persuasive research writing & thesis statements
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Persuasive RESEARCH WRITING & Thesis STATEMENTS. Persuasive Research Essay Sponsored by: The OWL at Purdue. Persuasive Writing: The Argument. Argument : This is the basis of the persuasive research paper. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
PERSUASIVE RESEARCH WRITING & THESIS STATEMENTS
Persuasive Research EssaySponsored by: The OWL at Purdue
Persuasive Writing: The Argument
Argument: This is the basis of the persuasive research paper.
The staff at Charles Sturt University in Australia defines an argument as "a series of generalizations or propositions, supported by evidence or reasoning and connected in a logical manner, that lead to a justified conclusion. You must sustain your argument by giving evidence and reasons."
The approach in persuasive research writing is to take a stand on an issue and use evidence to back-up your stance, not to explore or flesh out an unresolved topic. This stance, this debatable statement, or this interpretation is
known as your thesis.
Essays & Thesis Statements
The term essay comes from the French word essai, or "attempt“ You are attempting to convince the reader of a debatable or controversial
point of view. That point of view - your thesis - is the core of this breed of paper.
A plan of attack for the backbone (the main focus) of your paper. You need to refine a topic before figuring out the main focus of your
paper: your thesis statement. You can't afford to waste time wandering aimlessly around the library, or
even worse, in your paper. You need to know what your ultimate purpose is and what you need to
know and do to get there. In most persuasive essays, thesis statements are generally found in the
introductory paragraph(s), which makes sense considering your reader will get frustrated if your persuading point isn't stated early on.
Defining Features of a Thesis
It is a one or two-sentence statement that explicitly outlines the purpose or point of your paper. A thesis is to a paper what a topic sentence is to a paragraph.
It should point toward the development the reader can expect your argument to take, but does not have to specifically include 'three supporting points' as you may have once learned.
Because the rest of the paper will support or back up your thesis, a thesis is normally placed at or near the end of the introductory paragraph(s).
A reasonable person could disagree with you if you only gave the thesis and no other evidence. Also, someone should be able to theoretically argue against it (how
successfully will depend on how persuasive you are).
Defining Features of a Thesis
A thesis takes a side on a topic rather than simply announcing that the paper is about a topic (the title should have already revealed your topic). Don't tell a reader about something; answer the questions
"how?" or "why?“
A thesis is sufficiently narrow and specific that your supporting points are necessary and sufficient, not arbitrary; paper length and number of supporting points are good guides here.
A thesis argues one main point and doesn't squeeze three different theses for three different papers into one sentence.
THE SO WHAT? TESTThe Test it Must Pass
The So-What? Test Be sure to choose a topic worth arguing about or
exploring. This means to construct a thesis statement about a problem that
is still debated, controversial, up in the air.
So arguing that drinking and driving is dangerous - while you could find a ton of evidence to support your view - would be pretty worthless nowadays. Who would want to read something they already knew? You wouldn't be persuading them of anything and all your
work would be pretty meaningless.
During the topic-formulating stage, always keep asking "SO WHAT?", "WHO CARES?" or as Barbara Frum says: "Tell me something new about something I care about." That will automatically make your paper significant and
interesting both for you to write and the reader to study.
So What? When you do come up with a good thesis, always
make sure it passes The So What? Test or begin again.
Don't worry though; remember that at this point in the process, your thesis is tentative. It may change after you do research or as you
write and that's perfectly okay (as long as it is Coffin-approved).
It is important, however, for you to think about the point of your paper now before you read what the experts in your field have to say.
RESEARCHING
Researching Hunting for resources and recording the information. You
have a focus, a goal, a purpose--in essence, the bones of your essay. But now you need flesh for those bones; that's where research comes
in.
The research step you are about to embark on will possibly be a relief because now you can finally gather some proof for your readers to support your controversial thesis.
You will gather this outside knowledge and integrate it with your own ideas. The research step is what distinguishes this genre from other kinds of
essays.
Supporting Evidence With a good thesis and an outline, you know what
you want to say and how you want to say it. Now your essay needs the weight of evidence to support your thesis and convince your reader. Evidence consists of specific examples or opinions of
others which support and illustrate your thesis. Try to give several examples rather than just one. You want
to make sure that there is sufficient evidence for you to make a strong point; the evidence must also be relevant and reliable.
