Hi students, I visited the library last week and have emailed daily, but am unable to get a return email.
Please go to our regular classroom tomorrow. I'm not sure what the problem is, but we'll continue to do search work in our classroom.
I'm sorry to delay this again, but I'll push to get a response after class tomorrow.
Mr. Tompkins
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
NO LIBRARY TOMORROW! PLUS MORE! PLEASE READ!
Students,
First: I couldn't arrange for the library visit tomorrow. So we will meet in class usual. The agenda will be the same.
Second: I thought that the documentary by Laura Poitras about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden (Citizenfour) was available on youtube. It isn't, so I want you to watch another, shorter interview with him. Here is the link Short general interview with Ed Snowden.
I also asked you to find one of several documentaries about ex-CIA spy turned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, whose release of the Pentagon Papers rocked the world during the Vietnam War. Here is a link to one such film: Daniel Ellsberg
Last: Please read this Wikipedia entry about whistleblowers: Whistleblower. Consider the way individuals have been attacked, and how the government has sometimes refused to provide promised protection, especially when aspect of official crimes have been exposed.
See you tomorrow.
First: I couldn't arrange for the library visit tomorrow. So we will meet in class usual. The agenda will be the same.
Second: I thought that the documentary by Laura Poitras about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden (Citizenfour) was available on youtube. It isn't, so I want you to watch another, shorter interview with him. Here is the link Short general interview with Ed Snowden.
I also asked you to find one of several documentaries about ex-CIA spy turned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, whose release of the Pentagon Papers rocked the world during the Vietnam War. Here is a link to one such film: Daniel Ellsberg
Last: Please read this Wikipedia entry about whistleblowers: Whistleblower. Consider the way individuals have been attacked, and how the government has sometimes refused to provide promised protection, especially when aspect of official crimes have been exposed.
See you tomorrow.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Notes on our Research Project
Students, the moment you put your essay about The Things They Carried on my table, we will shift gears and begin working on our final project. It is due the day you take your final exam. Please select a topic (you must select one of the two choices), and begin searching for possible sources of information. We will do some searching in class tomorrow using the overhead projector, but please bring smart phones, tablets, and laptops with you so we can begin work.
See you tomorrow.
See you tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Thesis Extras 3
PART
3: WRITING OR REVISING A THESIS STATEMENT TO ALIGN WITH SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS
Every thesis statement has to have supporting arguments, usually three to five of them. You can think of the main ideas in supporting arguments as mini-thesis statements. Consider, for example, the following:
THESIS STATEMENT
• The cafeteria management is doing a good job.
Without supporting arguments, the statement above is simply an opinion. It is also an opinion even with supporting arguments, but it is an opinion with an argument that supports it.
SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS
Other times, students are passionate about a thesis statement and know exactly what they want their supporting arguments to be. They write feverishly and develop their supporting arguments well. Somewhere in the writing process, however, they wander slightly from the thesis statement. Perhaps one or two supporting arguments align well with the thesis statement, but another one goes in a different direction.
Consider the student who believes that cheating in baseball is worse than it is in other sports. His thesis statement reads:
While cheating has become epidemic in most sports, the win-at-all-costs mentality is even more extreme in baseball because baseball players often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—so they or their teams can have an advantage.
After reading the student’s thesis statement, the instructor is intrigued. This could be a fairly original argument.
The instructor reads on and is satisfied with the first supporting argument, which is that
batters sometimes intentionally lean in to fastballs so they will be hit by a pitch and consequently be awarded first base. This argument certainly supports the idea that baseball players will risk injury to cheat.
The student’s second argument also makes sense. He explains how base runners risk personal injury when they disregard the rule of sliding straight into a base so they can “take out” a fielder trying to make a play.
While the paper so far is not God’s gift to literature, the instructor is happy that the student has made an original argument and has logically supported his thesis with two supporting points.
Then the instructor reads the third supporting point:
Baseball players also take health risks when they use steroids.
While this statement is certainly true, it does not connect logically to the student’s thesis. Remember, the student is arguing that cheating is worse in baseball. Do you see the alignment problem? Steroid abuse is not a problem that is exclusive to baseball. Since steroids are used by athletes in other sports as well, the student’s third supporting argument actually weakens his overall argument.
