Transcript Thesis Development powerpoint

Thesis development
How, why, what’s important
Overview
 It’s not easy because you’re trying to come up with
something new
 Be patient with not knowing, & not quite nailing it the first
time.
 That’s because you’re pushing outside your comfort zone
and what you already know.
 The basic question: What’s at stake here?
 What matters to me and most people about this topic?
 What could people disagree about?
 Could be an interpretation of a book, not always moral or
political questions
A couple tricks of the trade
 Example: Your dumb topic is McDonalds’ food.
 Your 3 part thesis: “McDonalds food is cheap, fatty and full of sugar.”
 Have you said why it matters? Arguable? What will we learn?
 When you have a statement that’s not quite arguable, or is simply
boring, try these quick fixes:
 Rank which your topics is more important
 Add a “Because” statement
 Rank which of these is most important:
 “McDonald’s food is cheap and sugary, but the high fat content is the
most unhealthy part about it.”
 Now you have something to prove and explain—a high fat diet is worse
than sugar.
 Use a Because statement to improve it
 “McDonald’s food is greasy and fattening, but because it is so cheap,
poor people are lured into making poor health choices.”
Try that with our topics
 With a partner:
 Rank which is most important
OR
 Add a “because” statement
 Thesis 1: I disagree with Fein and Schneider’s advice in The
Rules.
 Thesis 2: “The Brain in Love” shows that all of our ideals
about caring and giving and connection are basically just
hormones gone crazy.
 Thesis 3: “Cinderella” teaches girls some good lessons about
perseverance and humility, but it also teaches girls to put up
with abuse and never have a voice.