Welcome to Seminar Welcome to Seminar 22

We will begin on time.We will begin on time.

Meanwhile, enjoy chatting.Meanwhile, enjoy chatting.

Believe in your Believe in your dreams. If you dreams. If you don't, who will?don't, who will?

Jon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi

It’s SHOWTIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to Seminar #2:

How is everyone today?

What can you do this week toward achieving your dream?

• The Chinese say, "The best time to plant a tree was always 20 years ago. The second best time is always today."

• Funny how planting trees and taking action on the life of your dreams are the same that way.

• Every challenge is a stepping stone to a HAPPIER place than you even knew existed.

Tallyho!

First the good news:First the good news:

You do not have a project due You do not have a project due this week. [Pause for cheers]this week. [Pause for cheers]

Unit 2 Work Discussion: Prewriting

Must include prewriting and a three point thesis

Must discuss the topic you chose from the list in Unit 1.

Quiz: Multiple Choice

Discussion

If you wish to do well on the discussion and have an easier time for the rest of the term, here are two things you must do: 1) Print & read the articles from

Unit 1: Final Project. 2) Fill out the form I will give you.

The form will also be posted in the discussion.

Form for Discussion• My topic: ________________

• Things I know about my topic:• __________________• __________________• __________________• __________________• __________________

• Things I would like to know about my topic:

• __________________• __________________• __________________• __________________• __________________

• From your lists, pick three ideas that you might want to write about.

The three ideas I want to write about are:

• 1) ____________• 2) ______________• 3) ____________

• Put the three ideas into one sentence.

• This sentence is your working thesis statement.

• Remember: your thesis can not be a question.

Discussion (continued)

• If you read the articles and fill out the form, you should end up with three usable ideas.

• Try to put those three ideas into ONE sentence.

• Once you get that far, I will help you.

• However, if you do not read the articles and have three usable ideas, I will tell you to go back and try again.

Topics for the Informative Essay Eco Fuels Telecommuting Drugs & Crime Immigration Laws & Border Control Providing Healthcare for Illegal

Immigrants – Social Responsibility? Intimate Partner Violence Alternative Medicine vs.

Conventional Medicine

More Topics for Final Essay Cybercrime Firearms & Crime Sex & Adolescence Homeland Security & Terrorism Sting Operations: Justice or Entrapment? Underage Drinking & Law Enforcement Bariatric Surgery – An Easy Answer to

Obesity? No Child Left Behind

The Informative Essay

Must be on one of the topics listed in Unit 1.

Will be an essay of 3-5 pages due at the end of Unit 9.

The information you use must be cited correctly both in the paper and on the reference page using APA citation format, which we will discuss in another seminar.

Be sure to keep careful notes about where you found your information.

Reminders

Discussions: are a large part of your learning experience as well as your grade, so post in each section and respond to a minimum of one other student.

Seminar: if you miss seminar, click on "Seminar" under the unit. You do not need to complete that section if you attended seminar.

Seminar Questions: you’ll find the questions I’m going to ask during seminar in the weekly announcement on the Course Home Page.

To Find Articles in the Kaplan Library

1. Click on Library at the top right of your “My Desk” page. This is the first page that you see after you log in, not the Course Home Page.

2. In the middle of the next screen, click on “Electronic Articles.”

Finding Articles (slide 2) 3. On the right side of the next screen,

you will see a list of databases under the heading “Database Resources.” Click on the database that you want to enter, for example: Academic Search Premier. Other databases that you may find

helpful are Business Source Premier, Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Health Source: Consumer, MasterFile Premier, Proquest Criminal Justice, Newspaper Source.

Finding Articles (slide 3) 4. Now you are into the actual database

and can begin your research. In the box next to “Find,” enter the title of the article you are looking for, the name of the author, or a keyword. For example, if you are doing general research enter a keyword such as homeland security.

When looking for the title of an article, do not use a question mark even if there is one at the end of the title. Be sure you have entered the title of the article correctly.

