Thesis in depth

Thesis in depth

Part 1: Annotated bibliography and site ranking

0. Form small groups.

1. Find five websites that could help someone understand what a thesis statement is and develop their thesis statement writing.  Make a short annotated bibliography of these sites: give the name, url, and description of the site's content.

2. Rank the websites from best to worst: which is most useful and why, which site is the least helpful.  Write a short note (~50 words) explaining why you've ranked the sites in the order you have.  Link into the phpBB.

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Part 2: Understanding the thesis

0. Form groups of 4 to 6.  Choose a group facilitator and secretary.  Keep a log of your discussion and answers, and link it into the phpBB.

1. Find the thesis statement in the following paragraph:

"What has happened to the American male? For a long time, he seemed utterly confident in his manhood, sure of his masculine role in society, easy and definite in his sense of sexual identity. The frontiersmen of James Fenimore Cooper, for example, never had any concern about masculinity; they were men, and it did not occur to them to think twice about it. Even well into the twentieth century, the heroes of Dreiser, of Fitzgerald, of Hemingway remain men. However, one begins to detect a new theme emerging in some of these authors, especially in Hemingway: the theme of the male hero increasingly preoccupied with proving his virility to himself. By mid-century, the male role had plainly lost its rugged clarity of outline. Today, men are more and more conscious of maleness not as a fact but as a problem. The ways by which American men affirm their masculinity are uncertain and obscure. There are multiplying signs, indeed, that something has gone badly wrong with the American male's conception of himself."

2.  Which is the stronger thesis statement and why?

The Hunger Games is a science fiction adventure film based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.

The Hunger Games is a morality tale about the dangers of a political system that is dominated by the wealthy.

3. Which is the stronger thesis statement and why?

Finding a job is never easy, but it can be especially hard when the economy is still feeling the effects of a recession and employers are reluctant to hire new workers.

College students looking for part-time work should begin their search by taking advantage of job-finding resources on campus.

4. Which statement is incorrect?

Thesis statement can be placed in the conclusion of the paper if its content presupposes it.

Technical terms or jargon should not be used in your thesis statement.

When the author uses an implied thesis, the thesis isn't overtly stated in the article or essay.

5. True of false?

The word "thesis" comes from Greek and Latin where it is a part of poetic and musical terminology; those words come from an even more ancient root: "dhe", meaning to set, or to put, used by the first people to ride domesticated horses about 6000 years ago.

6. True of false?

Thesis has no plural form, it is a non-count noun.

7. Which is the stronger thesis statement and why?

There have been over 200 movies about Count Dracula, most of them only very loosely based on the novel published by Bram Stoker in 1897.

Despite its title, Bram Stoker's Dracula, a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, takes considerable liberties with Stoker's novel.

8. What is the difference between a thesis and an opinion?

9. What is the difference between a thesis, a claim, an argument, and a premise?