1. NEXT LEVEL THESIS WRITING
GETTING AWAY FROM THE LAUNDRY LIST THESIS…

2. CONSIDER A GREAT DISCUSSION: THE CONVERSATION DOESN’T GROW WHEN YOU LIST THE POINTS AND PLOD THROUGH THEM, ONE BY ONE.
GREAT DISCUSSIONS BEGIN WITH OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS THAT HAVE COMPLEX ANSWERS.
IT’S OKAY FOR A THESIS TO LEAVE ROOM FOR THAT COMPLEXITY.

3. CONSIDER A TYPICAL AP LANG PROMPT:
THE AUTHOR (INSERT  GENERAL BACKGROUND/CONTEXT)…(INSTRUCTIONS TO READ THE PASSAGE.) ANALYZE THE WAY THE AUTHOR USES RHETORICAL STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE. (GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT CITING TEXT.)

4. THE STUDENT HAS TO ACCOMPLISH TWO THINGS IN ANSWERING THIS PROMPT.
FIRST, YOU MUST BREAK THE TEXT INTO ITS PARTS AND EXAMINE THE WAYS IN WHICH THE AUTHOR APPLIES PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC.
SECOND, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOU MUST ACCURATELY IDENTIFY THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE.
IT IS RELATIVELY EASY TO CREATE A LAUNDRY LIST OF DEVICES WHICH YOU CAN USE TO ADDRESS THE FORMER.

5. THE REAL PRIORITY SHOULD BE…
A DISCUSSION OF THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE, IN WHICH THE DEVICES PLAY A SUBORDINATE ROLE.

6. THE BOTTOM LINE IS…
EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION IS KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL ESSAY…
WITH A LAUNDRY LIST THESIS, PARAGRAPHS TEND TO BE REPETITIVE. BUT, WHEN YOU REFOCUS YOUR THESIS STATEMENTS ON AUTHOR’S PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE YOUR WRITING AROUND THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT, YOU FIND YOURSELF WRITING AT THE NEXT LEVEL OF ANALYTICAL WRITING.

7. 2010 RELEASED PROMPT…
BENJAMIN BANNEKER, THE SON OF FORMER SLAVES, WAS A FARMER, ASTRONOMER, MATHEMATICIAN, SURVEYOR, AND AUTHOR. IN 1791 HE WROTE TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, FRAMER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND SECRETARY OF STATE TO PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON. READ THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT FROM THE LETTER AND WRITE AN ESSAY THAT ANALYZES HOW BANNEKER USES RHETORICAL STRATEGIES TO ARGUE AGAINST SLAVERY.

8. SEE THE DIFFERENCE… BEFORE:
“IN BENJAMIN BANNEKER’S APPEAL TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, HE USES RELIGIOUS APPEALS, EMOTIONAL DICTION, AND REPETITION IN HIS WORK.”
AFTER:
“APPEALING TO JEFFERSON’S VALUES OF LIFE AND LIBERTY, BANNEKER ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AS AN ADVOCATE OF EQUALITY AND JUSTICE.”
You can immediately see which thesis invites a more thoughtful response.

9. I TEND TO FAVOR TWO STRATEGIES TO TEACH THIS SHIFT
I TEND TO FAVOR TWO STRATEGIES TO TEACH THIS SHIFT. THE FIRST METHOD IS THE RHETORICAL PRÉCIS FORMAT. THIS IS USEFUL WHEN YOU HAVE TIMID WRITERS WHO WANT THE COMFORT OF A FORMULA. IT’S ALSO HANDY FOR SLOWER WRITERS WHO STRUGGLE TO SAY ENOUGH DURING TIMED WRITING SITUATIONS. THE THESIS IS SIMPLY THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE PRÉCIS. THE SECOND METHOD, WHICH IS BETTER FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE READY FOR MORE COMPLEX THESIS CONSTRUCTION, IS PASTA (PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, SUBJECT, TONE, AUTHOR’S BIAS). USE IT LIKE SOAPSTONE.
MOST OF YOU ARE ALREADY WRITING THE PRECIS VERY WELL, SO YOU ADD THIS IN PLACE OF THE 4TH SENTENCE…
WHEN USING PASTA, IT IS STILL IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE THAT RHETORICAL SITUATION…1 SENTENCE INTRODUCTION ARE SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE AT THIS LEVEL.

10. PASTA (PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, SUBJECT, TONE, AUTHOR’S BIAS)
PASTA (PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, SUBJECT, TONE, AUTHOR’S BIAS). USE IT LIKE SOAPSTONE. LIST THE INFORMATION AFTER EACH LETTER.
P- TO ADVOCATE FOR SLAVES’ RIGHTS AND FREEDOM, TO EXPOSE THE HYPOCRISY OF AMERICAN SLAVE OWNERS
A-THOMAS JEFFERSON, DRAFTER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, OWNER OF SLAVES
S-FREEDOM, SLAVERY, HUMAN RIGHTS, RACIAL EQUALITY
T-REASONABLE, BOLD
A-SON OF A FORMER SLAVE, UNUSUALLY EDUCATED, VALUES LIBERTY AND EQUALITY

11. THEN PICK AND CHOOSE FROM EACH LETTER, COMBINING THE IDEAS TO FORM A COHERENT SENTENCE.
IN A LETTER TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, EDUCATED SON OF FORMER SLAVES BENJAMIN BANNEKER BOLDLY ADVOCATES RACIAL EQUALITY BY EXPOSING THE HYPOCRISY OF AMERICAN SLAVE OWNERS.

