The document provides guidance on writing effective thesis statements. It explains that a thesis statement expresses the main idea or argument of an essay. It should be specific, take a clear position, and foreshadow the key points that will be discussed in the essay. Examples are provided to illustrate weak versus strong thesis statements. The document stresses that a good thesis statement is focused and interpretive, not just a restatement of the prompt.
Essay 2 Enter the ConversationPercentage of Final Grade 15 or.docxgreg1eden90113
Essay 2: Enter the Conversation
Percentage of Final Grade: 15% or 150 points
Learning Objectives:
·
Students will understand academic writing as a conversation about topics of consequence.
· Students will understand their responsibilities as writers – to accurately cite the work of other writers, to provide their audience with reliable information, and to consider multiple points of view.
· Students will understand academic writing as governed by the conventions of specific discourse communities.
· Students will become more critical readers, learning strategies for previewing, annotating, summarizing analyzing, and critiquing texts.
· Students will acquire informational literacy – the ability to locate and evaluate source material.
· Students will improve their ability to write clear and compelling thesis statements.
· Students will develop the skill of constructive critique, focusing on higher order concerns during peer workshops.
· Students will understand the distinction between revising and editing.
Assignment:
For Essay 2, you will summarize and then respond to
one of the readings from this unit (or the video,
College Inc.). In your essay, you will summarize the reading/video and then respond to it by discussing how your own experiences and knowledge have led you to either agree, disagree, or both agree and disagree with the author
and by including the opinions of third parties (i.e., by incorporating secondary sources), which is discussed in more detail below.
Most of the readings can be found in your textbook. However, I also assigned a couple of outside readings and the video,
College, Inc.,
which are posted under Course Content.
In addition to the assigned readings (or the video), you may choose any of the other readings from Chapter 17 in
They Say / I Say. Choose the one that you best understand. Carefully read the example essays that I have posted under Course Content, as they will help you to understand the expectations for the assignment.
Essay 2 is similar to the previous essay, with two additions:
1. Rather than responding to the selected reading/video with your own opinion only, you will add other people’s voices to the conversation by including two secondary sources (i.e., in addition to the selected reading/video). You will use quotes both from the selected reading/video and from your secondary sources to support your assertions.
Your secondary sources can be another reading from this unit. For example, in “Two Years Are Better Than Four,” Liz Addison is responding to Rick Perlstein’s argument in “What’s the Matter with College?” Therefore, you might choose to discuss their opposing views. Instead, you might choose articles you find through one of the library databases, an article in another textbook, a radio show, a podcast, or a video. You are not required to use scholarly sourc.
Easiest Way to Write a Thesis StatementCustomWriting
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ENG 283 Close Reading Assignment (5pts)Taylor 2Dire.docxgidmanmary
ENG 283: Close Reading Assignment (5pts)
Taylor 2
Directions:
1) Focus on one text from the list below:
Silko, “Pueblo Ecology”
Creation/Trickster Narrative(s)
de Vaca, “The Relation of Cabeza de Vaca”
Rowlandson, “Captivity and Restoration”
Bradford, “Of Plymouth Plantation”
Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
2) Perform a close reading on a section or group of sections from a text. To do so:
Focus by identifying a significant pattern, repetition, anomaly, theme, device, etc.
a. What stands out to you or what do you notice? For example, “imagery,” “diction,” “contrast,” “conflict,” OR “repetition …” List the instances as you prepare to draft.
b. Plan to discuss each example in its own body paragraph.
c. In each body paragraph, discuss what you see as the purpose of the pattern, repetition, anomaly, theme, device, etc.? What does it show, add, symbolize, suggest, or show? Do this for each example in its own paragraph.
2) Ask a question about the pattern (see below).
*Ultimately, your close reading will help you answer one of the prompts below OR explore a new idea of your choice.These questions are intentionally broad; be specific in your essay by offering your own unique interpretation of the literary devices in a text. Be sure to define your terms and devices.
Based on your close reading of a text:
1. What is at the heart of American confessions?
2. What is the confessional tradition “about”?
3. What does the early-American literary tradition suggest about the power of place and/or space?
4. What is the American origin story? What has a work of early-American literature suggested about American beginnings?
5. Based on your reading, what is the pursuit? What has a work of early-American literature suggested about the pursuit? How is it defined?
6. Based on your reading, how were aspects of early-American identity created and remade? Challenged? What does a work of early-American literature suggest about the making, limits, and possibilities of identity?
7. What does the early-American literary tradition suggest about rebellion and/or resistance?
8. What does a work of early-American literature suggest about the power of belief?
9. What is the role of voice, authorship or authority in a work of early-American literature? (May include the power of orality/the power of speech.)
