Thesis and Synthesis

Matt SmithWriting Consultant

writingsupport@waldenu.edu

Overview

• Critical Reading

• Synthesizing

• Thesis Development

• Organization

• Paraphrasing

• Synthesizing

Critical Reading

Critical reading is all about interacting with the texts that you are reading.

Two definitions:

1. Reading the texts as a judge of the text’s scholarly value. This is typically done by asking questions concerning potential weaknesses in the articles.

2. Reading the text as an insightful member of the academic community with your own agenda (your thesis or theory).

Critical Reading1. Reading the texts as a judge of the text’s scholarly value.

This is typically done by asking questions concerning potential weaknesses in the articles.

1. Were the author’s interpretations and conclusions supported by the evidence he or she presented?

2. Was there any apparent bias? 3. Were there other ways that specific data could be interpreted other

than how the author approached it?4. Were there any important variables that were left out of the study?5. Was every assertion supported by fact? 6. Did the text use reliable resources?

This step allows you to assess the validity of the author’s work and decidehow you’re going to use it.

Critical Reading

2. Reading the text as an insightful member of the academic community with your own agenda (your thesis or theory).

Synthesizing the Literature

Barry, M. (2003). Violence in adolescents attributed to videogames. Journal of Electronic Entertainment, 4, 34-55. doi:10.2435763467

Fulton, F., & Fuller, G. (2004). Hamlet on the holodeck: Videogames and the frontier of fiction. Journal of Mass Media, 4(3), 1-12. Retrieved from www.journalofmassmedia.com

Grass, G.G., Timberfund, D., & Lake, E. (2008). Domestic violence linked to violent videogames. Journal of E-Narrative, 7, 101-117. doi:10.67392012-5

Phillip, J. (2008). Desensitized: Gamers and televised warfare.  Journal of Mass Media, 9(4), 67-87. Retrieved from www.journalofmassmedia.com

Synthesizing the Literature

Assuming that your intent (something that you decided during the critical reading process above) was to prove that videogames have a negative effect on the individual, a synthesis of these four articles might then look something like this:

Although some see them as art (Fulton & Fuller, 2004), videogames have been shown to increase indifference toward and encourage acts of violence (Barry, 2003; Grass, Timberfund, & Lake, 2008; Phillip, 2008).  As Phillip (2008) noted...[a continuation of this discussion that adheres to the opening (read: topic) sentence]

Synthesizing the Literature

However, if your intent was to showcase the potential benefits of videogames, your synthesis would read much differently:

Despite the concerns of its critics over its current incarnations (Barry, 2003; Grass, Timberfund, & Lake, 2008; Phillips, 2008), a videogame is nonetheless a new and raw narrative medium.  In fact, as Fulton and Fuller (2004) noted, "the early reception that this new technology has received is not unlike the public’s initial response to

the novel. We are again ignoring unimaginable potential" (p. 3).

Thesis DevelopmentBefore constructing a thesis, it might help to first revisit some definitions of the term:

• Thesis: “a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, esp. one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections” (Dictionary.com, 2009).

• Thesis: “a position or proposition which a person advances and offers to maintain, or which is actually maintained by argument” (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary,1998).

• Thesis: “a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research” (Princeton University, 2006).

Note that the above definitions are consistent in that they (a) stress the importance of presenting an argument and (b) insist that this argument is capable of advancement.

Making Sure That Your Thesis is an Argument

1. In his article, Jefferson (2003) insisted that The Real World was responsible for corrupting the mind of America’s youth.

2. This paper will consider the positive and negative ways that women are portrayed in The Real World.

3. The Real World reinforces gender inequality in America, suggesting that women are not just avid consumers, but consumables as well.

4. Jefferson’s (2003) argument that The Real World presents an ugly side of American culture and should therefore be cancelled ignores the fact that what is shown is not limited to the program: The reality is that women are routinely objectified by men.

Making Sure That Your Thesis is Capable of Advancement

1. The Real World should not be censored.

2. There are many reasons to censor the content that appears on The Real World.

3. The FCC has the right to limit the content that appears on The Real World in cases where the show depicts overtly sexist images of men and women. A failure to address such issues would suggest that our society approves of such views.

4. The various arguments for the censorship of reality shows like The Real World depend on the unspoken and unexamined assumption that the viewer cannot determine right from wrong.

Thesis: “The FCC has the right to limit the content that appears on The Real World in cases where the show depicts overtly sexist images of men and women. A failure to address such issues would suggest that our society approves of such views.”

Paragraph 1: Examples of male, sexual objectification in The Real World.

Paragraph 2: Consequences of male, sexual objectification in The Real World.

Paragraph 3: Examples of female, sexual objectification in The Real World.

Paragraph 4: Consequences of female, sexual objectification in The Real World.

Paragraph 5: Synthesis of paragraphs 1-4 stating that all sexual objectification can have can have dire consequences.

Paragraph 6: Suggestion that these unchecked images and consequences define the society that refuses to condone them.

Conclusion: If a society is defined by its actions (or inactions), then the FCC should reserve the right to limit sexist images in The Real World.

Making Sure That Your Thesis is Capable of Advancement

Working in an Outline

Paraphrasing

A formal definition:

The act of restating someone else’s work in your own words.

