Thesis =

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Indiana University Writing Tutorial

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Photos and Comments by Professor Mignano-Brady

What is a Thesis?

A two or three sentence

condensation

of the argument or

analysis that is to follow.

We refer to that

condensation

as a thesis statement.

Paper 1 is an analysis-Thesis is expository

Paper 2 - compare / Contrast - THesis Comparative or a Contrast

Final paper - Argument

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Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?�

• To discuss or explain ideas based on research/complex concepts.

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• to better organize and develop your argument or analysis.

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• to provide your reader with a “guide” to your analysis or argument .

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• In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores.

A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:

• Reflects ideas based on knowledge that stems from research, reading and class lectures. This is part of developing an analysis or argument.

• Deal with a subject that can be adequately expressed given the nature of the assignment

• express one main idea

Assert your profound ideas or conclusions about a subject

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REVIEW the BRADY CHECKLIST

Brainstorm the topic.�

Let’s Create a Thesis Together - In CLASS based on “ Explanatory Styles & Self Talk”

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GET READY FOR THE THESIS CHALLENGE

What did we come up with?

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Students are asked to write an Introduction and Highlight Thesis

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Let’s DO THE THESIS CHALLENGE and VOTE

5 is the BEST - ONE IS NOT the BEST.

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BEST ( THESIS ) BASED on 5 CATEGORIES

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Clear and well developed 2-3 sentences at the end of

the Intro AFTER THE BACKGROUND- background leads up to

this and introduces topic

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Language is academic

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Ideas are specific and can later on be broken down into Main POINTS

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It is FLUID and WELL ORGANIZED

Modify- Continue to Brainstorm

• Can we improve language?
• Do we see a clear pathway to main points?
• Is it developed or vague and general?

Let’s Type up some good ones together as a class !

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THESIS CHALLENGE WINNERS

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Is it a thesis?

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I would like to become a

chef.

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• Although both chefs and cooks can prepare fine meals, chefs differ from cooks in education, professional commitment, and artistry.

Try Another one!

• I enjoy white water rafting.

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• A first water rafting experience can challenge the body and spirit and transform an adolescent into an adult.

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Snoopy is Ready to SOAR!

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• Men are forced into a box.
• Our American family structure encourages men to repress their true feelings, leaving them open to physical, psychological, and relationship difficulties.
• Steroid abuse
• Steroids, even those legally available, are addictive and should be banned from sports.

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Rock ON Snoopy!!!!

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• Hip hop is the best thing that has happened to music in twenty years
• Though many people dismiss hip hop as offensive, hip hop music offers urban youth an important opportunity for artistic expression, and allows them to articulate the poetry of the street.
• Many people object to today's violent horror movies.
• Despite their high-tech special effects, today's graphically violent horror movies do not convey the creative use of cinematography or the emotional impact that we saw in the classic horror films of the 1940s and 50s.

Writing Due : Brady will share in class

Tips on How to Tackle the HW and PUB 1!

Actively READ the articles

Before you answer the questions

Then answer the questions in

Your notebook!

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Watch the video twice.

Jot down notes the second time.

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OH and Never, ever, ever

Give up… EVER… You are a scholar!

BIG TIME!

We will miss you Charlie Brown!!!

• Thesis Resources on the Web
• For more information on developing a thesis, visit:
• Purdue OWL's Thesis or Question
• Harvard University's Developing a Thesis
• Indiana University's How to Write a Thesis
• Northwestern University Writing Center's Developing a Thesis
• University of Wisconsin's Developing a Thesis Statement
• Dartmouth's Developing a Thesis
• Hunter College's Developing a Thesis
• Hamilton College's Introductions and Thesis Statements
• Capital Community College's The Thesis Statement
• Developing a Thesis Statement http://english.ttu.edu/uwc/thesis.html
• Using Thesis Statements (U. Toronto) http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/thesis.html
• Write Place: Thesis Statement http://english.ttu.edu/uwc/thesis.html

Feedback From the Class

What did the class come up with?

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