Unit 5: Turning a Topic into a Thesis Welcome to Effective Writing 1- CM 107 Unit 5: Turning a Topic into a Thesis

What is expository writing? Expository refers to writing that explains and clarifies an idea. You come across examples of expository writing every day: Magazine articles Newspaper articles Emails and memos Instruction manuals How do we use exposition in our daily lives?

What is expository writing? Academic assignments and essays often fall under the category of expository writing. Hallmarks of expository writing: Precisely-worded Focused around a central idea Logically sound (uses adequate support) What are some modes or methods a writer/speaker could use to explain something?

What is a thesis? What is a thesis statement? The thesis statement is a statement of your topic and a comment about it.

What is a thesis? It is your “what’s the point?” What do you want your readers to know. The main idea you are trying to get across. Your message. The point you want to make.

The thesis statement is Generally stated in a single sentence. Expresses a point of view, not a topic. Limits the topic. Indicates the kind of support to follow. Helps to organize the supporting material Is precisely worded. It does NOT announce by saying: I am going to tell you about….or My essay will explain….

And, now all together . . . What’s with our public schools? Identify the thesis of this article. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0929/Waiting-for-Superman-to-reform-education-He-s-already-here

The film suggests that only a “superman” can bring about public-school change. Well, that superman has already arrived – not as a red-caped superhero, but as a set of irresistible forces that is driving education reform as never before: 1) a growing understanding of what works, 2) increasing public pressure, and 3), the necessity for making hard choices in the face of fiscal crisis.

Is anyone able to post a sample thesis statement for us to discuss? ?

A little APA review as time allows?

Borrowed Information Any type of borrowed information – not your own original writing must be documented both in the context of the paper as well as on the reference page. Borrowed information includes the following: Summaries, paraphrases, quotations, dollar values, numbers, dates, percentages, statistics of any kind.

Borrowed information This includes dates, numbers, percentages, dollar values, statistics. Cite is at the end of the sentence. In 2001, there were 50 million cases of the flu (Green, 2004). Quotes – word for word –end of sentence or within the text “All papers must be in APA manuscript style.”(Levine, 2004) Levine (2004) stated, “All papers must be in APA manuscript style.” Paraphrases.- end of paragraph. Mrs. Horninger says we must follow standard APA manuscript style to accurately give credit to author’s whose writing we borrow (2004).

Reference Citations (In-text end of paragraph or sentence) No author: 1 Author: 3/5 Authors: (“Short Title,” 2000) (“Short Article,” 2000) (Smith, 2000) (Smith, 2000, p. 123) (Adams, Baca, & Car, 2000) Next cite: (Adams et al., 2000)

In Text Citations – End of paragraph or sentence Chapter: Interview: No Date: (Smith, 2000, chap. 3) (A.B.Smith, personal communication, January 23, 2001) (Smith, n.d.)

In text citations within the sentence Jones (2003) compared student performance…. In a recent study of student performance (Jones, 2003) the findings….. In 1998, Jones compared student….. According to Jones (1998), “Students often…..their first time”(p.199). She stated, “Students often…APA style,” (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she….why.

Things to Remember when Creating your References page Center the word REFERENCES at the top of the page, then double space to start your first entry. Entries are alphabetized by the author’s last name or the first significant word in the titled text with no author. Each entry is flush left for the first line. Each subsequent line is indented ½ inch. All entries are double spaced.

Basic Reference Format Author’s last name, initials.(year,month day). Title. Publication data. Title. (date). Publication data. Last name, initials. (n.d.). Title. Retrieved month day, year from http://www.webaddress Article. (date). Newspaper or Magazine,volume (issue) page numbers.

References Allerton,J. P. (2004). The greatest show on earth. Boston: Boswell Publishers. Bobo the clown. (2003, June 17). Newspress,24 (7) p. A1. Cramer, D. (n.d.). My life as a clown. Retrieved July 16, 2004 from http://www.clowns.org Denver Department of Entertainment. (2003). The history of clowns. Retrieved July 5, 2004 from http://www.de.state.co.us/org/ent/clowns

Thank you for a great seminar! Have a wonderful week! Tracie