Thesis Statement

Thesis Statements

·         What are Thesis Statements?

ü      A thesis statement is a single, complete sentence used to formulate the topic and give the point of view of the author.  The author is you.

 

·         What should Thesis Statements do?

ü      Almost all assignments can be reduced to a single question.  A thesis statement should answer a question.  You formulate a question about your research and answer it in the thesis. 

o       You are given the topic: Computers in Society. 

o       You want to make a question related to the topic.  You decide on the question: How do computers affect people’s lives in society?

o       The thesis answers the question: “The computer plays an important role in society by affecting our work and our leisure time.”  The rest of the paper should elaborate on the answer.

ü      A thesis statement helps you to:

o       Better organize and develop your ideas.

o       Provide your reader with a summary of your argument.

ü      A good thesis statement:

o       Takes a stand and can be disagreed with.

o       Deals with a subject that can be adequately treated within the framework of the assignment.

o       Express one main idea.

o       Give your own conclusions on a topic.

 

·         Problems with Some Thesis Statements

ü      Some thesis statements are too broad.  That means that there is too much.

o       For instance, the thesis statement: “Computers in society affect peoples’ lives.” cannot be reasonably disagreed with.  There is also not enough detail.  You want to ask yourself: what about peoples’ lives are affected?

ü      Some thesis statements are too narrow.  That means that there is not enough. 

o       For instance, the thesis statement: “Computers in society affect peoples’ gaming experiences.” while valid, it is probably too specific for your class.

ü      Some thesis statements don’t say anything of substance. 

o       For instance: “There are positive and negative aspects of computers in society.” doesn’t say much at all.  You need to elaborate.  You need to be more specific.

ü      Some thesis statements give more than one idea.

o       For instance: “Computers in society affect peoples’ work and leisure and affect peoples’ gaming experiences.” gives two ideas.  You’re saying too much.  It’s not manageable.  It should give only one idea.

Bias, Objectivity, Adverts and Propaganda

This week we focused on advertisement analysis and media bias.  We discussed bias in terms of two newspaper  articles from different papers covering the same topic. We selected these articles  from the databases Lexis/Nexis Academic and Infortrac Custom Newspapers.  We were able to limit our search by day and we were able to select newspapers as well.  We discussed what media bias is and what scholarly research aims for new also talked about point of view and the anti-thesis.  The goal is for your scholarly research to be unbiased.  You do this by objectively researching information that will support your hypothesis.  Also, by balancing your paper with both primary and secondary sources of information you are creating a document that is relevant and timely.  It is important to use only scholarly sources.  We reviewed some databases that provide full text to thousands of scholarly journals.  Finally, we evaluated several ads from various magazines and interpreted them.  We discussed propaganda and its relationship to advertising. 

 

Next week we will begin to formulate and learn about thesis statements and their purpose in research. 

Media Bias and Ownership

This week we learn about biased and unbiased information.  Max Weber coined the term objectivity (unbias) and much of his work was based on looking at things from a value-free perspective.

Weber is often quoted for ”don’t go dancing on Sunday” and is the author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

How does ownership impact the objectivity of the media.  The link here should give you questions about whose loyalty and best interests the media serves.  Is it to serve the general public or the interests of the few and wealthy, those who “owns the means of production”?”

Mental Detox Week

Information overload? Are students overwhelmed and over stimulated.  Is it healthy to be jacked into technology each hour we are awake.  Psychologist are warning that technological dependency may be a new type of abuse.

The following is a link to raise awareness to out growing dependency and our issues related to communication via electronic mediums.

http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/mental_detox_week