The adviser and defense panelists are the ultimate arbiters of whether the thesis satisfies a reasonable understanding of a project worthy of the master’s degree. but the excellence of an MA research thesis essay may lie in its critical and creative synthesis, articulation of a fresh perspective on the work of others, or identification of POLS Honors Thesis, in which the student completes the research and finalizes the thesis. The student must do an oral defense of the thesis in front of a committee that includes the topic advisor and two other faculty members. Visit the program website to learn more about the required courses and thesis options. Learn more A thesis, or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings. In some contexts, the word "thesis" or a cognate is used for part of a bachelor's or master's course, while "dissertation" is normally applied to a doctorate.. This is the typical arrangement in
Home | Honors College | UNC Charlotte
At school, creative writing thesis defense, at work, and in everyday life, argument is one of main ways we exchange ideas with one another. Academics, business people, scientists, and other professionals all make arguments to determine what to do or think, or to solve a problem by enlisting others to do or believe something they otherwise would not, creative writing thesis defense.
Not surprisingly, then, argument dominates writing, and training in argument writing is essential for all college students. This chapter will explore how to define argument and how to talk about arguments. What Are the Components and Vocabulary of Argument? All people, including you, make arguments on a regular basis.
When you make a claim and then support the claim with reasons, you are making an argument. Consider the following:. The two main models of argument desired in college courses as part of the training for academic or professional life are rhetorical argument and academic argument.
If rhetoric is the study of the craft of writing and speaking, particularly writing or speaking designed to convince and persuade, the student studying rhetorical argument focuses on how to create an argument that convinces and persuades effectively.
To that end, the student must understand how to think broadly about argument, the particular vocabulary of argument, and the logic of argument. The close sibling of rhetorical argument is academic argument, argument used to discuss and evaluate ideas, usually within a professional field of study, and to convince others of those ideas, creative writing thesis defense.
In academic argumentinterpretation and research play the central roles. However, it would be incorrect to say that academic argument and rhetorical argument do not overlap. Indeed, they do, and often. A psychologist not only wishes to prove an important idea with research, but she will also wish to do so in the most effective way possible. A politician will want to make the most persuasive case for his side, but he should also be mindful of data that may support his points.
Thus, throughout this chapter, when you see the term argumentit refers to a broad category including both rhetorical and academic argument. Before moving to the specific parts and vocabulary of argument, it will be helpful to consider some further ideas about what argument is and what it is not. Consumers of written texts are often tempted to divide writing into two categories: argumentative and non-argumentative.
According to this view, to be argumentative, writing must have the following qualities: It has to defend a position in a debate between two or more opposing sides, it must be on a controversial topic, and the goal of such writing must be to prove the correctness of one point of view over another.
A related definition of argument implies a confrontation, a clash of opinions and personalities, or just a plain verbal fight. It implies a winner and a loser, a right side and a wrong one.
These two characteristics of argument—as controversial and as a fight—limit the definition because arguments come in different disguises, creative writing thesis defense, from hidden to subtle to commanding. What if we think of argument creative writing thesis defense an opportunity for conversation, for sharing with others creative writing thesis defense point of view on an issue, for showing others our perspective of the world?
What if we think of argument as an opportunity to connect with the points of view of others rather than defeating those points of view? One community that values argument as a type of communication and exchange is the community of scholars. They advance their arguments to share research and new ways of thinking about topics.
Biologists, for example, do not gather data and write up analyses of the results because they wish to fight with other biologists, even if they disagree with the ideas of other biologists. They wish to share their discoveries and get feedback on their ideas. When historians put forth an argument, they do so often while building on the arguments of other historians who came before them. Literature scholars publish their interpretations of different works of literature to enhance understanding and share new views, not necessarily to have one interpretation replace all others.
There may be debates within any field of study, but those debates can be healthy and constructive if they mean even more scholars come together to explore the ideas involved in those debates. Thus, creative writing thesis defense, be prepared for your college professors to have a much broader view of argument than a mere fight over a controversial topic or two.
Argument is often confused with opinion, creative writing thesis defense. Indeed, arguments and opinions sound alike. Someone with an opinion asserts a claim that he thinks is true. Someone with an argument asserts a claim that she thinks is true.
Although arguments and opinions do sound the creative writing thesis defense, there are two important differences:. For college essays, there is no essential difference between an argument and a thesis; most professors use these terms interchangeably. An argument is a claim that you must then support. The main claim of an essay is the point of the essay and provides the purpose for the essay. Thus, the main claim of an essay is also the thesis.
Consider this as well: Most formal essays center upon one main claim the thesis but then support that main claim with supporting evidence and arguments. The topic sentence of a body paragraph can be another type of argument, though a supporting one, and, hence, a narrower one. Try not to be confused when professors call both the thesis and topic sentences arguments.
