Unit 5: Turning a Topic into a Thesis

Welcome to CM 107

You should be hearing music. If you don’t, please check your audio.

Feel free to chat and get acquainted until the music stops near the top of the hour.. Once the seminar starts, please keep all comments relevant to the class topic.

Tell me

• How many hours are you spending each week on homework for our class?

• When is the best time for you to do homework?

• What distractions do you face?

Schedule

• We meet for 1 hour per week. This means most of your time is spent reading, participating in Discussion, and doing projects.

• College is harder than high school because most of the work is on your own time

• Considering scheduling your study time like you do a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment and stick to it.

Our class so far

• Unit 1 Theme: Hearing the Call to Adventure

• Unit 2 Theme: The Amulet and the Elixir• Unit 3 Theme: Crossing the Threshold• Unit 4 Theme: Temptation • Now – Unit 5 – Overcoming Obstacles

Unit 3 Projects

• Good job submitting your work!• The projects that followed the instructions

and rubric, and had good spelling and grammar, earned the highest scores

Unit 3 Projects

• Some problem areas:

• Spelling/typos• Run-on sentences or sentence fragments• Didn’t have all the required parts• Flagged by turnitin.com• Needed double-spacing, 12 point TNR font, or

other APA requirements

Grammar

Run-on sentence: Bob ate pizza he got sick

Comma splice: Bob ate pizza, he got sick

Fragment: Ate pizza and got sick.

Grammar

Pronoun number problem:

The customer brought their dog to the restaurant.

Spelling or typos

There are many things we can do to improve our writing.

The police didn’t know who’s car that was.

Here is someone i grately admire.

Tutoring

Visit the KUWC for tutoring, paper review, and many great resources. See your syllabus for more information.

This week

• Picking a topic to write about for Unit 6 and Unit 9

• How to take that topic and turn it into a thesis

• Some APA review

Email

• Teachers love to get email • We don’t love email that has not been spell

checked or has problems with capitalization• Who wants to hire a college graduate who

can’t remember to spell check or capitalize?

• Treat your teachers and colleagues with respect by using professional email

Homework

• Chapters 18 and 20 from your textbook• The reading scenario is about Million Dollar

Murray and Liz Murray. You will write about them in Discussion.

• The article about Million Dollar Murray is in our Doc Sharing. You will learn about Liz through a video.

• Read my post “Read me first” in Discussion

• 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?

• 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)

Unit 6 and Unit 9

• Unit 6 Project requires you to pick a society-wide problem and create 2 characters who discuss it, like in a movie

• Unit 9 project asks you to become a mentor to someone with that problem and teach them how they can go on the hero’s journey

• These are both expository writing projects

Next project – Unit 6

• Start with a topic that affects many people in our society, such as alcoholism. Don’t pick alcoholism, though -that’s what our sample project is about

• Let’s brainstorm. What kinds of problems are widespread in our society?

Next project – Unit 6

• You will need a thesis for how the problem might be solved.

• Let’s talk about what a thesis is. Luckily, you already practiced them in Unit 4 Discussion with the “moral” of the story you told.

• What is a thesis statement?• The thesis statement is a statement of your

topic and an idea or comment about it.

• 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.

• Generally stated in a single sentence.• Expresses a main idea plus key points• Is precisely worded.• It does NOT announce by saying: I am going

to tell you about….or My essay will explain….

Sample thesis statements

• Smoking can lead to a number of diseases including cancer, lung disease and heart problems

• Kaplan students are more likely to succeed when they schedule study time, use the KU Writing Center, and incorporate feedback from professors.

You try

• The holidays can be a stressful time for many families because of _______________, ________________ and ____________.

(Fill in the 3 points)

My try

• The holidays can be a stressful time for many families because of financial pressure, the frenzy of buying gifts, and all those in-laws sleeping in your house.

You try

• ________________________ include the way people talk, the way they dress, and the customs such as taking off shoes before entering a house.

(Fill in the idea)

My try

• Some of the differences between America and Japan culture include the way people talk, the way they dress, and the customs such as taking off shoes before entering a house.

Unit 6 Sample Thesis• The sample project is in Doc Sharing. In it you

will see this: Thesis Statement- -Alcoholism can be

treated by enrolling in a rehabilitation center, quitting drinking, attending weekly meetings, and finding a support system of family and friends.

Your project will need a sentence that looks like this. It must be your own original writing and not copied from anywhere.

Unit 6 Format

(One night, Jack receives a phone call from a good friend, Bob. The following is a dialogue between them.)

Jack: Hello, is that you, Bob?Bob: Yes, it is. How are you?Jack: I’m glad you called. I really want to thank

you for last night. If you hadn't rescued me, I might have wound up spending the night in jail.

Unit 6 Tips

• Be creative• Have fun• Do not abandon proper spelling and grammar.• Make sure your thesis is in there• The word count should be about 500 words• Do it early! Form a study group, swap with

classmates, get feedback

MS Word Format Tip

Questions? Concerns?