You have just completed a side trip that required you to write a report summarizing various viewpoints related to your Research Paper Question. You--and your readers--are more familiar now with where other people stand. Now it's time to take a stand YOURSELF! It's time to begin Phase 3 of the main journey--declaring a Tentative Thesis Statement.

If you've worded your Question carefully, it may have several possible answers. That's a good thing. That means you have arrived in the land of argumentation. As a wise professor once said: "An argument is something over which reasonable people can agree to disagree." If a question has many possible answers, it means different people with different opinions will answer the question, well, . . . differently!

Your job is to look into your heart and answer your Question according to what you believe. Your answer is your Tentative Thesis Statement. For example, when Ryan pondered the question, "Should amateur mountain climbers be allowed to climb Mt. Everest?", he felt compelled to answer, "Amateur mountain climbers should not be allowed to climb Mt. Everest." By answering his question, Ryan declared his Tentative Thesis Statement.

Go to "Tentative Thesis Statement" to continue Phase 3 of the "Main Journey."