The student had a slight glitch in his thought process. He was excited about having a good thesis, and he ran with his idea because the first two supporting arguments came to his mind right away. Unfortunately for the student, the instructor required three supporting arguments for the assignment, and the third did not come as easily. To be sure, it is closely related to the first two, but it is not logical evidence for the thesis the student has written. Consequently, the student is docked a few points because of his third supporting argument.
College writers often make mistakes like the one described above. Luckily, they need not be docked points, for a simple solution is usually only a short revision away. In the example above, the student could have earned a better grade by keeping the same supporting arguments (and probably adding one) and simply revising his thesis statement. Instead of using the thesis statement
While cheating has become epidemic in most sports, the win-at-all-costs mentality is even more extreme in baseball because baseball players often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—to give themselves or their teams an advantage,
the student could have revised his thesis to read:
The win-at-all-costs mentality is so pervasive in sports that athletes often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—so they or their teams can have an advantage.
With the revised thesis statement, all of the supporting arguments make sense. Of course, the student would want to add a supporting argument or two that revolves around other sports, since the thesis has been revised to address all athletics. The point is that it often takes only a little thought and a little revision to make sure that thesis statements and supporting arguments logically align.
Every thesis statement has to have supporting arguments, usually three to five of them. You can think of the main ideas in supporting arguments as mini-thesis statements. Consider, for example, the following:
THESIS STATEMENT
• The cafeteria management is doing a good job.
Without supporting arguments, the statement above is simply an opinion. It is also an opinion even with supporting arguments, but it is an opinion with an argument that supports it.
SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS
·
Cafeteria
hours accommodate every student’s schedule.
·
The
cafeteria offers a variety of main courses at each meal.
·
The
cafeteria serves plenty of food that is both healthy and tasty.
·
The
cafeteria has been citation free for over two years.
The
four statements above offer evidence that cafeteria management is doing a good
job. If this were a thesis statement for an assignment, the bulk of the paper
would provide evidence for the four supporting arguments. For example, one
paragraph might “prove” the cafeteria is open to accommodate every student’s
schedule by including the earliest times that students need in the cafeteria,
the latest times, and the fact that the cafeteria is open during those times.
Occasionally,
students have thought so much about the rights or wrongs of an issue that they
write (or at least develop in their minds) closely related supporting arguments
before
they
write a precise thesis statement. For instance, a student might have strong
feelings about the imperfections of higher education. Having thought about
those imperfections a great deal, he or she might have well reasoned criticisms
but lack a thesis. His or her criticisms might be:
·
Far
too much writing is required in college.
·
A
college degree takes too long to earn.
·
Students
should not be required to take so many general education
courses.
There
is nothing wrong with writing a paper from this approach; that is, writing a
thesis statement after
you
have developed supporting arguments. However, the thesis statement must
logically align with all supporting arguments. A thesis statement that “covers” the
supporting arguments above might read:
• Reform in higher
education should start with some of the most common practices and assumptions. Other times, students are passionate about a thesis statement and know exactly what they want their supporting arguments to be. They write feverishly and develop their supporting arguments well. Somewhere in the writing process, however, they wander slightly from the thesis statement. Perhaps one or two supporting arguments align well with the thesis statement, but another one goes in a different direction.
Consider the student who believes that cheating in baseball is worse than it is in other sports. His thesis statement reads:
While cheating has become epidemic in most sports, the win-at-all-costs mentality is even more extreme in baseball because baseball players often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—so they or their teams can have an advantage.
After reading the student’s thesis statement, the instructor is intrigued. This could be a fairly original argument.
The instructor reads on and is satisfied with the first supporting argument, which is that
batters sometimes intentionally lean in to fastballs so they will be hit by a pitch and consequently be awarded first base. This argument certainly supports the idea that baseball players will risk injury to cheat.
The student’s second argument also makes sense. He explains how base runners risk personal injury when they disregard the rule of sliding straight into a base so they can “take out” a fielder trying to make a play.
While the paper so far is not God’s gift to literature, the instructor is happy that the student has made an original argument and has logically supported his thesis with two supporting points.
Then the instructor reads the third supporting point:
Baseball players also take health risks when they use steroids.
