Essay Writing 101 The Basics Thesis Statements What
Essay Writing 101: The Basics
Thesis Statements What it is: What it is not: • A strong, argumentative claim • A sentence that is specific • Highlights the significance, deeper implications and ethical end(s) of the text/issue in question • Provides a purpose for the paper • Establishes voice and argument • • Just another sentence A general, vague statement A topic sentence A comment about something that is obvious to the reader • Aimless or shallow • An uncontroversial position; a statement of fact
Thesis Statements: Function • Every single sentence in your paper should work to prove the argument presented in thesis. • Present the topic and argument/claim about the topic. – As an argument, someone reading your paper must be able to disagree with the idea presented in your thesis. – Reasonable Reader Test: • To ensure specificity and arguability, consider your essay as instructive or illuminating to your reader. • Presume your reader has also read the text(s) in question. – Maybe consider the reader as a peer in course or someone in English 2 who read the same thing but was not in class. • What does your thesis teach your reader that they would not already know from reading the text(s) in question? What new or unique argument are you presenting?
Thesis Statement: Review • An effective thesis requires: – 1. Topic – 2. Specific and Arguable Claim – 3. Larger Significance Claim
Thesis Statements: Requirements • Crafting a thesis statement in three easy steps: 1. Does it relate to the topic? 2. Does it make an arguable claim about the topic? – Does it present an original, non-obvious claim to the reader? 3. Does it address the significance of the arguable claim? – Does it address the “Why does it matter? ” or “So what? ” questions? )
Thesis Statements: Revision and Improvement • Try to consider/argue an opposing viewpoint. – If the inverse of the claim cannot be argued, the original is not effective. • What is the significance of the claim being made? (How does this influence/shape/change the reader’s understanding of the novel? ) – The So What? Test • Is the topic and/or argument too specific or too general? • Is it arguable? • Is the statement unified? – Do the specific claim and the larger significance logically connect to one another?
Thesis Statements: Techniques • They Say, I Say: Creating an Argument (X, Y) – Problem Construction: • Step 1: They Say – State a perceived reality or an arguable position. (X) • Step 2: I Say – Undermine or correct that reality with a new, original, more arguable position (Y) • Template: – John Steinbeck’s novel seems to indicate X, but in reality, the novel actually indicates Y. • Example: (The Grapes of Wrath) – X: Tom Joad is a troubled, violent, and morally inconsistent character – Y: However, Tom Joad uses a humanist approach to question the morality of American social and economic system to better serve others.
Thesis Statements • Significance? : Creating Stakes (Z) – Stakes: why the argument matters • Think, but do not write, (this matters because) – The opinion/argument is significant because it adds to the reader’s knowledge of the text. – The opinion/argument is significant because it has applications to life beyond the text. • Example: (The Grapes of Wrath) – Through Tom Joad, the text exposes the flaws in the national order and poses a more practical and ethical means of dealing with others.
Thesis Statements: Sample • Sample of an Effective Thesis: (The Grapes of Wrath) – Although he is a troubled, violent, and morally inconsistent character, Tom Joad, represents the necessity of humanistic thought in modern society in his progression throughout the narrative. From Tom’s constant questioning of the American social and economic system, the text exposes the flaws in the national order and poses a more practical and ethical means of dealing with others. – – Three Components and Examples: » 1. Topic: » 2. Argument: » 3. Significance: Problem Construction and Stakes » X: They Say: » Y: I Say: » Z: Stakes: Presumption Actuality Meaning
Student Sample Thesis Although beginning in Europe, the American pastoral ideal, reaches its pinnacle in the colonial New World through its untamed, open land, and seclusion from society. 1. Topic: 2. Claim: 3. – Specific – Arguable Significance: • Strengths: • Weaknesses:
Student Sample Thesis In John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” and Christopher Columbus’ “The First Voyage: the West Indies, ” both Puritanism and Catholicism simultaneously motivate the European settlers and warp their perspectives of the natives. Their clouded perspectives isolate each group and hinder their relations with the Other, showing that closemindedness is detrimental to the progress of human and social relationships. 1. Topic: 2. Claim: – – 3. Specific Arguable Significance: • Strengths: • Weaknesses:
Student Sample Thesis Pontiac’s “Speech at Detroit” is arguably one of the best depictions of religious inequality and power struggle in American history, and the his letters perfectly reflect the disturbing facts of American culture then and today. 1. Topic: 2. Claim: – Specific – 3. Arguable Significance: • Strengths: • Weaknesses:
Student Sample Thesis In the stories “Of Plymouth Plantation” written by William Bradford and “A Model of Christian Charity” by John Winthrop, the authors portray the beneficial/problematic structure of the Puritan religion in the colonies. Because of the main belief of Puritan religion, the Elect, the colonists find their religion a useful yet knotted tool when defining the culture of future America. 1. Topic: 2. Claim: – – 3. Specific Arguable Significance: • Strengths: • Weaknesses:
Body Paragraphs: English 1 Structure • Model: Claim Evidence Commentary – Claim: Narrower Argument • Topic Sentence – Evidence: Textual Support • Lead-in + Quote – Commentary: Analysis • Close Reading Analysis (relates to #2 of thesis) • Larger Significance Analysis (relates to #3 of thesis)
Body Paragraphs: AC English 2 Structure • Model: Claim Evidence Commentary – Claim: • Topic Sentence (pointing to instance 1 and instance 2) – Evidence: • Instance 1: Lead-in 1 + Quote 1 – Commentary A: • Close Reading Analysis 1 (relates quote 1 to claim of thesis) – Short transition to connect instance 1 and instance 2 – Evidence: • Instance 2: Lead-in 2 + Quote 2 – Commentary B: • Close Reading Analysis 2 (relates quote 2 to claim of thesis) – Commentary C: • Larger Significance Analysis (relates analysis of instance 1 and instance 2 to the larger significance of thesis)
Body Paragraphs: Claim • Topic Sentence – The first sentence in your body paragraph, should present the topic and arguable claim of the paragraph. – Like a smaller thesis, this sentence should act as a roadmap for the paragraph and guide the analysis. • For maximum coherence, make sure the end of the paragraph continues the ideas of the beginning. – Tips: • It should act as a presentation of argument, not a factual statement or summary. – The topic sentence should be what you say about the author or text, not what the author/text says… • An argument must be “controversial. ” • An argument should not be obvious or an observation.
