Type 1: The Thesis Makes No Claim.
Type 2: The Thesis is Obviously True or is a Statement of Fact.
Type 3: The Thesis Restates Conventional Wisdom.
Type 4: The Thesis Offers Personal Conviction as the Basis for the Claim.
Type 5: The Thesis Makes An Overly Broad Claim.
Groups of five (you have to work with at least three people you have never worked with before)
INDIVIDUAL: Between your group members, decide who will work on generating which type of weak thesis statement. Each of you will come up with one example of a weak thesis statement corresponding to the five types; remember a weak thesis statement can have more than one type of problem, but as long as you weak thesis example fulfills the type of weak thesis statement your group has tasked you with, you're good. Take six to eight minutes to come up with your individual weak thesis statement.
Generating ideas for weak thesis statements: The best place to begin generating ideas is looking in your SSI assignments. You may use any idea/claim in the paper (not necessarily your central one since that may already be sufficiently strong) that fits with the weak thesis statement type you are assigned. The purpose of this exercise is to help you get a sense of how to refine your own thesis statement, so if you are aware that your current thesis idea has a particular problem, feel free to use that as an example. Other place to generate ideas for this weak thesis statement construction is to use our thematic readings or an idea from either of your secondary sources. This can be a completely invented weak thesis statement. The only limitation for this exercise is: it has to be within the confines of our course theme: representations of disaster in the mass media.
GROUP: Now as a group, create a "New Post" and type your five weak thesis statements in order (clearly stating the type of weak thesis statement it falls into). Your task as a group is to spend the next half hour crafting these five weak thesis statements into five strong thesis statements. Post the five weak thesis statements and the five revised thesis statements (which should not fall into any of the five types of faults) as a New Post on the blog along with your group members' names. *Do not divide the labor up here and decide to fix one thesis statement each; that defeats the purpose of this exercise. The point is to do the five together so you can learn how to identify any of the five main problems associated with writing thesis statements.
1- In this paper, I will discuss the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the citizens on New Orleans.
ReplyDelete1- Hurricane Katrina is considered one of the worst natural disasters of all time, both destroying lives and whole cities.
2- Global warming is incorrectly portrayed in the entertainment world.
3- Disaster movies attempt to draw audiences in with lots of action and special effects.
4- The mass media depicts disasters in a way that rightfully shows the cause of the tragedies, the American government.
5- The events of 9/11 had a negative impact on the entertainment industry.
1.1- The media portrayed the citizens of New Orleans in a sensationalized way to bring the nation's attention to the disaster.
1.2- Hurricane Katrina's effects were amplified by the media's coverage.
2- The media uses dramatic photographs and stories to sway viewer's opinions of global warming.
3- Using special effects and heavy action, the entertainment industry glorifies disasters for profit.
4- The use of sensationalism in the media is a tool to promote political and social agendas.
5- The entertainment industry was forced to change their standards with disaster films to sympathize with the damage in America after 9/11.
Amber, Matt, Patrick, Jeff, Kathleen, Taylor
Thesis exercise:
ReplyDelete1. W: I am going to write about the sinking of the Titanic
R: Many factors were to blame for the sinking of the Titanic, including lack of foresight regarding its navigational path, as well as a lack of proper survival equipment.
2. W: The holocaust took many lives.
R: Segregation, gas chambers, concentration camps, as well as other various forms of suffering contributed to the idea of de-individuation during the holocaust.
3. W:It is important to learn from the mistakes of the Holocaust to ensure that they never happen again.
R: While it is vital to understand the mistakes of the Germans from the Holocaust, it is equally important to examine how the rest of the world, the United States specifically, chose to react to the tragedy and how the reaction could have been significantly better and more timely.
4. W: The British were to blame for the sinking of the titanic.
R: Among the many people and structural defects to blame for the sinking of the Titanic, the navigation crew was specifically the most responsible for hitting an ice burg, and killing thousands of people.
5. W: The water temperature caused the deaths of many victims of the Titanic.
R: Although the water temperature of the Atlantic ocean was partially responsible for the deaths after the sinking of the Titanic, the lack of definitive leadership and organization was the most crucial contributing factor to the deaths of the passengers.
Jake, Darius, Sean, Raleigh, Brian, Leah
Weak thesis statements:
ReplyDelete1.Thesis makes no claim
This paper discusses the use of images in the media.
2.Thesis is an obvious fact
The Titanic sunk due to the collision of an ice berg and they made a movie about it which attracted a lot of viewers.
3.Thesis states conventional wisdom
It is important to learn from the causes of disaster so they do not happen again.
4.Thesis based its claim on personal conviction
Global warming is the only cause for species extinction that is happening now.
5.Thesis makes an overly broad claim
The sinking of the Titanic has caused much controversy throughout the past century.
The mass media has a significant effect on disasters.
Revisions of thesis statements:
1.Imagery in the media has a positive and lasting impact on the viewer and through its profound appearance can leave a memorable impression on them.
2.The popularity of the Titanic can be attributed to not only the reputation of the disaster, but also the emotional appeal portrayed throughout the movie.
3.In respect to 9/11, there were many avoidable errors made that could have easily prevented the disaster from occurring and it is important to examine these errors and learn from them.
4.There are many possible factors affecting the extinction of specific species, however global warming is the biggest contributing factor.
5.The 1912 sinking of the Titanic has caused uproar in controversy throughout the past century due to the amount of deaths and possible precautions that could have been taken to avoid the deaths.
Although mass media can have both positive and negative effects on disasters such as genocide, if it has been broadcasted to other countries there are many more opportunities for help and support.
Maria, Ann, Mallory, Adrienne, Jessica, Joe