Remember when you developed a rough thesis statement to help your hunting? Now it’s time to refine that statement, if you haven’t already done so. Having thoroughly read all of your notecards, you should be in a good position to refine your statement based on the additional information.
First, read your notes once more. Then, sit back and pretend you’re talking to a friend. The friend should be an “intelligent ignorant”—a well-read, interested, and ready listener who happens to know very little about your topic. You may even find it useful to make a tape recording of your imaginary conversation. Tell her or him what your writing project is all about. Try to reduce the topic to a single thesis sentence—the point you ...
Get The Manager's Pocket Guide to Effective Writing now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