Body Paragraphs: Evidence • Lead-In Sentence: – Do NOT go from the topic sentence to the quote without setting up/providing background for the quote. – Do NOT jump directly to a lead-in without a unifying, paragraph-guiding topic sentence. • Your essay must have a topic sentence and a separate lead-in sentence. (At least two sentences before the quote. ) – This sentence may contain brief summary—but only what is necessary to understand the quote. • Or, only summarize the quote’s contents. – Simply saying who wrote or said the quote is NOT adequate. – Bad: In Pontiac’s “Speech at Detroit, ” the Great Spirit says, “you must lift the hatchet against them” (Pontiac 2). – Good: In Pontiac’s “Speech at Detroit, ” the Great Spirit explicitly instructs the Delaware prophet to respond to the English colonists with violence: “you must lift the hatchet against them” (Pontiac 2). – Punctuate your lead-in sentence with a colon (or a comma if someone is speaking • Or, if you are advanced enough, incorporate the quote into the grammar of your lead-in sentence.
Body Paragraphs: Evidence • Quotes: – Should be demarcated with quotation marks. – MLA Format must be used to cite every quote. • In text citations: only author’s last name and page number in parentheses after the quote. – All end punctuation goes after the citation. • Example: According to Columbus, he “found nothing of importance” (Columbus 25). – Editing, Trimming, or Clarifying Quotes: • Use brackets to indicate a change made by you, the author of the essay. – Anything removed or trimmed: […] – Anything changed: Columbus’ crew were “[finding] nothing of importance” (Columbus 25). – Using Quotes: • Must be relevant for your argument; use them as support for your central claim/argument. • Know what they say: you will use the actual words after the quote. – Importance of a strong, effective lead-in!
Body Paragraphs: Commentary • Close Reading Analysis (CRA): – Use the material in the quotes. Make them serve and support your ideas and argument. • Indicate why you picked these quotes when you had the whole text of the novel to choose from. – Connect the actual words/events/ideas of the quotes to the claim of the topic sentence and thesis. • Avoid “drive by quoting” by actually explaining the quote’s significance • Avoid summarizing the quote’s contents—that is for the lead-in sentence. – Explain how the quote’s content reinforces your argument.
Body Paragraphs: Commentary • Larger Significance Analysis (LSA): – Explain the deeper implications of the topic at hand. – Argue why this evidence and analysis is important beyond the text. • What larger truth at work? What deeper understanding about the topic/text are you teaching to your reader? • Be specific and original, rather than general or obvious. • Assume the reader has read the text, but does not understand its significance. – Analyze (So what? Why does ___ matter? ), not observe (___happened) – Prove Your Point • Conclude the paragraph by clearly analyzing the instance in conjunction with the claims you make in the topic sentence. • You must relate your analysis/explanation to the overall argument of thesis. – Tie you two points of evidence together. What do they both indicate that supports thesis?
Body Paragraph Structure • Claim: – Topic Sentence • Evidence (repeat as necessary) – – – Lead-In: Quote 1 CRA 1 Connecting Phrase or Sentence Lead-In: Quote 2 CRA 2 • Commentary: – CRAs (distributed after each use of evidence) – LSA • CRA 1 + CRA 2 + LSA of thesis
Organizing Compare/Contrast Essays Structure A: Paragraphs Organized by Text • Two Separate paragraphs that engage with both stories in each paragraph, but primarily focus on one text per paragraph. Structure B: Paragraphs Organized by Topic • Two consistent paragraphs that use a central theme/idea to put two textsin a direct dialogue with one another in each paragraph. – Organizing Principle: Topic – Organizing Principle: Text – Quotes will come from only one story, and both will be discussed analyzed. – Quotes will come from both stories and each story will be evenly discussed analyzed.
How to Cite Your Anthology and Class PDFs • Anthology Last Name, First Name. “Text Title. ” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition, edited by Nina Baym and Robert Levine. Norton, 2013. pp #-#. • PDFs Last Name, First Name. “Text Title. ” The Harper Anthology of American Literature, edited by Donald Mc. Quade, et al. Longman, 1999. pp #-#. • Basic Rules: – Alphabetize bibliographical citations by author’s last name. – If your citation goes over 1 line, indent the second any subsequent lines for that citation. – Use the page range of the whole entry, not just the pages you cite directly.
Common Issues • Lead-ins: – Another example is when…
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