WHY ESSAYS? �GOD, THEY’RE SO BORING AND POINTLESS.

Critical thought for longer than 30 seconds

Organization and evaluation of ideas

professional communication

Essays are thinking, just slower. What do you think? Why do you think it? What does it mean? Why does it matter?

USE THE TEXT TO ENLIGHTEN

• Formal: Your ideas + evidence from the text
• Engaging: thought provoking? Is this relevant to me or you today?

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• It’s your thoughts, but you’re trying to get your reader to understand as well

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BUILDING A THESIS

GUIDED NOTES

What is a thesis

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Characteristics of a thesis

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Thesis Check Questions:

LEARNING TARGET: WRITING A THESIS FOR A LITERARY ANALYSIS��EVALUATE WHAT IS A WORKABLE THESIS

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SUCCESS CRITERIA: I can write a working thesis that is complex and specific

A THESIS IS…

• A statement of an idea a writer has on a topic in a text that introduces the FOCUS of the essay

A THESIS STATEMENT IS YOUR CONTROLLING IDEA

• Specific – (think insightful and complex)
• Arguable – (think inference)
• Defendable – (supportable with evidence)

THESIS STATEMENT PROGRESSION

• “Everything Stuck to him” is a story about relationships.

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• “Everything stuck to him” shows its readers the difficulties of maturing into an adult.�
• Raymond Carver explores how maturity, or the lack of it, relates to personal relationships and self-image.

NOT SPECIFIC

STILL

NOT SPECIFIC

WORKABLE!

NAME A TOPIC YOU’VE UNCOVERED IN THE TEXT

• Write down your ideas about that topic

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• PLAY THE SO WHAT GAME!
• Ask so what? Why does this matter? What is interesting about this topic? How did this text get me to think _____?

EXAMPLE

TOPIC

• Maturity’s role in relationships

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THESIS:

• In “Everything stuck to him” s Raymond Carver show that maturity in relationships is a skill to be practiced and learned, not just a thing that comes naturally.

• Does it matter to me?
• Does it respond to the prompt?
• Is it arguable?
• Is it specific (complex and insightful)?
• Is there enough evidence to defend my idea?
• What will it make the reader think and feel?

THESIS OR NOT A THESIS

• Of Mice and Men uses a lot of slang language

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• NOT – makes an observation without an argument

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THESIS OR NOT A THESIS

• “Everything stuck to him” teachers the reader how important the little things are in a relationship

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• YEP! – clear claim, arguable, logical based on the story. A bit vague, but it’s a good start.

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THESIS OR NOT A THESIS

• The Great Gatsby explores the topic of wealth and money.

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• NOPE! – makes an observation without an argument about it.

THESIS OR NOT A THESIS

• The most obvious form of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism; however, there are other types of prejudice and discrimination that typify relationships among the novel’s characters

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• YEP! – clear claim, arguable, logical based on the story.

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WRITE YOUR THESIS!

• A thesis is NEVER a one and done sentence.
• It is your place to start
• But, as you write and think, you must revise what your focus is.