Kathleen Flake
Assistant Professor of American Religious History

Thesis * Evidence * Structure * Style

Adapted from Some Principles for Effective Academic Writing
by Allison Pingree, Director, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

1) debatable, not obvious – i.e., it offers some surprise, counter to what we might expect

NOT: The European settlers brought a variety of religious beliefs to the New World.

2) provable – i.e., you have good evidence to prove the point you want to make

NOT: The Puritans came to New England in search of gold.

3) feasible to be covered in the length of paper you are writing

NOT: The entire story of American religious history can be told through the history of slave religion and of the black church.

• Choose quotations or details from your source texts that will work directly and specifically to support your thesis.
• Do not summarize at length. Make sure that everything you bring up works to prove your point.

• Convey a blueprint at the beginning of your paper that lets the reader know how you will proceed.
• Use transitions between ideas so we see how you see those ideas relating to each other.

Style

• Be aware of audience in the language you choose. Extremely colloquial or informal language may work for e-mails, but is less effective in academic essays.
• Try to think of ways to make your ideas come alive–mine your own surprises, passion, or curiosity and let your reader follow your lines of thought.