For First Year Composition or writing, a sequence of pre-writing to assist students in thinking of their argument and thesis statements.

1. Understanding Your
Argument
A prewriting exercise to develop a stronger
thesis
Week 8 Day 1 – ENGL 100
1

2. Why so much focus on
thesis?
 Thesis presupposes ARGUMENT
 We’re not limited to 2-sides, 3
supports
 We need some guiding framework to
SLIGHTLY shape our research and
drafting…
 and then to turn it from writer-based to
reader-based draft:
 the conclusion you reach has to
appear early to help the reader. 2

3. More on your thesis
 Reminder – your thesis can change
throughout, as you should be guided
by the evidence,
 The final result should be UNIFIED
 Your “conclusion” in a draft can often
work as the real introduction.
 In our Big Research paper – thesis
statement ends the first paragraph
3

4. Fun experiment:
 Try the opposite thesis statement on
for a while, too.
 If there is no alternate side, is YOUR
statement truly a thesis?
4

5. Understanding your argument
 The next few slides are a pre-writing
exercise to help you understand your
argument better.
◦ I have examples for a topic of a different
paper, but stay with YOUR topic every
time!
5

6. Step 0: Get ready
 You can handwrite or type this in
something you can access later.
 These prompts are for writing, not
talking!
 I will set the timer for about 4 minutes
for each prompt. Keep writing the whole
time.
 If you can’t think of what to say, just repeat the 6

7. Step 1: Research Q&A
Remember do these about YOUR topic
 State the issue or question you are
arguing:
◦ “Are Video Games addictive?”
 State your preliminary answer –
◦ “Yes, designed around what behavior
psychology tells is triggers the reward
centers in the brain.”
7

8. Step 2: Your values
 State what beliefs motivate you,
and some key definitions, even if
they feel obvious written down.
◦ games = fun.
◦ Fun = good.
◦ “too much” fun = bad.
◦ Addiction = bad.
◦ Games (for this project) = ones played
alone, clicking a lot.
◦ Addiction = “brain change”
8

9. Step 3: Audience
 Who is your audience?
◦ general adults
◦ ages 30-50.
◦ M & F
◦ interested in their own game habits
 Who is NOT your audience?
◦ Psychologists
◦ Adolescents or college students
◦ Parents in their role as parents
9

10. Step 4: Audience’s Beliefs
 State the beliefs you think your
audience holds.
◦ Games = social also
◦ Games = a way to measure progress?
◦ Self-improvement = good, but hard
10

11. Step 5: Why does this topic
matter?
 To you?
◦ “Do I waste my life with video games?”
 To your audience?
◦ “Can video games be used for good, like
gamification of workouts?”
11

12. Step 6: Evidence
 What evidence do you need to
support your claims?
 (list both things you have already or would be
useful for this audience)
 What evidence would be perfect if you
could find it?
 What gaps in your research do you
need to fill?
12

13. Let’s Share
 Chat with your row/team about
some of the things you wrote.
◦ Any new insights?
◦ Which prompt was most useful?
◦ What are your next steps?
13