1. How to Write a Thesis argument
Choose a topic, make a comment,

2. What is a thesis?
"A proposition laid down, or stated, especially as a theme to be discussed and proved, or to be maintained against attack; a statement, assertion, tenant.“ OED

3. What does a Thesis Statement Do?
Tells the reader how you interpret the event
Provides a road map of where you are going in the paper
Can be disputed
May change as you write the paper

4. A thesis has 2 parts
During the Fukashima nuclear disaster, the Japanese government kept the extent of the radiation leak secret.
Topic Comment

5. Topic and Comment
The topic is a given; no one disputes it. The comment can be argued from one side or the other. The comment can be disputed.

6. How do I know if my thesis is good?

7. A good thesis is:
Interesting
Specific
Manageable

8. Good thesis, or bad thesis?
Some people believe the media does a poor job of covering elections

9. Some people believe the media does a poor job of covering elections.
Not Interesting
Nothing to dispute
Bland assertion that no one will disagree with
Not Specific
What's a "poor job"?
Which media?
United States?
TV, radio, newspapers, twitter?
Which elections?
State, local, national, international?
All elections ever?
Some people?
Who are they?
How many?
Why do they matter?
Not Manageable
How are you going to research all elections?
This isn't a paper, it's a library

10. Remember, for this class
The thesis for your final essay is not about the event you select. Your thesis is about HOW WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW about that event.

11. Thesis argument assignment
Choose a topic based on an event that occurred in the past six months (no earlier than April 1)
Write a thesis argument of four sentences or less. As shown in the following example, one sentence can suffice.
Answer the nine questions in the assignment (see assignment PDF). Be brief.
Use comments from your writing coach to refine and improve your thesis argument.

12. Example #1 of good thesis argument
During this year’s Women March in Washington D.C., social media platforms shed a positive light on the organization’s proposals for the new U.S. president and his staff. Twitter played an important role in this by providing facts and live images and videos of the event.
PROFESSORS’ COMMENTS: Good thesis argument. Be sure to incorporate the rhetorical triangle, the echo chamber, McLuhan, and other topics from the course. Do not express your personal opinion.

13. EXAMPLE #2 OF GOOD THESIS argument
While former Cuban leader Fidel Castro died after almost 50 years of ruling in Cuba, major news media around the world covered his death with no sympathy to his passing. With the tensions that have always existed between The United States and Cuba, most media in the U.S. followed suit in an echo chamber effect which was mostly one-sided against the late dictator. The New York Times covered him with a mix of the necessary respect needed for professionalism and disdain. They appeal to both logos and pathos by reminding all how he is considered a tyrant and almost brought the world into nuclear war, while at the same time, sparking revolution in South Africa. While other countries and leaders like China's President Xi Jinping, who is also communist like Castro, honored him in the media and to the world, appealing to ethos in his own country and as a leader.
PROFESSOR’S COMMENTS: Good incorporation of course elements. Keep thesis statement short.

14. Example #3 of a good thesis statement
The December 2015, San Bernardino attack was politicized by politicians to serve their interests. Coverage of the event turned into a debate on gun control and Islamic terrorism, and the facts of the case stopped being the top priority.
PROFESSOR’S NOTE: Be sure to bring in all elements of the course: rhetorical triangle, echo chamber, medium as message, secrets, lies and so on.

15. Example #4 of good thesis argument assignment – In full
Alarming and terrifying, the Zika virus was one epidemic that shook the world, but the thing that set us into a widespread panic wasn’t the virus itself but rather the way the media portrayed it.
1. How does the thesis statement tell your reader how you interpret the event? The thesis statement encourages the reader to not focus on what they already know about the event but rather to focus on the attention it grabbed from the media, and how the media manipulated the virus to scare people.

16. Example #4 (continued)
2. How does the thesis statement provide a road map to where you are going in the paper? The thesis statement is short and quick to the point, letting the reader know that the paper will not be the typical overview of the virus but rather all the angles and stories that the media used to scare people about Zika.

17. Example #4 (continued)
3. Can the thesis be disputed? Provide a pro/con response to your thesis. It can be argued that the Zika virus did not “shake the world” as it only occurred officially in Brazil, but that can be argued since the Zika virus itself did not travel, but the hosts did therefore having a global impact. A good point is the media portrayal, just like the epidemic with H1N1and Ebola, each time the media was able to skewer and tell the audience the most frightening details and convince the public that all of these viruses are new. (When in reality a lot of these have been found before, just that they have affected such little populations that funding was not important.)

18. Example #4 (continued)
4. A thesis consists of two parts: a topic, and a comment. a. What is the topic of your thesis? The topic is the Zika virus. b. What is the comment? The comment is that the media skewered its portrayal in order to scare the populations.

19. Example #4 (continued)
5. Explain how this topic interests you. This topic interests me because it’s amazing to see just how little people know about viruses and how they work. It’s also alarming to see how many people will rely on social media and other news outlets as their primary source and don’t fact check or look up what people are saying. Just because a person sounds reputable doesn’t always mean their facts will be right. As with Ebola, most people believed this was a new virus when instead it had been around for over 40 years, it just wasn’t affecting first world countries so no one cared about it.

20. Example #4 (continued)
6. Explain how the thesis statement is specific and manageable. The thesis is as specific as it gets, I have a topic (Zika) and I explained that the real scare factor was the media portrayal of the virus. It’s manageable because it’s a recent global event and everyone freaked out over Zika so there are a variety of sources all around the world and pictures and statistics that I can use to further along my paper.

21. Example #4 (continued)
7. What difficulties do you see in researching your thesis? The difficulties I see in researching my thesis is bringing down the bias that comes within myself and other sources. It’s going to be hard to tear down and examine each source closely, and watch every news they printed out or talked about to see just how they manipulated and scared the viewers into thinking what they wanted them to think about Zika.

22. Example #4 (continued)
8. Most importantly, how does your thesis statement tell the reader how we know what we know about your chosen event? The thesis statement tells the reader that we know that media is twisted to whatever sounds the scariest to catch the viewers attention. A headline saying “Dormant Virus in Brazil” isn’t as scary as “Zika Virus spreading explosively.” The thesis does just that, it catches the attention of the reader and convinces them to stay and read to find out just how the media made us blank-eyed and drooling over the newest old virus that would affect our beloved Olympic games. (Not the people in Uganda, Brazil, Micronesia, and other countries who have been dealing with Zika since 1947.)