Thursday, September 11, 2008
Blog Post #2: Your Thesis and Your Outline - Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Orange
For your second Blog Posting, post your Thesis Statement and the Outline for your paper by Monday of this week. Post a link to your blog below. Respond to two other people on their blogs about their outline and their thesis statement by Thursday.
Click Here to Read More..
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Claims, Comparison, and Thesis Statements - Blue and Green Class
Today we are inching (and leaping) towards our overall paper, so here is what we'll be doing today:
1. Quiz (based on Chapter 2)
2. Questions/Comments/Catchup
3. Go over quiz and discuss Making Claims and Comparison/Contrast Arguments
4. Compare/Contrast Video Game Arguments:
Playstation Commericial/Japan
Playstation Commercial/UK:
XBox Live Commercial/US:
PART 2:
Brainstorm. Take a sheet of paper and in ten minutes or so write down a dozen or so claims you can make about the text you have chosen to write about. Don't worry about whether these claims are "deep" or whether they are "interesting," just write down claims that you think are true about the text.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Examples of Bad Thesis Statements
I'm going to tell you about Will Wright and how he created the Sims.
(Don't mention what "I" will do. Leave yourself out of the paper entirely. Also, This thesis says nothing about the direction or focus of the paper.)
There are a lot of things that were unusual about the persuasive game 9-11: Towers.
(Chock full of vague ideas. The only content word here is the term "persuasive game.")
The violence and first person perspective/second person in Darfur is Dying and America’s Army
(This is not even a sentence. What is it about the "violence" that the writer will focus on?)
5 Minutes to Kill Yourself is an Adult Swim game that is very popular among fans of wacky office games.
(This does not focus on any particular theme or style of video game. It is a vague statement about his popularity.)
The Sims is one of the most famous games of the late 1990s.
(This statement is historical. It lacks any focus on her style of writing.)
Examples of acceptable thesis statements
Will Wright’s strategic use of control and artificial intelligence in "The Sims” and “Spore" symbolize the creator’s belief in natural and social evolution.
The political games of the 2000 election, like Cheney for VP and Ron Paul for President, promotes voter involvement in the political process rather than promoting a political candidate.
Many persuasive games, most notably Catch the Sperm and Darfur is Dying, use humor to point out the hypocrisy of living in America in the 2000s
*Topic: Authors, works, period, genre, literary movement, etc.
*Narrowed Claim: Opinion, your take on the topic, can be addressed with the resources available (i.e. just the games)
Brainstorm: 15 Different Claims/Facts/Opinions/etc…
• Rewrite your Thesis Statement
Objections: 2-4 Opposing Opinions to your Thesis Statement
• Rewrite your Thesis Statement, in order to make your thesis statement “arguable”
Audience:
• Who is your Audience (2-3 groups)?
• Do they Agree/Disagree/No Opinion?
• What do you want them to do after reading your paper?
• What information you need have in your paper to convince them?
• Rewrite your Thesis, taking into account your audience.
Topic:
• What is your Topic?
• What is your Claim?
• Rewrite your Thesis, taking into account your topic and claim.
Homework:
- Take notes on your two video games. Note how they relate to your claims.
- Using your thesis, write the first draft of your paper (outline)
- Bring the notes and your outline for Tuesday's Class. Click Here to Read More..
1. Quiz (based on Chapter 2)
2. Questions/Comments/Catchup
3. Go over quiz and discuss Making Claims and Comparison/Contrast Arguments
4. Compare/Contrast Video Game Arguments:
Playstation Commericial/Japan
Playstation Commercial/UK:
XBox Live Commercial/US:
PART 2:
Brainstorm. Take a sheet of paper and in ten minutes or so write down a dozen or so claims you can make about the text you have chosen to write about. Don't worry about whether these claims are "deep" or whether they are "interesting," just write down claims that you think are true about the text.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Examples of Bad Thesis Statements
I'm going to tell you about Will Wright and how he created the Sims.
(Don't mention what "I" will do. Leave yourself out of the paper entirely. Also, This thesis says nothing about the direction or focus of the paper.)
There are a lot of things that were unusual about the persuasive game 9-11: Towers.
(Chock full of vague ideas. The only content word here is the term "persuasive game.")
The violence and first person perspective/second person in Darfur is Dying and America’s Army
(This is not even a sentence. What is it about the "violence" that the writer will focus on?)
5 Minutes to Kill Yourself is an Adult Swim game that is very popular among fans of wacky office games.
(This does not focus on any particular theme or style of video game. It is a vague statement about his popularity.)
The Sims is one of the most famous games of the late 1990s.
(This statement is historical. It lacks any focus on her style of writing.)
Examples of acceptable thesis statements
Will Wright’s strategic use of control and artificial intelligence in "The Sims” and “Spore" symbolize the creator’s belief in natural and social evolution.
The political games of the 2000 election, like Cheney for VP and Ron Paul for President, promotes voter involvement in the political process rather than promoting a political candidate.
Many persuasive games, most notably Catch the Sperm and Darfur is Dying, use humor to point out the hypocrisy of living in America in the 2000s
*Topic: Authors, works, period, genre, literary movement, etc.
*Narrowed Claim: Opinion, your take on the topic, can be addressed with the resources available (i.e. just the games)
Brainstorm: 15 Different Claims/Facts/Opinions/etc…
• Rewrite your Thesis Statement
Objections: 2-4 Opposing Opinions to your Thesis Statement
• Rewrite your Thesis Statement, in order to make your thesis statement “arguable”
Audience:
• Who is your Audience (2-3 groups)?
• Do they Agree/Disagree/No Opinion?
• What do you want them to do after reading your paper?
• What information you need have in your paper to convince them?
• Rewrite your Thesis, taking into account your audience.
Topic:
• What is your Topic?
• What is your Claim?
• Rewrite your Thesis, taking into account your topic and claim.
Homework:
- Take notes on your two video games. Note how they relate to your claims.
- Using your thesis, write the first draft of your paper (outline)
- Bring the notes and your outline for Tuesday's Class. Click Here to Read More..
Claims and Comparison/Contrast - Orange, Red, Yellow
Today we are inching (and leaping) towards our overall paper, so here is what we'll be doing today:
1. Quiz (based on Chapter 2)
2. Questions/Comments/Catchup
3. Go over quiz and discuss Making Claims and Comparison/Contrast Arguments
4. Compare/Contrast Video Game Arguments:
Playstation Commericial/Japan
Playstation Commercial/UK:
XBox Live Commercial/US:
5. Homework:
- Finalize the two video games you want to write for your first paper
- Chart out at least 3 Thesis/Claims/Arguments for Thursday's Class Click Here to Read More..
1. Quiz (based on Chapter 2)
2. Questions/Comments/Catchup
3. Go over quiz and discuss Making Claims and Comparison/Contrast Arguments
4. Compare/Contrast Video Game Arguments:
Playstation Commericial/Japan
Playstation Commercial/UK:
XBox Live Commercial/US:
5. Homework:
- Finalize the two video games you want to write for your first paper
- Chart out at least 3 Thesis/Claims/Arguments for Thursday's Class Click Here to Read More..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)