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?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is this claim debatable? Offer one counter-argument to this claim.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Does the thesis address any possible counter-arguments? Does this/would this make it a stronger thesis?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Intellectual Daring

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which parts of the argument are descriptive, provide background information, summarize the plot, recapitulate accepted interpretations of the text, or seem obvious?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which aspects of the argument seem to offer new insight into the text or into the theme the author discusses?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Clarity

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is the thesis in the active voice, and does it avoid negative phrasing? (see handouts from Elements of Style)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


So What?

In your own words, what is the writer’s claim about the text?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are the implications of this thesis for our thinking about the topic?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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?)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Online Writing Lab at Purdue

The online writing lab at purdue has lots of information on correct citation, the writing process, and how to correct frequent problems in student writing. Check them out at:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Office Hours

Still confused? I'm happy to work with you on writing during my office hours, Tuesdays from 6-7 PM and Thursdays from 11:30-1:30 AM in the room shown on your policy sheet. Anyone who can't make those times can set up an appointment with me after class, by email, or by text message. Remember you are required to come to office hours at least once during the quarter.

link for George Orwell's "Politics & The English Language"

http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit

Close Reading (How to use the Four Ways handout for your essay)

Your handout says that "ideally, every close-reading would involve each of these methods." As you construct your midterm essays, you will probably want to focus most closely on the first three. Although you don't have to follow this trajectory, I recommend approaching close reading in this essay something like this:

1. Start With Backwards

Because you are responding to a prompt, it makes sense for you to begin by looking for passages that deal with the topic you chose and then considering how it is dealt with in those passages.

2. Linger in Instinct

This is frequently where the most interesting questions will arise. Look back at passages that caught your eye when you started with Backwards. Think about the implications any peculiar images, contradictions or ambiguities you find might have for thinking about your topic.

3. Back it up with Brute Force

You usually don't want this kind of close reading to be the entire content of your paper because, like the handout says, it can get overly formulaic. That said, you will probably need this kind of reading to fully articulate what you found in Instinct. If a passage has a "strange" tone or a "haunting" sound, you'll have to pay close attention to the sounds, rhythms and structures that are creating that effect. If you want to say that a speaker's blithe tone seems at odds with her weighty subject matter, you'll want to show your reader what makes the tone blithe.

4. Be sparing with Comparatively

Once you have a clear idea of how your topic is working in the text you chose, you may want to bring in some of the ideas from Hale or Fern. Be careful though - don't let these texts distract you from engagement with the text you're working on. A discussion of friendship, motherhood or space in Hale and Fern cannot replace a solid understanding of each of these as they are dealt with in the text you're working on. Don't look to Hale and Fern for definitive pronouncements on your topic that you can insert seamlessly into your text. If you do bring in Hale or Fern, consider their ideas in dialogue with the ones you find in your text.


these suggestions refer to and should be used in conjunction with your handout "Four Ways to Close Read" by Katherine Isokawa

Conclusions

Some things to try in your conclusion:

- revisit your key insights (do NOT attempt to prove each part of your argument all over again, simply remind your reader of the trajectory of your argument as it is relevant to your conclusion)
- restate your thesis IN A NEW WAY
- refer to something you mentioned in your introduction - an idea or image on which your argument may shed new light
- end on a strong note - suggest some further implication or avenue of inquiry your essay opens up