They are not wrong because arguments come in different forms; some claims are creative writing thesis defense enough to be broken down into a number of supporting arguments. Many longer essays are structured by the smaller arguments that are a part of and support the main argument. Creative writing thesis defense professors, when they say supporting points or supporting arguments, mean the reasons premises for the main claim conclusion you make in an essay.
If a claim has a number of reasons, those reasons will form the support structure for the essay, and each reason will be the basis for the topic sentence of its body paragraph.
Arguments are also commonly mistaken for statements of fact. This comes about because often people privilege facts over opinions, even as they defend the right to have opinions. However, remember the important distinction between an argument and an opinion stated above: While argument may sound like an opinion, the two are not the same.
An opinion is an assertion, but it is left to stand alone with little to no reasoning or support. An creative writing thesis defense is much stronger because it includes and demonstrates reasons and support for its claim.
As for mistaking a fact for an argument, keep this important distinction in mind: An argument must be arguable. In everyday life, arguable is often a synonym for doubtful. For an argument, creative writing thesis defense, though, arguable means that it is worth arguing, that it has a range of possible answers, angles, or perspectives: It is an answer, angle, or perspective with which a reasonable person might disagree.
Facts, by virtue of being facts, are not arguable. Facts are statements that can be definitely proven using objective data. The statement that creative writing thesis defense a fact is absolutely valid. In other words, the statement can be pronounced as definitively true or definitively false.
This expression identifies a verifiably true statement, or a fact, because it can be proved with objective data. When a fact is established, there is no other side, and there should be no disagreement. The misunderstanding about facts being inherently good and argument being creative writing thesis defense problematic because it is not a fact leads to the mistaken belief that facts have no place in an argument.
This could not be farther from the truth. First of all, most arguments are formed by analyzing facts. Second, creative writing thesis defense, facts provide one type of support for an argument. Thus, do not think of facts and arguments as enemies; rather, they work closely together. Arguments can be both explicit and implicit.
Explicit arguments contain prominent and definable thesis statements and multiple specific proofs to support them. This is common in academic writing from scholars of all fields, creative writing thesis defense.
Implicit argumentson the other hand, work by weaving together facts and narratives, logic and emotion, personal experiences and statistics. Unlike explicit arguments, implicit ones do not have a one-sentence thesis statement. Implicit arguments involve evidence of many different kinds to build and convey their point of view to their audience.
Both types use rhetoric, logic, and support to create effective arguments. After you are finished reading, look over your notes or annotations. What do all the details add up to? Write it in your own words. Discuss your results with a creative writing thesis defense or a group. Did you come up with the same argument? Have everyone explain the reasoning for his or her results. An argument in written form involves making choices, and knowing the principles of rhetoric allows a writer to make informed choices about various aspects of the writing process, creative writing thesis defense.
Every act of writing takes place in creative writing thesis defense specific rhetorical situation. The most basic and important components of creative writing thesis defense rhetorical situation are. These components give readers a way to analyze a text on first encounter. These factors also help writers select their topics, arrange their material, creative writing thesis defense, and make other important decisions about the argument they will make and the support they will need.
With this brief introduction, you can see what rhetorical or academic argument is not :. Questions are at the core of arguments. What matters is not just that you believe that what you have to say is true, but that you give others viable reasons to believe it as well—and also show them that you have considered the issue from multiple angles.
To do that, build your argument out creative writing thesis defense the answers to the five questions a rational reader will expect answers to. In academic and professional writing, we tend to build arguments from the answers to these main questions:.
When you ask people to do or think something they otherwise would not, they quite naturally want to know why they should do so. In fact, creative writing thesis defense, people tend to ask the same questions. The answer to What do you want me to do or think? The answer to Why should I do or think that? The answer to How do I know that what you say is true? The answer to Why should I accept that your reasons support your claim?
The answer to What about this other idea, fact, or conclusion?
The Perfect Defense: The Oral Defense of a Dissertation
, time: 22:00Argument – Critical Reading, Critical Writing
Mar 26, · A literature review is a summary of studies related to a particular area of research. A literature review is used in the introduction and discussion of your manuscripts. It is important to note that there are differences in how literature reviews should be presented in each section Writing a senior honors thesis, or any major research essay, can seem daunting at first. A thesis requires a reflective, multi-stage writing process. This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences Argument vs. Thesis. Another point of confusion is the difference between an argument and an essay’s thesis. For college essays, there is no essential difference between an argument and a thesis; most professors use these terms interchangeably. An argument is a claim that you must then support
No comments:
Post a Comment