BOO! Happy Halloween!!

More thesis practice.. 
Don't worry!! We will SO get this! It just takes practice! I won't give up.. you better not!! 

Here are examples of weak and strong thesis statements.

• Unspecific thesis: "Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong leader as First Lady."  This thesis lacks an argument. Why was Eleanor Roosevelt a strong leader?
• Specific thesis: "Eleanor Roosevelt recreated the role of the First Lady by her active political leadership in the Democratic Party, by lobbying for national legislation, and by fostering women’s leadership in the Democratic Party."  The second thesis has an argument: Eleanor Roosevelt "recreated" the position of First Lady, and a three-part structure with which to demonstrate just how she remade the job.
• Unspecific thesis: "At the end of the nineteenth century French women lawyers experienced difficulty when they attempted to enter the legal profession."  No historian could argue with this general statement and uninteresting thesis.
• Specific thesis: "At the end of the nineteenth century French women lawyers experienced misogynist attacks from male lawyers when they attempted to enter the legal profession because male lawyers wanted to keep women out of judgeships."  This thesis statement asserts that French male lawyers attacked French women lawyers because they feared women as judges, an intriguing and controversial point.

Write a thesis for the following topics: 

1. Voting age 

2. Beauty pageants

3. Torture 

4. Taxes

5. Credit cards

6. Mean girls 

7. Video games

8. Academic honesty

9. Global climate

10. Standardized testing

Things you MUST consider... 

1. Topic size.. do not just drop the topic into your thesis as the subject. What approach are you taking towards the subject? 

2. Are you showing assessment or analysis of the issue? What do you think about the issue? What can be done about the issue? What changes should be made? What is more important or not? 

3. Are you answering how and/or why? Think about us having a discussion about this issue. You state your solution to a problem and then I ask you "how?" or "why?" . This is where your voice gets to be heard. 

4. Make sure that you are not describing or summarizing the topic or issue. 

5. Look at your VERB usage.. Try to keep with an ACTIVE verb! 

6. ASK YOURSELF A QUESTION BEFORE YOU WRITE... Think of a higher level Bloom's question.. remember an answer to a question is...   such as... Compare the roles students have currently in making decisions at LSN to the role you think they should have in making decisions..   

Homework for Friday, October 31st

1. Review the thesis/claim link from UNC... reinforcement of what thesis should/shouldn't do. I guess I do need to state that you should be taking notes if you can't rattle these techniques and guidelines off your head AND then apply them with ease.
2. Review and get a handle on Toulmin Method (links on side margin). We are going to get started on this on Friday.
3. Practice writing a claim/thesis for the following topics..

Bronco Time
Technology in classroom
Professional athlete salary
American military
Writing instruction
Senior class community service
Student opinion in schools
Homework
Missouri
Reading

Now remember...
* Are you describing or analyzing?
* Are you thinking about the topic head on or from a different angle?
* What are your preconceived notions about the topic? Are you just passing them along?
* Where are you on Bloom's Taxonomy in your approach to the topic?
* Does the topic need to be adjusted?
* What is the intellectual question?
* Is it arguable? Are you showing YOUR VOICE in the content's world?

Today's Class: October 29th/ 30th

Claim Practice

2nd Hour: Claim Practice Doc

3rd Hour: Claim Practice Doc

4th Hour: Claim Practice Doc

Homework for Wednesday

Watch the ROYALS WIN!

Class today: October 28th

Now, I am sick..  ugh.

We are taking the claim practice that I didn't post last night into today..
Therefore...

1. Review the following link on CLAIMS: Claims Handout
2. Review the 4 major ways to make a CLAIM arguable: Claims- 4 major types
3. Then open the following link on Thesis/claim practice: Thesis writing practice
- Do these exercises on your own paper.
First, identify what is wrong with the initial thesis.
Second, rewrite the thesis. Push the argument while trying to adhere to our thesis/claim formula.
Third, tell me why your thesis is now an outstanding thesis (tell me specifically what it does).

There is one that mentions a book... just substitute any book or understand the overall premise of the statement. It doesn't matter about the specific book. As always, take good notes and be attentive to the instruction.

Turn these in at the end of the hour.

I will post homework this afternoon.

Class: October 27th

I have sick kids.. Sorry!
1. Partner up with a productive partner.
2. Take out book and talk through Toulmin's Method. In your individual notes, write your own summary of each part of the method.
3. Now you are going to be talking through Glazer's writing process- first initial draft, then revisions.
Use the following questions-
What structures do you notice?
What types of questions is he asking to make revisions?
What types of improvements do you see?
Where do you see induction/deduction? How is it used?
Is this usage effective?
Where do you see Toulmin's method?
How does it enhance his argument?
4. Now take out your induction/deduction practice. Share attempts and evaluate your successes..
5. Check for homework by mid-afternoon.. It will be on claim writing... We need practice.

Due: Monday, October 27th

1. Review deduction and induction- (475-76)
2. Read and study the practice with Glazer's writing and drafting.. pages 479-485.  Annotate these and study the techniques- this is leading to your own application. Study his process.
3. Do the exercises on induction and deduction in your notes from the following pages: 485-87

THEN-

4. Review the TOULMIN Layout of Argumentation (477-78), which is basically just a list of the steps of the method..  so let's get a little deeper..
5. Read and study the Outline of a Toulmin Argument (See under Current Links). This will talk you through the different parts of the argument and provide and example.