Thesis Group Work with Experts

This is the same exercise we've done in class. Use it to test your own thesis, or for peer editing.



Debatability


In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
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Is this claim debatable? Offer one counter-argument to this claim.
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Does the thesis address any possible counter-arguments? Does this/would this make it a stronger thesis?
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Intellectual Daring

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
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Which parts of the argument are descriptive, provide background information, summarize the plot, recapitulate accepted interpretations of the text, or seem obvious?
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Which aspects of the argument seem to offer new insight into the text or into the theme the author discusses?
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Clarity

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
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Is the thesis in the active voice, and does it avoid negative phrasing? (see handouts from Elements of Style)
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Is anything about the thesis hard to understand? Is there a pronoun that leaves you unsure what the author means it to describe? Does the ordering of ideas ever interfere with your ability to understand the argument? If not, what works in this thesis that makes it easy to understand?
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Is the language of the thesis precise? Do any of the words the author uses seem too vague, or are you unsure what they should mean in this context?
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So What?

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
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Does this thesis offer new insight into the text, or uncover a layer of meaning that you had not considered before? What does it add to our reading of the text?
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What are the implications of this thesis for our thinking about the topic?
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Does the thesis suggest the ways in which it enhances our reading of the text and/or our thinking about the topic? (Does it answer the “so what?” question?)

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