10. Based on your reading, what do you see as a key conflict or tension during the early-American period?
11. What is a recurrent theme in early-American literature?
12. How do early-American authors negotiate audience (the reader) and to what end?
13. What is the role of food, nature/environment, clothing, or another related aspect in early-American literature (can relate to one of the above)?
14. A student-generated question (from discussion or group work).
15. Another topic of your choice.
Structure
Opening Paragraph** (will eventually become a formal introduction):
a. One sentence that states your text and the literary device ...
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Question #1Select three to five poems from Jill McDonough’s Hab.docxssuser774ad41
Question #1:
Select three to five poems from Jill McDonough’s Habeas Corpus and write an essay in which you analyze these sonnets. On what aspects of the convicted person’s story does McDonough focus and why? What larger question(s) or issues do these poems raise about the punishment of death penalty?
Poems chosen:
1. October 22,1659: Mary dyer Boston Massachusetts
2. June 1,1660: Mary dyer Boston Massachusetts
3. July 7, 1865: Mary Eugenia Surratt old arsenal prison, district of Columbia
In your paper, you need to explain how these poems relate to an idea (or ideas) put forth in one of the theoretical text we have read this semester (e.g. by Brooks, Davis, Franklin, Dickens or Beaumont and Tocqueville). Where and how does capital punishment fit in the larger framework of criminal justice?
Relative poem:
1. Charles Dickens's "Philadelphia, and its Solitary Prison," Ch. 7 in American Notes (1842)
For example, you can examine how the poems illustrate or dramatize certain aspect of the purpose or implementation of death penalty as presented by Foucault. How do the poems further your understanding of the relationship between crime and punishment? What issues concerning the philosophy or practice of capital punishment do they bring to light and/or problematize? Do the poems show us something that is not addressed by Foucault?
Remember that you need to have a unifying thesis, so in making your selection
think about the overall point you want to make about these poems. It has to be
clear—by the time the reader finishes reading your essay, but hopefully after
reading the introduction—why you picked these particular poems.
NOTE: You can include revised parts of your group’s Wiki or your own DB post
in your paper, but make sure that they are significantly reworked; otherwise
they will show up as self-plagiarism in Turnitin.
Guidelines and Topics:
• The Assignments section in Blackboard includes a folder titled Writing Guides which contains several documents that you should find useful: two sample literary papers (they do not have citations, but otherwise serve as decent models); “Tips for Quoting and Citing” (a shortened version is reproduced below, p. 3); “Words To Introduce Quotations”
Write a 4-5-page essay (approx. 1000-1250 words, double-spaced, 12 pt. type, 1-inch margin, no extra space between paragraphs) on one of the following topics:
Capital Punishment in Historical Perspective
Question #1:
Select three to five poems from Jill McDonough’s Habeas Corpus and write an essay in which you analyze these sonnets. On what aspects of the convicted person’s story does McDonough focus and why? What larger question(s) or issues do these poems raise about the punishment of death penalty?
In your paper, you need to explain how these poems relate to an idea (or ideas) put forth in one of the theoretical text we have read this semester (e.g. by Brooks, Davis, Franklin, Dickens or Beaumo ...
DEVELOPING A WORKING THESIS FOUR MODELSWhat are some ways to deLinaCovington707
DEVELOPING A WORKING THESIS: FOUR MODELS
What are some ways to develop a working thesis? We suggest four models that may help you organize the information you gather in response to the question guiding your inquiry.
◼ The Correcting-Misinterpretations Model
This model is used to correct writers whose arguments you believe have misconstrued one or more important aspects of an issue. The thesis typically takes the form of a factual claim. Consider this example and the words we have underlined:
Although scholars have addressed curriculum to explain low achievement in schools, they have failed to fully appreciate the impact of limited resources to fund up-to-date textbooks, quality teachers, and computers. Therefore, reform in schools must focus on economic need as well as curriculum.
The clause beginning with “Although” lays out the assumption that many scholars make, that curriculum explains low educational achievement; the clause beginning with “they have failed” identifies the error those scholars have made by ignoring the economic reasons for low achievement in schools. Notice that the structure of the sentence reinforces the author’s position. He explains what he sees as the faulty assumption in a subordinate clause and reserves the main clause for his own position. The two clauses indicate that different authors hold conflicting opinions. Note that the writer could have used a phrase such as “they [scholars] have understated the impact of limited resources” as a way to reframe the problem in his thesis. In crafting your thesis, choose words that signal to readers that you are correcting others’ ideas, or even misinterpretations, without being dismissive. One more thing: Although it is a common myth that a thesis can be phrased in a single sentence (a legacy of the five-paragraph theme, we suspect), this example shows that a thesis can be written in two (or more) sentences.
