Friday, February 11, 2011

#12 - Topic vs. Thesis...

What is the difference between a "topic" and a "thesis"?

63 comments:

CharlieM said...

According to the Merriam Websters dictionary a thesis and a topic are defined as follows

THESIS is a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view especially one written by a candidate for an academic degree.

TOPIC a heading in an outlined argument or exposition

Andrew C. said...

A topic is "one of the general forms of argument employed in probable reasoning." A thesis "a position or proposition that a person advances and offers to maintain by argument." The difference is that a topic is more of a subject than an idea, while the thesis is more of an idea and foucses in on one specific thing.

Danielle said...

The difference between a thesis statement and top sentence is that, a thesis statement tells what the entire essay is about. A topic sentence tells what a body paragraph is about, and proves the thesis statement.
Danielle period 7

eric w said...

A thesis is a proposition stated or put forward for consideration and a topic is a subject of conversation or discussion.

Emma K. said...

I think that a topic is an ovrview of somthing and that a thesis is an inclusive statement that could describe a particular subject within te outine.

Dominic B said...

the topic is the overall focus of the papper in whqat is being written about and the thesis is your opinion of the subject on whaty your writeing about

Nick G said...

I think a topic is the subject and the thesis is what a persons statement is.
-Nick G

aaronl said...

A thesis statement declares what you believe in and what you intend on proving in your essay. A topic expresses what the sentence is about.

Anonymous said...

According to an online source:

a topic is one of the general forms of argument employed in probable reasoning

a thesis is a position or proposition that a person (as a candidate for scholastic honors) advances and offers to maintain by argument

ashley said...

A thesis is what is going to be proved in youre paper. A topic is a heading.

Bridget F. said...

The difference between a topic and a thesis is that a topic is just a subject that you focus on. But a thesis is an idea you develope and expand throughout your paper using research. A thesis is like an opinion.

dan a. said...

A "Topic" is what you are planning on discussing in your writing, whatever the situation may be. A "thesis" is what you plan to focus on significantly in your writing, and sets up the stage for the reader, so he or she can get an idea of what you will be writing about, which comes at the very end of an introduction.

Period 8 English

KevinS said...

A topic is the subject of the paper and the thesis is what the writer is writing about the topic.

Andre V. said...

The difference between the two is that a thesis is declaring what I believe or what I am going to prove. A topic is what I am planning to write about.

Anonymous said...

Your topic is generally what you're talking about. Your thesis is your standpoint on this topic, or your opinion.

Jackie said...

When you write any topic sentence, it must be based off of your thesis statement. A thesis statement allows the reader (and the writer) to understand what each body paragraph will attempt to prove. It usually is found at the end of the introduction of a paper. A topic sentence may begin each body paragraph. While the thesis statement presents what the entire paper will be about, the topic sentence shows only what that one paragraph will be about. In one's paper, the thesis is found only once. However, a topic sentence usually, and should appear more than once.

samanthab27 said...

A thesis statement is what your trying to prove though out your whole essay. A topic sentence supports your thesis and says what the body paragraph is about.

Alina said...

A topic is "the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts" while a thesis is "a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections". So thge topic is a general overview of something while a thesis is a specific statement which will be written about as well as focused on.

Kayla D said...

A topic is an overview of what your paper is. It is like the title that tells you what your going to be reading about. A thesis sets the tone of the paper and it describes and tells what your specific arguement is about.

Frankie B said...

The difference between a thesis statement and a topic sentence is that a thesis statement summarizes the who topic of the essay. A topic sentence tells what a body paragraph is about.

Anonymous said...

A topic is a broad idea or subject manner with many little ideas to talk about within the topic while, a thesis is a specific topic and less broad to talk about.
Danielle W

StephT said...

The difference between a thesis statement and a topic sentence is that a thesis statement picks a side of your topic and the actual topic sentence is the subject of your writing.

mattr said...

A thesis says what the entire essay is about and a topic is what a specific part of the essay is about such as a paragraph.

Timothy said...

A topic is something that is more general and broad and can have details put into them. A thesis is something specific and show what the paper will be discussing.

Jessica C said...

A thesis is what you are specifically proving in your essay, but a topis is a broad idea of what your essay will be proving.

Rhiannon said...

There is a significant difference between a thesis and topic sentence. The thesis introduces what the essay is about while being broad at the same time so you can give the details further in your piece of writing. A topic sentence is the subject or main idea for a certain paragraph or section of your paper. While a thesis you continue the idea throughout your entire paper.

Mike M. P.2 said...

thesis sets the standard for the whole essay and the topic is start of the paragraph stating specicfic details

sarie harvey said...

A thesis is what your essay is about. A topic sentence is just what that paragraph is about.

AmandaK said...

A topic is a very general statement, while a thesis is a lot more specific. The thesis tells what you're going to be writing about.

joeyn said...

A thesis is he main point your trying to prove in your essay and a topic os what paragraph in your essay is about

Marisa said...

A topic is like a broad subject, whereas a thesis is your own overall opinion on that topic.

bobby R said...

A topic sentence introduces a paragraph and what it will be about while a thesis is what the essay is about or what you will be discusing

Jimmy B said...