12. THIS FORMAT TAKES SOME PRACTICE, AND YOU HAVE TO PLAY AROUND WITH SYNTAX TO MAKE IT WORK. THE KEY IN BOTH APPROACHES IS THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO NAME OR LIST SPECIFIC DEVICES IN THE THESIS. THE THESIS PRIORITIZES MEANING AND PURPOSE.
KTIM:
YOU STILL NEED TO DISCUSS THE DEVICES IN YOUR BODY PARAGRAPHS TO MEET THE PROMPT REQUIREMENTS, BUT YOU DO THIS STRUCTURALLY INSTEAD OF THROUGH THE DEVICE….

13. FOR EXAMPLE…
TYPICALLY, YOU ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER THROUGH DEVICES, SO EACH DEVICE RECEIVES IT’S OWN PARAGRAPH…
BUT, STRUCTURALLY, MEANS YOU GO IN THE ORDER OF THE TEXT AND AS YOU DEVELOP THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE, YOU ANALYZE WHAT DEVICES ADVANCE THAT PURPOSE. (BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END CONCEPT)

14. YOUR TURN… FIND YOUR JFK RHETORICAL ANALYSIS…
CREATE A “PASTA” CHART THAT GOES WITH HIS SPEECH TO THE STEEL COMPANIES. USE YOUR TABLE PARTNERS TO CREATE THIS.
NOW TAKE THE CHART AND REWRITE YOUR ORIGINAL THESIS TO CREATE AN OPEN-ENDED THESIS STATEMENT….
READ IT TO YOUR GROUP AND REVISE TO MAKE IT MORE FLUID IF NEEDED….
BE READY TO SHARE!

15. FINALLY
MAKE NOTE HOW YOU WOULD RE-STRUCTURE YOUR PAPER TO ORGANIZE IT STRUCTURALLY VERSUS BY DEVICE.

16. AS STUDENTS BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WRITING THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT THE ABSTRACT (PURPOSE AND MEANING) RATHER THAN THE CONCRETE (DEVICES), THEIR WRITING WILL GROW IN DEPTH AND COMPLEXITY.

17. NOW…
DISCUSS HAWTHORNE'S PURPOSE FOR PEARL’S CHARACTER…WHAT IS HER ROLE, WHAT POINT IS HE TRYING TO MAKE WITH HER DEVELOPMENT AS A CHARACTER, ETC.
BEING COLLABORATIVE WITH YOUR GROUP, DISCUSS DIFFERENT WAYS YOU COULD FILL IN THE “PASTA” CHART.
THEN CREATE YOUR OWN TO DEVELOP A THESIS OF YOUR OWN FOR TOMORROW’S WRITING.
SHARE!!
3. CREATE AN OUTLINE OF HOW YOU WILL ORGANIZE YOUR ESSAY STRUCTURALLY, USING THE CHAPTERS YOU HAVE READ SO FAR.

18. I: INTRODUCTION:
RHETORICAL PRECIS
OPEN-ENDED THESIS
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1: BEGINNING OF PEARL’S CHARACTERIZATION
TOPIC SENTENCE: INTRODUCE HOW HAWTHORNE DEVELOPS PEARL THROUGH LITERARY DEVICES TO START WITH, TO ADVANCE HIS OVERALL PURPOSE.
ANALYSIS
EMBEDDED QUOTE
PROVE THESIS THROUGH A CONCLUDING SENTENCE.
III. BODY PARAGRAPH 2: NEXT STEP TO PEARL’S CHARACTERIZATION [SAME FORMAT AS ABOVE]
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH 3: UP TO WHAT YOU HAVE READ SO FAR…WHAT IS THE FINAL PIECE TO HIS PURPOSE.
CONCLUSION: HOW DOES BODY PARAGRAPHS 1, 2, AND 3 WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT OVERALL CHARACTERIZATION OF PEARL AND ACHIEVE HIS OVERALL PURPOSE.

19. BE READY TO APPLY THIS CONCEPT…
PAPERS THAT REMAIN STAGNATE WILL NOT PROGRESS IN SCORES, IF YOU DO NOT TRY TO GROW AS A WRITER, NEITHER WILL YOUR SCORE…EVEN THOUGH YOU MADE A GOOD GRADE ON THE LAST PAPER, DOES NOT MEAN YOUR SCORE WILL BE THE SAME, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO NOT TRY TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU ARE A MATURE, ACADEMIC WRITER.
ON TOMORROW’S PAPER, I WANT TO SEE THAT YOU UP’D YOUR GAME WITH YOUR THESIS AND YOUR ORGANIZATION IN REGARDS TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE DEVICES BASED ON STRUCTURE VERSUS DEVICE. LET THE HAWTHORNE'S PURPOSE DRIVE YOUR ANALYSIS.