Research Involves Searching

The word "research" contains the word "search" for a very good reason.  Often, it is not easy to find material and you will have to keep trying different combinations of information until you find what you want. 

Go to doc sharing, download “Research, the Kaplan Library, & the Internet.” and read about what you will need to do to find information.

What is an informative essay?What is an informative essay?

The Informative EssayThe Informative Essay

An informative essay seeks to educate the audience on a given topic. It explains and describes the topic.

Most professions have a need for informative writing. Types of informative writing can include emails, reports, product descriptions, product comparisons, letters, etc.

Informative Essays (continued)Informative Essays (continued)

Informative writing presents its information in a factual manner expecting its readers to accept the information as true.

Informative writing does not include the writer’s opinions, nor does it try to persuade or convince the readers of anything.

Informative Essays and Opinions

Even in informative essays, views, pro and con, can be included if both sides of the issue are presented in an unbiased manner.

For example, if your informative essay topic was about gay marriage, you could say that Group A is opposed to it and Group B supports it.

You, however, can not say which side you think is right.

If you include both sides of an issue…If you include both sides of an issue…

Remain neutral, saying something like: "This controversial issue is not likely to be resolved any time soon. Perhaps the final resolution will lie with the Supreme Court, or maybe the American voters will resolve the issue at the polls."

What is a thesis statement?

Thesis Statement = Topic + Point (Main Idea) Your thesis statement is merely your topic

plus whatever point you are making about your topic.

Begin by looking at your prewriting. What do you want to say ABOUT your topic? What do you want your reader to know? What point do you want to make about your topic?

The Thesis

Should be only ONE SENTENCE. Must be a COMPLETE SENTENCE, not

a title. Can NOT be a question.

If you find yourself with a question, answer it. The answer may be your thesis.

The thesis is the glue which binds the essay together. It is the point of the essay. It's what the essay is about, what it intends to prove. The thesis controls or limits the essay.

Why do you need a thesis?So what?

Who cares?

What’s it good for anyway?

Why You Use a Thesis

• A thesis is an organizing device.• “

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”– A. A. Milne (creator of Winnie-the-Pooh)

• A thesis helps you to organize your thoughts.• A thesis tell the reader what you are writing

about. • All writing needs to be clear and organized,

whether it is an email, letter, proposal, report, etc.

Do I Want to Read This?

• How many of you read the back of a book or the inside cover before you decided to buy or read it?

• How many of you look at a long email briefly to see if it is important before you spend the time reading it in detail?

• If you do these things, you are not alone.

Should I Read This?

• People are busy. They want to know what something is about before they invest their time reading it.

• No one wants to wade through pages of writing trying to find out what it is about.

• A thesis, since it is the last sentence of the first paragraph, saves the reader time.

Your Thesis

• It’s much like when you were in 3rd grade and you wrote, “My paper is about…..” You were letting the reader know what to expect.

• It’s like the inside cover or the back of the book.

• Busy people want to know what writing is about. They don’t have time to waste on non-essentials.

Professional Writing

• Even in your emails and letters, you should keep the concept of a thesis in mind.

• For example, if you were writing to your boss regarding a problem, you would not want to describe the problem pages or paragraphs into the writing. Your boss would not appreciate it if he/she had to wade through your writing to find out what the issue was.

• Instead, you would tell what the problem was in the first or second sentence and then go on to describe the issue in detail.

Where the thesis belongs

• Your thesis statement belongs after your introduction and is usually found as the last sentence of the introduction. Ideally, the thesis should be not only the end of the introduction, but also the transition into the overall theme of the essay.

Have any of you ever used MapQuest? When using MapQuest, what two things

must you have or know?

YOU NEED TO HAVE

Starting Address Ending Address

Get Directions

You will get different sets of directions for the following trips:

Trip #1

Starting Address Ending Address[Fort Myers] [New York City]

Trip #2

Starting Address Ending Address[Fort Myers] [San Diego]

Get Directions

Think of your thesis statement as using Map Quest

Starting Address Ending Address[Topic] [Point]

Get Directions

Your starting address (topic) may remain the

same, but as you chance your ending address

(your point), your directions change.

