WARM-UP ...
For your warm-up, we are going to post a working thesis (which you should be familiar with) to your blog and we are going to also write an antithesis - which is basically the thesis that someone who opposed your point of view would write.
If you need some review on thesis writing, though, click here: Thesis Writing Review
The following can serve as a guide to generating an antithesis:
Step 2: Consider the direct opposite of your working thesis. Assuming you do have a working thesis that you’ve begun to research and think about, the next step in generating ideas for a working thesis is to consider the opposite point of view. Sometimes, this can be as simple as changing the verb or modifying term from positive to negative (or vice-versa).
Consider these working theses and their opposites:
Working Thesis:
- Drug companies should be allowed to advertise prescription drugs on TV.
- The international community should not enact strict conservation measures to preserve fisheries.
The Opposite (Antithesis):
- Drug companies should not be allowed to advertise prescription drugs on TV.
- The international community should enact strict conservation measures to preserve fisheries.
In your blog ... write your working thesis and then create an antithesis for your topic as well.
TODAY ...
- Begin using the library database to locate sources - we will meet in the library in A102 tomorrow so that we have access to print information. However all the notetaking can be done online and then later printed to be turned in. **NOTE ... YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TURN IN A ROUGH DRAFT OR FINAL DRAFT UNTIL YOU HAVE SHOWN ME YOUR NOTETAKING AND SOURCE INFO.
- Finding Sources ... the best avenue for finding sources is going to be through the library database. You can get there by going to the district website (www.sfisd.org) and selecting Santa Fe High School ... then selecting Library ... then selecting either GALE or EBSCO database on the right side of the Library webpage (under LINKS).
- You can also click the following link to make life simpler: SFHS LIBRARY
- Within the Gale Database, you will find a button for a collection called "OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS IN CONTEXT" ... It's the mostly white button that is 5th down on the right column. Or click the link.
- From there you can search the collections of articles on your topic - there will be MANY in most cases. That's a great place to start today. When you find an article you want to use as a possible source, you'll need to open a blank Word or Google Doc. Everything in the notetaking process is copy and paste for us past this point.
- FIRST, find the SOURCE CITATION at the bottom of the article and copy that to the top of your blank document.
- Once you have that information - because you MUST have the source info first - you may begin to break down the article into thoughts or notes. Number them for each article (see the example below) ... Each note should be a specific thought, but should not likely be longer than a sentence or two. This is what we are replacing notecards with and keep in mind you will need 65+ of these to start your paper out at "A" level prior to deductions.
- See me if you have questions ... but check out my example page first ... create a separate document for EACH source (remember you need at least 6 to start on "A" level). Keep them separate so the info doesn't get disorganized and so you will never be confused as to what came from each source. It is YOUR responsibility to keep that organized.
- The example is here of what your source and note info should look like: SOURCE AND NOTE EXAMPLE
- REMINDER ... RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSALS ARE LATE, BUT ARE STILL A MAJOR GRADE AND MUST BE TURNED IN ASAP!