Working in an Outline

Paraphrasing

Conceptual definition:

Placing someone else’s work in the context on your own scholarly assertions.

Paraphrasing

Formal definition:There is evidence to suggest that

newsmakers are becoming particularly savvy about placing items on the media agenda. When for example, President Reagan was running for his second term, he took a tour to promote his administration's record on environmentalism.

Evidence suggests that newsmakers are becoming particularly savvy about placing items on the media agenda. When President Reagan was running for his second term, he took a tour to promote his administration's record on environmentalism.

Paraphrasing

Conceptual definition:As late as the end of the 1960s almost all black doctors in the United

States were trained at either Howard University or Meharry Medical College. With the onset of affirmative action in the late 1960s, the predominantly white medical schools have been aggressive recruiters of black candidates. In 1997 more than 1,150 black medical students graduated from medical schools in the United States, an all-time high. But in California and Texas, bans on affirmative action have resulted in a 17% decline in black medical school applications in those two states.  Nationwide rollbacks of affirmative action are likely to produce a resegregation of black medical school students into all-black institutions ("A Quarter-Century," 1998, p. 14).

Paraphrasing

Conceptual definition:If your document is looking at affirmative action in the United States,

you might use this assertion:

The importance of affirmative action is no more evident than in the medical communities of California and Texas, where enrollment amongst African Americans has dropped by 17%.

Paraphrasing

Conceptual definition:However, if your study concerns discriminatory legislation in the state of

California, you might apply this information differently:

Perhaps the most questionable court decision made by the state of California was the banning of affirmative action. With this decision, black medical student applications dropped by 17% ("A Quarter-Century," 1998).

Paraphrasing

Conceptual definition:Finally, a third reader—one whose study addressed the application

process for medical schools—might read the article as follows:

One study suggested that the rate of medical school applications is dependent on a state’s adherence to affirmative action ("A Quarter-Century," 1998).

Common Critiques

1. Too much opinion!

2. Not enough analysis!

3. I don’t care what you think!

4. I don’t care what you feel!

5. Your experience doesn’t matter!

The Result…is to deny the student (Sigree, 1999).

As Harper (2001) noted, it is impossible for instructors to identify every one of their student’s emotional intelligences (EI). Faculty members do not have the time, and students simply are not that forthcoming with their learning preferences (Harper, 2001). Furthermore, as Harper warned, if instructors decide to attempt a complete analysis of every student’s EI, they will inevitably hold the entire class back. After all, the time it would take for an instructor to adequately diagnose a student’s EI, would be less time for the instructor to help his or her students meet the expectations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (Harper, 2001).

Finkelstein and Kramer’s (2002) findings…

What Works?…is to deny the student (Sigree, 1999).

As Harper (2001) noted, it is impossible for instructors to identify every one of their student’s emotional intelligences (EI). Faculty members do not have the time, and students simply are not that forthcoming with their learning preferences (Harper, 2001). Furthermore, as Harper warned, if instructors decide to attempt a complete analysis of every student’s EI, they will inevitably hold the entire class back. After all, the time it would take for an instructor to adequately diagnose a student’s EI, would be less time for the instructor to help his or her students meet the expectations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (Harper, 2001).

Finkelstein and Kramer’s (2002) findings…

1. No feelings

2. No opinions

3. Paraphrasing seems solid

What Doesn’t?…is to deny the student (Sigree, 1999).

As Harper (2001) noted, it is impossible for instructors to identify every one of their student’s emotional intelligences (EI). Faculty members do not have the time, and students simply are not that forthcoming with their learning preferences (Harper, 2001). Furthermore, as Harper warned, if instructors decide to attempt a complete analysis of every student’s EI, they will inevitably hold the entire class back. After all, the time it would take for an instructor to adequately diagnose a student’s EI, would be less time for the instructor to help his or her students meet the expectations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (Harper, 2001).

Finkelstein and Kramer’s (2002) findings…

1. Why do I need to understand this information?

2. Why is it important?

3. How is it related to the author’s thesis?

4. So what?

5. Who cares?

6. Why wouldn’t I just read Harper directly?

An Alternative…is to deny the student (Sigree, 1999).

Harper (2001), however, disagreed with Sigree’s (1999) assertion. He noted that despite the obvious benefits of diagnosing a student’s emotional intelligence (EI; Jones & Hammer, 1998; Mooney, 1998; Sigree, 1999), it is impossible for instructors to identify every one of their students’ EIs (Harper, 2001). Faculty members do not have the time, and students simply are not that forthcoming with their learning preferences (Harper, 2001).

For Harper (2001), though, the real issue was not with instructors’ belief in EI, but rather in how this belief affected classroom logistics. Simply put, instructors who follow Earnhart’s (1996) advice to “Take the time to understand how each of your students learn” (p. 33) are being impractical, Harper argued. The time it would take for an instructor to adequately diagnose a student’s EI, would be less time for the instructor to help his or her students meet the expectations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (Harper, 2001). While Earnhart’s (1996) vision is noble, it is certainly difficult to argue with Harper’s practical stance.

With Harper’s (2001) concerns in mind, it is then difficult for me to endorse Finkelstein and Kramer’s (2002) findings…

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