Outlining And Organization

Outline Thesis Statement Structure: Categorization Unbalanced structure Paragraphing Paragraph as building block;Paragraph as building block Structure within a Paragraph

Thesis Statement Thesis statement: summary of the main idea of your paper in one sentence (or two at most). (Thesis paragraph in a longer paper) Functions: 1. Clear introduction. 2. Suggest the structure of your paper. 3. Practice being concise and precise in your language.

Thesis Statement Thesis statement: TV news programs recently have been found to have many problems, which may cause some imperceptible influence on our life; therefore, we are supposed to be aware of the problems, and somehow try to figure out ways to solve the problems.  too vague  influences not discussed  should be dropped from this statement.

Thesis Statement: suggested correction TV news programs are problematic nowadays in their lack of objectivity and sensationalism, which is caused by the companies’ concern with rating and catering to the public’s voyeurism, as well as an overall trend of confusing news broadcast with entertainment shows. To fix these problems, both the TV companies and the general public should reconsider the purposes of news broadcast, their own position in relation to it, and then reject the seduction of the superficial.

Categorization I. Examples of superstition in Taiwan A. The case of a mother’s killing to her daughter B. Other social factors 青海無上司 2. A priest’s rape to some young girls 3. People’s blind belief to fengshui  Why are they “social factors”? Which are extreme cases and which, general phenomenon?

Categorization I. Examples of superstition in Taiwan A. extreme cases 1. The case of a mother’s killing to her 2. A priest’s rape to some young girls daughter B. More prevalent and general phenomenon 1. Growing popularity of some religious festival; (e.g. 安太歲？ ) 2. 青海無上司 ; cult religion (or religious cult) 3. People’s blind belief to fengshui;

Unbalanced structure Balanced: Unbalanced:

Unbalanced structure: e.g. 4. The cause of cyber crimes (A). immediate cause (a). examples ( hacker and porn sites problem) (B). remotely cause (a). examples of cyber crime ( cheating and pirated CD problem)  Cannot discuss immediate causes of two crimes, and then remote causes of the other two.  What are the causes? Disguising identity, easy duplication?

Unbalanced structure: e.g. 4. The causes of cyber crimes (A). Disguising identity, foreign IP’s: (a). cheating (b). Illegal business: porn sites & pirated CD’s (c) hacker; (B). easy or automatic duplication (a). pirated CD (b) hackers Development by gradation

Paragraph as building block One paragraph one idea.

Paragraph as building block: e.g. II. Why Jordan’s return is considered an important issue in sports world—his previously glorious achievements A. The number of titles and awards he got B. His two-times reasons of retiring and returning  The subordinate ideas do not support the main idea.

Paragraph as building block: e.g. II. Jordan’s return is an important issue in sports world both because of his previously glorious achievements and the doubts and expectations of his abilities in meeting the same standard. A. Retiring for his family or his sense of principle, he returned to the basketball field twice to play but not to earn a lot of money. B. His fame and his fans’ expectations. The number of titles and awards he got His fans’ expectations. The doubts over his performance.

Structure within a Paragraph: categorization and subordination Even though some ideas all belong in one paragraph, they need to be properly grouped and sequenced; or they should be In proper categories and levels, and In a logical sequence,

Structure within a Paragraph: categorization and subordination I. The reasons of this phenomenon (slim beauty) A. Peer Pressure B. Fashion information C. Mass media D. Famous brands E. Economic ? F. Esthetic sense  listing without proper categorization and subordination.

Structure within a Paragraph: categorization and subordination I. Their desire to be slim comes from outside: from their peer and from beauty-trend setters, which concur to produce a standardized beauty. A. Peer Pressure B. beauty-trend setters 1. Mass media; A. stars; B. ads 2. Fashion industry (esp. Famous brands) C. Standardized beauty