A topic is simply what you are writing about (example: extraterrestrial life). A thesis, however, is one's opinion about the topic in which they are writing about (example: extraterrestrial life exists). This is the difference between a topic and a thesis in a persuasive report. However, in general, a topic is just what you are writing about, while a thesis is a sentence or a few sentences that focus on what aspect of the topic you are writing about and/or what your stance is on the topic. In general, a thesis is more specific than a topic.

Anonymous said...

The topic is what your paper is mainly focused on and a thesis is what your trying to prove in the paper

Kaitlyn said...

The difference between a topic and a thesis is that a topic is a general area of a subject. It can be a sentence or a paragraph about a general idea. With a topic you have information backing it up. A thesis is usually a sentence were you are proving something and then writing an argument about it.

Kaitlyn Period 9

XxKaraXx said...

A topic sentence tells you what you are writing about in each paragraph and a thesis is a what your whole paper is about.

jessica s said...

The topic is the general statement, but the thesis is tells what you're going to write about in the paper.

billyt said...

A topic sentence introduces the point someone is trying to make in an essay. The thesis statement states what you are trying to argue in the entire essay.

George B said...

I think the difference between a topic and a thesis is a topic is a general statement of what your going to write. about, However, a thesis is usually in the introduction and talks about what your specifically going to write about in an essay.

Lauren T. said...

The topic is the subject of the thesis. The thesis is thes statement about the subect that is your topic. Also, the topic is more broad while the thesis is more specific and narrow.

Gabrielle A. said...

A topic is a very broad main idea in which smaller ideas and topics could branch out, while a thesis is a statement of what is trying to be proved in the essay.

SmithtownKO said...

Kyle O. period 8.
I think a topic is a general thing that you state. Ok my projects on Baseball. Baseball is my topic. What i say about baseball that is argueable is my thesis because it has more than one dimension.

Andrew.P said...

I think that the topic is the subject of the paper and the thesis is what the writer is writing about the topic.

AlexB said...

Topic- a gerneral broad topic that dosnt have and specific theme or main topic

Thesis- the main topic of your project and gives the view point of the author and something to develop on.

Michael D said...

A topic is part of the argument that you are discussing. A thesis tells about the main point of view of the person who is writing the paper.

jeanmarie said...

A topic is only a little section of your these and one part that you are focusing on. A thesis "a position that a person believes should be discussed. The difference is that a topic is more of a subject than an idea, while the thesis is more of an idea and foucses in on one specific thing.

Ashley L said...

the difference between a topic and a thesis is, a thesis is the statment your proving and a topic is an idea about something without any judgement on it.

Unknown said...

A thesis sentence is a sentence that your entire essay is going to be about. A topic sentence is a sentence that the paragraph is going to be about.

Bernadette said...

The difference between a thesis and a topic is that a topic is a general subject. A thesis is a specific thing that you are discussing or defending in your paper. For example, I did the topic abortion. My thesis is why abortion should be illegal.

alyssad. p8 said...

A topic is the broad subject you are discussing. A thesis is your opinion which you are trying to prove in your paper. Thesis' tell you what specific part of the subject is to be discussed in an essay.

AidanK said...

I think a topic is the idea that the writer is trying to talk about. While the thesis is the writers opinion about the topic that they are writing about.

Gianaa said...

The difference between a topic and a thesis, is that a topic is a heading that helps you begin what you are going to discuss. A thesis is the overall statement of what your essay is about.

Mike B said...

A topic is what the entire essay is about. And the thesis styatment desribes the essay. The differece is that the thesis is made from the topic.
Mike B

Grace L. said...

A thesis sets up what an entire essay will be about. Topics are points that you use to prove your thesis.

Anonymous said...

The difference of topic and thesis is that a topic is the overall idea of a paper and a thesis is what you or someone else is trying to prove.

Anonymous said...

During this research paper I feel like the methods I chose is different from what I learned in my past years. I say this because I was thought the traditional way of doing which is to mostly handouts and starting a rough draft on paper. The different thing I did in this paper was that I had a lot of dependence on the internet. I mostly used that because I basically had the internet almost every where I went, which made my life easier. Even though I mostly used the internet I still referred to all the handouts I was given in class.

MichaelL. said...

A thesis is sentence that will provide a subject to prove throughout a paper and a topic is something you prove in paragraphs

Jenn C said...

A topic sentence and thesis can often be confused with each other. Although they can be considered similar, they are very different. A topic sentence states what the paper will be about and a these states specific ideas about the topic that will be discussed throughout the paper.

Dave L said...

The definition of a topic and thesis can be found on m-w.com. A topic is a heading in an outlined argument or exposition and a thesis is a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view.

Jarred C said...

A topic is the subject one is talking about. A thesis is the viewpoint one has about the subject that they're writing about in their paper.

Jarred C

kristiiiiiiiiixo said...

A topic sentence is a main subject that you're writing about and a thesis is something you prove.

Stephen E said...

A topic is the subject of the paper and the thesis is what the writer is writing about the topic.

Mike S. said...

a thesis is a sumary of what you are writing in the essay, a topic is what you are actually writing about.