While this statement is certainly true, it does not connect logically to the student’s thesis. Remember, the student is arguing that cheating is worse in baseball. Do you see the alignment problem? Steroid abuse is not a problem that is exclusive to baseball. Since steroids are used by athletes in other sports as well, the student’s third supporting argument actually weakens his overall argument.
The student had a slight glitch in his thought process. He was excited about having a good thesis, and he ran with his idea because the first two supporting arguments came to his mind right away. Unfortunately for the student, the instructor required three supporting arguments for the assignment, and the third did not come as easily. To be sure, it is closely related to the first two, but it is not logical evidence for the thesis the student has written. Consequently, the student is docked a few points because of his third supporting argument.
College writers often make mistakes like the one described above. Luckily, they need not be docked points, for a simple solution is usually only a short revision away. In the example above, the student could have earned a better grade by keeping the same supporting arguments (and probably adding one) and simply revising his thesis statement. Instead of using the thesis statement
While cheating has become epidemic in most sports, the win-at-all-costs mentality is even more extreme in baseball because baseball players often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—to give themselves or their teams an advantage,
the student could have revised his thesis to read:
The win-at-all-costs mentality is so pervasive in sports that athletes often risk injury to themselves—not just opposing players—so they or their teams can have an advantage.
With the revised thesis statement, all of the supporting arguments make sense. Of course, the student would want to add a supporting argument or two that revolves around other sports, since the thesis has been revised to address all athletics. The point is that it often takes only a little thought and a little revision to make sure that thesis statements and supporting arguments logically align.
Thesis Extras 2
Exercise 1
The following exercise contains hypothetical
thesis statements. On the blank line beside each statement, write “A” if the
statement is arguable or “F” if the statement is a statement of fact.
_______1. The amount of financial aid available
to students should be proportionate to the earning potential of the career
fields for which their majors prepare them.
_______2. Tom Hanks should have won the
Best-Actor award for his performance in Castaway. _______
_______3. Frank Sinatra was loved and admired by
many people.
_______4. The United States contains citizens of
many different ethnicities.
_______5.
Sterling College should make coffee available to students in every building.
_______6. Driving under the influence of alcohol
is dangerous.
_______7. Penalties for drinking and driving
should be more severe.
_______8. Television networks air a lot of
reality shows nowadays.
_______9. The Harry Potter movies are better than
the Indiana
Jones movies.
_______10. Steroid abuse can lead to serious
health problems.
Each item below contains a general subject and a narrower subject that is derivative of it. Write an arguable thesis statement for each group of words in the column labeled “Narrower Topic.”
General Topic
1.
education
2.
communication
3.
work
4.
dishonesty
5.
community
6.
television
7.
relationships
8.
newspapers
9.
family
10.criminal justice
Narrower Topic Thesis Statement
distance education ?
the difference in people’s voices ?
paid vacation time ?
cheating in sports ?
volunteerism ?
reality shows ?
fathers and sons ?
college newspapers ?
eating
together ?
treatment of inmates ?
Write two arguable thesis statements, each with at least three supporting arguments. They do not need to be complicated. The important thing is that your thesis and supporting arguments logically align.
Example:
Thesis: Random drug testing should not be allowed in high schools. Supporting Arguments:
1.
It
is a violation of privacy.
2.
It
wastes taxpayer money because most students know how to “cheat”
on
the tests.
3.
It
instills unnecessary fear in students and consequently affects their
academic
performance in a negative way.
Writing Thesis
Statements 10
EXERCISE 5
Listed with the two thesis statements below are possible supporting arguments. Within each group of possible supporting arguments, one (1) does not align logically with the thesis. Circle each supporting argument that does not align.
1.
The
media should be as hard on non-players as they are on players when it comes to
cheating in baseball.
·
Gamblers
do a lot of damage to the game.
·
Fans
steal signals from opposing teams and relay them to players and coaches.
·
Non-starting
players also steal signals.
·
Groundskeepers
have been known to “fix” fields for a home-team advantage.
2.
Kansas
is a great place to live.
·
The
state has great roads and traffic is seldom congested.
·
Kansas
City offers many fun attractions, especially east of State Line Road.
·
It
has many community colleges that enhance local economies.
·
Kansans
have a rich history of looking out for one another.
EXERCISE
6
Revise
the thesis statements in Exercise 5 above so that they “cover” all four of the
supporting arguments.
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