◼ The Filling-the-Gap Model
The gap model points to what other writers may have overlooked or ignored in discussing a given issue. The gap model typically makes a claim of value. Consider this student’s argument that discussions of cultural diversity in the United States are often framed in terms of black and white. Our underlining indicates the gap the writer has identified:
If America is truly a “melting pot” of cultures, as it is often called, then why is it that stories and events seem only to be in black and white? Why is it that when history courses are taught about the period of the civil rights movement, only the memoirs of African Americans are read, like those of Melba Pattillo Beals and Ida Mae Holland? Where are the works of Maxine Hong Kingston, who tells the story of alienation and segregation in schools through the eyes of a Chinese child? African Americans were denied the right to vote, and many other citizenship rights; but Chinese Americans were denied even the opportunity to become citizens. I am not diminishing the issue of discrimination against Afri ...
c. e. Analysis PaperAssignment Each student in this class wi.docxhumphrieskalyn
c. e. Analysis Paper
Assignment: Each student in this class will be responsible for completing a current event analysis paper. This means that you will be analyzing a current event and its connection a World War II event. This paper will be a minimum four (4) to five (5) typed pages with double-spaced, Times New Roman font, and one inch margins on all sides of the paper.
Source: Each paper will include a careful analysis of a current event topic from a major news source. The source can be an internet source, but cannot be a blog or unpublished source. The source must be a national/internationally-recognized news source (e.g. The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC news, etc…) A copy of this source must be attached to your paper. Any source you use for your historical information (other than class notes) must be documented as well.
A Work cited page must be included in this paper. (MLA or APA guidelines)
Event: You may choose any current events topic, however you must tie the topic to any event in World War II (this does not have to be an event that was extensively covered in class, so long that it deals with WWII).
· Your WW2 topic has to have occurred between the years of 1918 (the end of WWI) and 1945 (the end of WWII).
· Your modern day event has to have occurred in the past 10 years.
· Please clear your topic with me if you are unsure of its appropriateness!!!
Objective: The thesis/objective of your paper must relate your WWII topic and current event topic together in at least one of the following ways:
1) Challenge arguments of historical inevitability by giving examples of how different choices could have led to different consequences. Explain in your paper how an event in WWII could have affected history drastically had in occurred in a different manner. Then connect this concept with an event in contemporary times and explain how different choices in modern society and lead to different possible consequences. (For example, explain how FDR’s decision to intern Japanese-Americans could have affected WW2 and then tie George W. Bush’s decision to support the Patriot Act could have affected the modern-day United States.)
2) Analyze proposed solution to current issues from the perspectives of diverse cultural groups. Choose a WWII event that identifies a particular dilemma/issue of the WWII era and examine how different groups may have viewed the issue (e.g. Jewish relocation/concentration in Germany, the U.S. military draft in WWII, the rationing of food in wartime America, etc…) Similarly, take any current issue in the public eye (e.g. healthcare, war, abortion, welfare, etc...) and tie how this topic is viewed by contemporary cultures. You should be able to tie the cultural perspective of both issues together in the paper.
3) Identify and analyze an issue related to domestic or foreign policy in the United States (e.g. human rights, intervention in conflicts between other countries, or healthcare). Exami ...
ISTE Bytes Presentation: Balancing Act- Blending learning in a traditional sc...Kindled Class Consulting
Presentation slides for my 2-minute ISTE Bytes presentation in which I give a quick overview of my poster session on how to implement blended learning in a "traditional" school day, when students can't leave campus.
1. NOTES: THESIS STATEMENTS YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH: ALL
UPDATED: 9/22/2010 5:21 PM Page 1 of 4
I. What is a thesis statement?
A. It’s what the entire text is about
B. It’s what the entire essay is about
C. Is it a main idea or topic?
1. No. But there are main ideas that prove the thesis statement.
II. The Thesis Statement . . .
A. is a statement providing the controlling idea for the essay
B. is NOT a place (it is woven through the entire essay – NOT just at the beginning of a paragraph or
essay)
C. is written with strong, clear language in the introduction
D. does NOT start with “My thesis is…” “In this paper I will …” or anything similar in nature
III. Persuasive Essays
A. The thesis statement MUST take a stand
1. Non-example:
a) School vending machines are usually bad for the school, but sometimes good to have.
2. Revised:
a) Without question, vending machines are damaging to the school and must be removed
immediately.
