lesson 3: refining your topic

Lesson ThreeRefining Your Topic

Neijiang Normal University - Brent A. Simoneaux

From last week’s lesson, you should know:

How to use different thinking processes to systematically develop and analyze key ideas

prior to the drafting process.

Last Week’s Objectives

1. Definition

2. Exemplification

3. Comparison

4. Causality

5. Effects

What is invention?

By the end of this lesson, you should know:

How to use your invention notes and research to refine your topic, making it meaningful and

argumentative.

Today’s Objectives

Argumentative Topics

What does the definition of argument imply about our topics?

“The aim or purpose of argument is to use logic (both inductive and deductive) to

create reasoned communication of ideas, insights, and experiences to some audience

so as to produce a new understanding of some issue for that audience.”

argument


What is the new understanding of your topic that you will provide for your audience?

Right now, your topics are too general to produce a new understanding, so we must

refine our topics.


Let’s look at page 248 in your text: “Formulating the final topic”


This new understanding of the issue is contained in what we call a thesis statement.

At the most basic level (and in the simplest terms possible), a thesis statement is the “central idea” of our paper. (page 256)


Eventually, you are going to need a concrete thesis statement.

But for now, we are going to work on tentative thesis statements, possible statements of our

best thinking about the topic.


Argumentative thesis statements require that we take a stand on our topics.

In other words, we must make a claim that can be proven through logic.


Types of claims:1. Claims of Fact or Definition2. Claims of Cause and Effect

3. Claims About Value4. Claims About Solutions or Policies


General Topic:Global warming


Claims of Fact or Definition These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact.

Example What some people refer to as global warming is actually nothing more than normal, long-term cycles of climate change.


Claims of Cause and Effect These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur.

ExampleThe popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase.


Claims About Value These are claims made about what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something.

Example Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world today.


Claims About Solutions or Policies These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem.

ExampleInstead of drilling for oil in Alaska we should be focusing on ways to reduce oil consumption, such as researching renewable energy sources.


Now, take 10 – 15 minutes to discuss your topic with a classmates.

1. Explain your general topic

2. Discuss possible claims you might make about your general topic. In other words,

you are trying to refine refine your topic into several different tentative theses

ReadingRead Chapter 8; pages 246 - 256

Next Week:

Researching & The Internet

lesson 3: refining your topic

Technology