuous Life," a speech to the Hamilton Club in Chicago, April 10, 1899. Paragraphs 1 and 2 come from the opening of the speech and paragraph 3 is its final paragraph. In the omitted middle, Roosevelt argued that the United States should take an active role abroad, including keeping control of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
The phrase "the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife" (paragraph 1) functions as
Written for this practice set: a student's draft of an argument for the school board. The prices are invented.
Sentence 3 (reproduced below) is the thesis. "Digital textbooks are the better choice for our school." Which version best previews the essay's line of reasoning?
0 of 4 answered