Starting Address Ending Address[Topic: Relatives] [Point: Can create

problems]

Starting Address Ending Address[Topic: Relatives] [Point: Will

support you in times of trouble]

DIRECTIONS = OUTLINE

Get Directions

Get Directions

Your thesis statement is like using MapQuest or buying airline tickets. You must know where you are starting

from and where you are going. Your topic is where you are starting from.

However, if you do not know where you want to go (your point), you can not get directions or buy tickets.

How Do You Find Your Point?

You’ve been given topics, so all you need is a point.

• A topic is not enough. • What point will you make about your topic? • This is an informative essay, so you

must inform or teach the reader about some aspect of your topic. How do you figure that out?

• This is where prewriting comes in.

Methods You Can Use to Find Your Point: Freewriting

• Start by typing or writing down everything you know about your topic. When you run out of things you know, ask questions that you'd like to have answered.

Sample Free Writing

• Illegal immigration means coming to the country illegally. What makes it illegal? How do you come illegally? How do they get here? I heard the government was going to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. I also heard that illegals had built a tunnel. Some people say that it's a war zone down there. Do we have the same problems with Canada? What about our large coast line? I heard people are sneaking in by ship. Some have even landed on Sanibel. That's just down the road from me!

Freewriting (continued)

• When you use free writing, write down whatever comes into your mind. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or spelling or even if your writing makes sense. When you are done, read your free writing, looking for ideas.

• Choose one sentence and research it. Examples:– The U.S. is proposing to build a wall

between Mexico and the U.S. • You could write an essay informing the reader

about that.

– OR: How do you come illegally?• Answering that question could be your essay.

Methods You Can Use to Find Your Point: Questioning

• Brainstorm answers to WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY.

• WHO: People from other countries who come to the U.S. They're coming here illegally. Possibly terrorists, too.

• WHAT: They're coming here illegally. What does that mean? How do you come here legally?

• WHERE: They're coming from Mexico, Central America, S. America, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Arab nations. Maybe other places.

• HOW: How are they getting here? Car? Boat? Plane? Walking?

Choose one question to answer

• WHEN: It's happening now. How long has it been going on? Have there always been laws restricting immigration? Is it different now than before, or are we just more worried about it now?

• WHY: Why are they coming here? Money? Freedom? Fleeing from oppression? Running drugs? Terrorists?

• Select one of the questions (who, what, when, where, how, why). – Why: Why are they coming here?– Answering that question could be your

essay.

Three Point Thesis

• For the Informative Essay, your thesis must include a thesis map or the three points you will cover.

• Example: A discussion of gay marriage usually includes the issues of tradition, civil rights, and children.

Three Point Thesis Statement

• Topic: A discussion of gay marriage

• Point: usually includes the issues of

• 1) tradition,

• 2) civil rights

• 3) children.

Let's practice thesis statements. For example, suppose your topic is "relatives"

(family) and you've used prewriting to jot down a number of ideas.

You can now begin developing a working thesis statement.

What would YOU want people to know about YOUR relatives???? Anyone?

Sample thesis statements about relatives. You might say:

Relatives can be a source of support in troubled times.

Relatives can make or break a holiday family reunion.

Relatives can be troublesome and interfering. All of these are possible thesis statements that

could be developed into full essays.

Writing Tip: Titles of Articles

• Within the text, capitalize the first letter of the words of the title of an article: – Doctors Are Over-prescribing Psychiatric

Medication to Children.

• On the reference page, capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the title of an article: – Doctors are over-prescribing psychiatric

medication to children. – Notice how only the first letter of the word DOCTORS

is capitalized. The rest of the words in the title are all lower case.

• Within the text, place the title of articles within quotation marks: – "Doctors Are Over-prescribing Psychiatric

Medication to Children"

• On the reference page, do not use quotation marks:

Diller, L. (2004). Doctors are over- prescribing psychiatric medication to children.