Evidence comes from either primary or secondary sources. The primary source is the text on which you are
commenting, or documents that deal directly with your topic.
Secondary sources are opinions or interpretation of others on the topic (your essay itself becomes a secondary source, should anyone wish to quote it).
Although secondary sources can help support your view, your instructor is still interested in what you think about the work.
PLAGIARISMThe Gateway to a Life of Crime
Plagiarism Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of someone else's
thoughts or wording either by incorrect documentation, failing to cite your sources altogether, or simply by relying much too heavily on external resources. Plagiarizing does not give due credit to the party who really came up
with the language and/or idea, and also fails to inform the reader that the information originated from an outside source.
Plagiarizing undermines your academic integrity. It betrays your own responsibilities as a student writer, your
audience, and the very research community you were entering by deciding to write a research paper in the first place.
Whether intentional or, as is more often the case, inadvertent, the result is that some or all of another author's ideas become represented as your own.
It's like lip-synching to someone else's voice and accepting the applause and rewards for yourself.
Plagiarism Plagiarism also includes the re-use of the same paper for more than
one course or "buying" a paper from another student. If it feels like cheating or an easy way-out, and the moral and intellectual
consequences don't sound alarm bells, stop and think of the serious repercussions you could incur.
Because it is intellectual theft, plagiarism is considered an academic crime with punishment anywhere from an ZERO on that particular paper to dismissal from the course to expulsion from school. If that scares you, it shouldn't, because there is no reason it has to happen to you.
Avoid plagiarism by using effective note-taking skills and properly incorporating sources - direct quotations, summaries, or paraphrases - within your own insights so that it is clear where and which sources were consulted to support and supplement your own discussion. Your research paper won't be some cheap throw-together of unoriginal
thoughts but a credible, cohesive piece of writing not in spite of but because of your intellectual honesty.
THE ESSAY OUTLINEThe Framework for the Essay
More on Essay
Outlines Later in the Research Process
The Outline: Mapping it Out Like the frame of a house combines with the building materials,
the outline combines the "bones" of your thesis with the "flesh" from your research and insights to construct a unified essay body.
An outline is the organizational plan for your paper. You know your starting point: your introduction and thesis/research
question. You know your destination: some sort of summative and thoughtful
conclusion. But how are you going to get from one to the other? What's your
vehicle?
See, an outline doesn't just help you articulate what you plan to say, but also how you're going to move from supporting paragraph to supporting paragraph, how you're going to get where you want to go.
The Importance of Outlines If you can't articulate your paper even in point form, you
won't be able to do it effectively in prose.
If you find problems as you outline, it's easier to fix them now than to try to revamp a 3rd draft. It's always easier to scrap a note than a paragraph or whole essay.
When things click into place, an outline gives you confidence. It helps you to realize that, maybe just maybe, you really do know what you're talking about!
Markers don't appreciate mental diarrhea or The Shotgun Technique: writing down everything you know about the subject (a common fault). It is like firing a shotgun and hoping that some of the many pellets hit something." Have respect for your reader.
Outlines make drafting less stressful not only by pointing out the relationship of your ideas to each other and to the thesis, but because you now have small manageable chunks to tackle.
Coffin is much more agreeable to looking over an outline than an early draft. The outline will tell him more about whether you’re on the right track.
Constructing an Outline You're may be intimidated by the research materials and
notes amassed in front of you...but that’s not a bad thing. Carefully read the index cards and look for common trends. They're going to be separated from each other but gather them
together. Cards with common trends will probably form a sub-topic for the
paper.
You can classify using a variety of techniques. Using index cards, group the ones that go together and shuffle
them around to achieve the best order of ideas. You can also do this on paper: use different-colored symbols or
highlighters to classify related ideas.
Constructing an Outline Once you're happy with what you've got, you may find that some
sections are strong and fleshed-out whereas others are weaker.
Do some more research where needed or see if two "weak" sections just couldn't fit under one stronger heading.
Perhaps as hard as you try, your points fit together but not with the overarching argument you're making (thesis). In that case, don't be afraid to re-evaluate your thesis; it may just need a tweak.
Your evidence may be great but if it supports a different thesis, your readers won't see how great it is because they'll be expecting something else. Don’t prove the wrong thesis.
Now that you have thesis and support (research question and answers) fitting together, the really hard work is done!