Thesis Statements
Post your thesis statement for Essay 2 here as a one- sentence thesis statement. Please bold it and identify it, so that we can all tell what it is.
Make sure you are writing one sentence only, and that you are not using a question. For example, “Should children wear uniforms in public schools?” is not a thesis sentence. To be a thesis sentence, the sentence must take a stand and be a declarative sentence.
After you post your thesis statement, discuss how you arrived at that one sentence. What process of thought led to that sentence? Did you conduct research on your topic before coming up with your thesis statement? Have you taken a stand in your thesis statement? Do you think that when you do more research on your topic, your stand might change? Did you start with one thesis and evolve into another?
(It is expected, in academic writing, that you may need to change your thesis statement as you work on your essay. You may believe one thing, only to find through research that your initial beliefs must be adjusted. Or, you may have to change your topic somewhat due to available research.)
After you have discussed your thesis statement, discuss how you will outline Essay 2. Provide at least three supporting ideas or directions, and show how they will support your thesis. Why did you select the three ideas you selected, and how do they develop your essay? How will you find research to support your three ideas? Remember, in the Essay 2 assignment, all of your research must be from one of these three online databases in the APUS online library—EBSCO, ProQuest, and LexisNexis. No open web sources are allowed for this assignment.
After you have made your initial post, Part 1 and Part 2, respond to at least two classmates with ideas for how their thesis statement might be refocused, improved, or clarified. Remember, be constructive, and feel free to ask questions about directions for more research, like, “Did you consider whether uniforms lead to better scholastic performance—will you back that up with statistics?”
Make your initial posts to the Forum by11:55pm ET, Wednesday.Initial posts should be at least 200- 300 wordsStudents are expected to post on three separate days each week for full credit.During the week, read the messages posted by your instructor and classmates and join the discussion. Your instructor may ask questions, provide explanations, and include links to other resources.Please respond to at least 2 classmates,and in your response posts, try to bring together pieces of the discussion and take those ideas further. To earn a higher grade on each week’s discussion, students are expected to post more frequently. Posting three times in a week will earn a grade of a C. Four posts of high quality according to the rubric will earn a B, and five high quality posts according to the rubric earn an A.Remember, the Forums are our place for classroom discussion.Your response posts need to be at least 50-100 words, and all posts are due by 11:55pm, ET, Sunday.
In Week 2’s Forum 2B, you chose a topic for Essay #2, Writing to Inform. As you know, you will need to find and use cited references for this essay. In Week 3’s forum, you created a one-sentence thesis statement to use with this essay.
It is now time to work on your First Draft of the essay! When you write in a college class, the most effective way to create a formal essay isn’t to sit down on the computer and type until you get exhausted. Effective writers will create a draft, and then revise that First Draft more than once until they have a final copy to submit for grading.
Please note that your work on this forum should not be a “rough” draft: your First Draft should show signs of organization and your thinking.
For Week 4’s Forum, please complete the following in your post:
- Write your topic, from Week 2.
- Write your thesis statement that you used in Week 3.
- Now, please post at least 250 words about your topic that you expect to use in your essay. This is your First Draft, and it should have some organization and some thought behind it.
- Include one reference in proper MLA format that you have found from the APUS Library to support your topic.
When you reply to your classmates, is there anything missing? What more is needed? Do you have questions about the topic that your classmate can address for Week 5’s Peer Review?
Make your initial post by11:55pm ET, Wednesday.Initial posts should be at least 250 words.
Students are expected to post on three separate days each week for full credit. During the week, read the messages posted by your instructor and classmates and join the discussion. Your instructor may ask questions, provide explanations, and include links to other resources.Please respond to at least 2 classmates,and in your response posts, try to bring together pieces of the discussion and take those ideas further. To earn a higher grade on each week’s discussion, students are expected to post more frequently. Posting three times in a week will earn a grade of a C. Four posts of high quality according to the rubric will earn a B, and five high quality posts according to the rubric earn an A.Remember, the Forums are our place for classroom discussion.Your response posts need to be at least 50-100 words, and all posts are due by 11:55pm, ET, Sunday.
