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Chapter 4 The Thesis and the Outline

Chapter 4 The Thesis and the Outline. 9410803A Cindy 蔣欣穎 9410079A Carolyn 9410083A Pauline. 4 a The thesis: Definition and function. What is the thesis? What are its functions? -Discourage writers from wandering aimlessly -Chart an orderly course for the paper

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Chapter 4 The Thesis and the Outline

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  1. Chapter 4The Thesis and the Outline 9410803A Cindy蔣欣穎 9410079A Carolyn 9410083A Pauline

  2. 4a The thesis: Definition and function • What is the thesis? • What are its functions? -Discourage writers from wandering aimlessly -Chart an orderly course for the paper -Give the reader an idea of what to expect

  3. 4a-1 Formulating the thesis • Thesis: a central idea that summarizes the paper • This idea must be expressed in one sentence. Contrary to the hopes of bilingual-education advocates, the latest research indicates that bilingual confuse children and slow them down in achieving the goal of learning English.

  4. 4a-2 Rules for wording the thesis • Be clear, comprehensible, and direct • Predict major divisions in the structure of the paper • Commit to an unmistakable course, argument, or point of view

  5. The thesis should commit you to a single line of argument • Poor The Roman theater was inspired by the Greek theater, which it imitated, and eventually the Romans produced great plays in their theatrons, such as those by Plautus, who was the best Roman comic writer because of his robustness and inventiveness. • Better Because of his robust language and novel comic plots, Titus Maccius Plautus can be considered the best Roman comic playwright, and his plays are still successfully staged today.

  6. The thesis should not be worded in figurative language. • Poor Henry James is the Frank Lloyd Wright of the American novel • Better The novels of Henry James have internal consistency because of the way he unifies his themes, patterns his episodes, and orders his images.

  7. The thesis should not be worded vaguely • Poor Smoking is bad for the body. • Better Cigarette smoking harms the body by constricting the blood vessels, accelerating the heartbeat, and activating excessive gastric secretion in the stomach.

  8. The thesis should not be worded as a question • Poor Who makes the key decisions in U.S. cities? • Better Key decisions in U.S. cities are made by a handful of individuals, drawn largely from business, industrial, and municipal circles.

  9. The thesis should be a single, concise, easily understood sentence. • Thesis -single -concise -easy to understand

  10. 4a-3 Placing the thesis • Example: A quarter of a million babies are born each year with birth defects. Only 20 percent of those defects are hereditary. Most could have been prevented: They are the tragic results of poor prenatal care. An unfavorable fetal environment, like that produced by malnutrition in the mother or by her use of drugs, is a primary cause of many kinds of birth defects.

  11. 4a-4 Choosing a title • Example: An Admirable Animal Not clear The Courage of Turtles Clear

  12. 4b The outline • A ordered list • Be useful for writers and readers.

  13. 4b-1 Visual conventions of the outline • Example: I. Main idea A. Sub-idea B. Sub-idea 1. Division of a sub-idea 2. Division of a sub-idea a. Minor idea b. Minor idea

  14. Example: I. A. 1. a. (1) (a)

  15. 4b-2 Equal ranking in outline entries • the same organizing principle • Example: p.44

  16. 4b-3 Parallelism in outline entries • Example: I. The uses of the laser in the military A. For range finding B. For surveillance C. Forilluminating the enemy’s position

  17. 4b-4 Types of outline • The topic outline • The sentence outline • The paragraph outline

  18. a. The topic outline • a phrase, no introduction and conclusion. • Example: p.45

  19. b. The Sentence Outline • A complete sentence for every entry • Questions are allowed • Declarative sentences are better • Suited for complex subjects

  20. I . A. B. 1. 2.II. A. B.III. A. 1. 2. B.

  21. A complete paragraph for each entry A condensed version of the paper Not for ordinary college papers I. II. III. IV. c. The Paragraph Outline

  22. Indenting, labeling and spacing Best for business and science Allowing unlimited number of subdivisions 1. 1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 2. 2.1 2.2 3. 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.2 d. Decimal Outline Notation

  23. No much detail on the subject Using detailed sentence outline Topic sentence of various paragraph Details should be used to support the topic sentence I. A. 1. 2. 4c. Choosing an outline form

  24. Close correspondence between the outline and developed paragraph 1. The main entry of the outline = the topic sentence 2. Sub-idea A = to introduce the following details 3. The details are used word-for-word

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