Supporting Details – bull’s eye specific
details to support the main idea (aka
topic sentence)
Main ideas (aka topic
sentences) prove the thesis
of the essay
Thesis Statement – what it’s all
about, it includes all the main
ideas and supporting details –
they all relate back to the
THESIS
2. NOTES: THESIS STATEMENTS YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH: ALL
UPDATED: 9/22/2010 5:21 PM Page 2 of 4
IV. Persuasive Prompts
A. Persuasive prompts: the writer is usually presented with two sides of an argument (sometimes one
side) and asked to persuade the reader to take his point of view.
1. Prompt:
a) Your principal is considering whether or not candy and soda machines are a good idea
for your school. Think about whether or not candy and soda machines are a good idea
for your school. Now write to convince your principal whether or not candy and soda
machines are a good idea for your school.
2. Writer‘s response:
a) The second line asks me to decide whether or not vending machines are a good idea. The
last line asks me to convince the principal that this choice is best. My thesis statement is:
Vending machines are an essential part of Lincoln High School.
V. Expository Prompts
A. Expository prompts: the question is almost always stated. The writer most typically would be asked to
explain why, what or how.
1. Prompt:
a) Most people recognize the importance of personal qualities. Think about a quality that
you believe is important in a person. Now explain why that personal quality is
important.
2. Writer‘s response:
a) The second line asks me to pick a particular quality I believe is important. The last line
asks me to explain why I‘ve made that choice. My thesis statement might be:
The quality most admirable in people over time is perseverance. Determined people
always give their best effort and they usually make life more interesting.
VI. The Secret:
A. KEEP IT SIMPLE!!
1. Simple thesis statements get higher points!
2. Instead of being wordy, keep it short and to the point.
a) Twilight is the best book I’ve ever read.
b) The school board shouldn’t make students wear uniforms.
c) Cities should create a curfew for high school students.
3. NOTES: THESIS STATEMENTS YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH: ALL
UPDATED: 9/22/2010 5:21 PM Page 3 of 4
Examples
Example 1:
Prompt: Compare and contrast the reasons why the North and South fought the Civil War.
Thesis 1: The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some
different.
1. Weak Thesis:
a. It restates the question without providing any additional information. You will expand on this new
information in the body of the essay, but it is important that the reader know where you are heading.
b. The reader has questions:
i. "What reasons? How are they the same? How are they different?"
ii. Ask yourself these same questions and begin to compare Northern and Southern attitudes
(perhaps you first think, "The South believed slavery was right, and the North thought slavery
was wrong").
c. Doesn’t analyze - Push your comparison toward an interpretation—why did one side think slavery was
right and the other side think it was wrong?
d. Look again at the evidence, and decide that you are going to argue that the North believed slavery was
immoral while the South believed it upheld the Southern way of life. You write:
Thesis 2: While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while
the South fought to preserve its own institutions.
2. Working Thesis:
a. Included in this working thesis is a reason for the war and some idea of how the two sides disagreed
over this reason.
b. As you write the essay, you will probably begin to characterize these differences more precisely, and
your working thesis may start to seem too vague. Maybe you decide that both sides fought for moral
reasons, and that they just focused on different moral issues.
c. You end up revising the working thesis into a final thesis that really captures the argument in your
paper:
Final Thesis: While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression,
Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.
This final thesis presents a way of interpreting evidence that illuminates the significance of the question. Keep in
mind that this is one of many possible interpretations of the Civil War—it is not the one and only right answer to the
question. There isn't one right answer; there are only strong and weak thesis statements and strong and weak uses
of evidence.
4. NOTES: THESIS STATEMENTS YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH: ALL
UPDATED: 9/22/2010 5:21 PM Page 4 of 4
Example 2
Prompt: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn.
Thesis 1: Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
1. Weak Thesis:
a. Reader may expect a general, appreciative summary of Twain's novel. The question did not ask you to
summarize; it asked you to analyze.
b. Your teacher is probably not interested in your opinion of the novel; instead, she wants you to think
about why it's such a great novel—what do Huck's adventures tell us about life, about America, about
coming of age, about race relations, etc.?
c. You need to pick an aspect of the novel that you think is important to its structure or meaning—for
example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the
relationships between adults and children. Now you write:
Thesis 2: In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.
2. Working Thesis:
a. You have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation;
b. It's still not clear what your analysis will reveal. Your reader is intrigued, but is still thinking, "So what?
What's the point of this contrast? What does it signify?" Perhaps you are not sure yet, either. That's
fine—begin to work on comparing scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make
lists, jot down Huck's actions and reactions.
c. Eventually you should clarify for yourself, and then for the reader, why this contrast matters. After
examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:
Final Thesis: Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the
true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society and go back to nature.
This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of
course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the
reader of your interpretation.