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Thesis Statement and Intro Academic Wkshop

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16 views

Thesis Statement and Intro Academic Wkshop

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pesquisainterdisciplinarii
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Crafting a Thesis Statement

and Introduction
June 15, 2015

Presented by: UFPR ETAs 2015


Warm-Up
What makes a good outline?

How do you organize it?


Outline Checklist
After you have a complete draft of your project (or a section of your project), work alone or with a partner to
read your project with the goal of understanding the main points you have made and the relationship of these
points to one another.

Questions for Writing Outlines


1) What topics are covered in this piece of writing?

2) In what order are the ideas presented? Is this order logical for both novice and experienced
readers? In order of importance? Chronological? Compare and contrast?

3) Is adequate background information provided for each point, making it easy to understand
how one idea leads to the next?

4) What other points might the author include to further develop the writing project?
Warm-Up for Thesis
What are the do’s for writing a thesis?

What are the don’ts for writing a thesis?


Thesis Checklist
Avoid the Following!
● A thesis is not a title:
a. Homes and schools (title) vs. Parents ought to participate more in the education of their
children (good thesis).

● A thesis is not an announcement of the subject


a. My subject is the incompetence of the Supreme Court vs. The Supreme Court made a
mistake when it ruled in favor of George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

● A thesis is not a statement of absolute fact


a. Jane Austen is the author of Pride and Prejudice.

● A thesis is not the whole essay


a. A thesis is your main idea/claim/refutation/problem-solution expressed in a single
sentence or a combination of sentences.
Examples of Thesis
● A good thesis is unified:
○ NOT: Detective stories are not a high form of literature, but people have always been
fascinated by them, and many fine writers have experimented with them
○ BETTER: Detective stories appeal to the basic human desire for thrills (concise).

● A good thesis is specific:


○ NOT: James Joyce’s Ulysses is very good.
○ BETTER: James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the
unconscious.

● Try to be as specific as possible (without providing too much detail):


○ NOT: James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the
unconscious. vs.
○ BETTER: James Joyce’s Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the
unconscious by utilizing the findings of Freudian psychology and introducing the
techniques of literary stream-of-consciousness.
Four types of claims
➢ Claims of fact or definition: argue about what the definition of something is or whether
something is a settled fact.
○ What some people refer to as global warming is actually nothing more than normal,
long-term cycles of climate change.

➢ Claims of cause and effect: argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or
event to occur.
○ The popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase.

➢ Claims about value: claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not,
how we would rate or categorize something.
○ Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world today.

➢ Claims about solutions or policies: argue for or against a certain solution or policy
approach to a problem.
○ Instead of drilling for oil in Alaska, we should be focusing on ways to reduce oil
consumption, such as researching renewable energy sources.
Compare the two theses
● Hebrew was a dead language that was later revived and is
now used today.

● The history of Hebrew tells a fascinating story of the death


and life of a language and gives insight into some conditions
and factors that are favorable for language revival, such as:
strong ties to a people group, preservation in literature, a
dedicated champion, and targeting children as the primary
vehicle for bringing the language back into daily use.
Create a Thesis
● Devise a thesis for each of the following prompts:
○ Many people volunteer their time to help others, either through non-
profit organizations, churches, or other charitable venues. Write an
essay convincing readers to find a charity and volunteer their time.

○ Write an essay convincing readers to break a specific habit that is


harmful to their physical, emotional, or financial health. Examples:
cigarettes, fast food, shopaholic

○ In Brazil, citizens are required to enlist in the military for a short


amount of time. Do you support this policy? Why or why not? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Create a Thesis
● Prompts Continued
○ Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi are two important
figures known for their fight against prejudice and injustice. Write an
essay comparing them. (Hint: think about their methods and ideology)

○ Many countries are seeking to utilize renewable sources of energy,


such as wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric. Choose one renewable
resource and write an essay describing why Brazil should pursue this
source of energy.
The Introduction
➢ Not necessarily written first
➢ Hook sentence (get audience engaged)
➢ Introduce topic (establish territory)
➢ Lead up to topic (indicate a gap)
➢ Thesis (occupy niche)
➢ Roadmap (how you will support your claim)
Introduction
Part 1: Establishing a territory
Step 1 Claiming importance and/or
Step 2 Making topic generalizations and/or
Step 3 Reviewing items of previous research

Part 2: Establishing a niche


Step 1a Counter-claiming or
Step 1b Indicating a gap or
Step 1c Question-raising or
Step 1d Continuing a tradition

Part 3: Occupying the niche


Step 1a Outlining purposes or
Step 1b Announcing present research
Step 2 Announcing principle findings
Step 3 Indicating article structure
Example: Well-designed Intro
Although we have made great leaps and bounds in forming a progressive
society since the days of slavery and legalized segregation, we live in a society
that even now still nurtures and maintains stereotypes. When people see a
young, black man walk down the street many still clutch their handbags tighter,
walk hurriedly, or lock their car doors. By engaging in such discriminating
actions that are born out of racial stereotypes, we are also engaging in cultural
distancing. The racial and ethnic differences of others permit us to dehumanize
them, and this process is reinforced through reducing the particular group to
stereotypes, statistics or racial epithets, which then leads the mainstream to
conclude that they are “inferior forms of life” (Grossman, 161).
Example: Poorly-designed Intro
Throughout time, friendships and encounters with
others have evolved in drastic ways. People across the
world now have the opportunity to communicate with a
complete stranger if they would like to in a different
geographic area, something that twenty years ago would
not have been probable. Technology has improved our lives
in many ways.
Conclusion
➢ Review of main points

➢ Questions?

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