Your assignment calls for an essay of to words, you figure you'll only have 750 1,000 so space to refute your opposition's strongest claim. Yolt decide to refute this claim Helps students to learn and organize material(2). The next step is to formulate a working thesis. At this stage, you may find it helpful to put your working thesis in an"although-because" statement so you can clearly see both your opposition's arguments and your own. An"although thesis for the note- taking essay might look something like this Although some students maintain that using professional note-taking services helps them learn more, such services should be banned from our campus becaus they prevent students from developing their own thinking and organizational skills, they discourage class atten- dance, and they give unfair advantages to some students Frequently, your"although because" thesis will be too long and awkward to use in the later drafts of your essay. But for now, it can serve as a guide, allowing you to see your overall position before the writing of the first draft begins. (To practice compiling a Pro-Con List and writing an"although-because thesis, turn to the exercise on 289-290.)