Professors value "wallowing in complexity":
Professors value "wallowing in complexity" Wallowing in complexity is the use of creative and critical thinking to expand ideas and concepts Critical Thinking Skills Needed for "Wallowing in Complexity" Ability to pose problematic questions Ability to analyze a problem in all its dimensions Ability and determination to find, gather and interpret facts, data and information Ability to imagine alternative solutions to a problem Ability to analyze competing approaches and answers Ability to write an effective argument justifying your choice while acknowledging counterarguments
Using Exploratory Strategies to Think Critically About Subject-Matter Questions:
Using Exploratory Strategies to Think Critically About Subject-Matter Questions Freewriting asks you to record thinking directly Focused freewriting designed to develop a particular line of thought Idea Mapping visual representation of writing and idea exploring Dialectic Talk face-to-face discussions with others Playing the Believing and Doubting Game imagine a possible answer to a question and then both support and refute it. (example 37)
Writing a Strong Thesis Statement:
Writing a Strong Thesis Statement Think of a thesis statement as a map to guide your reader through your writing. Changing your reader's view of your subject: Consider two questions: How will your reader feel about the topic before reading your paper? How will your reader feel about the topic after reading your paper? You can use the following techniques to make that change happen: Enlarge the reader's view: primarily informational Clarify the reader's view: explain, analyze or interpret Restructure the current viewpoint: persuasion
Strategies for Surprising a Reader:
Strategies for Surprising a Reader Give the reader new information or clarify a confusing concept Make problematic something that seems nonproblematic by showing paradoxes or contradictions Identify an unexpected effect, implication or significance of something Show underlying differences between two concepts normally thought to be similar Show that a commonly accepted answer to a question isn't satisfactory or that a commonly rejected answer may be satisfactory Oppose a commonly accepted viewpoint Propose a new solution to a problem
Thesis statements in closed-form prose:
Thesis statements in closed-form prose Hierarchical thesis statements supported by points and evidence are most common in closed-form How Points convert information to meaning evidence, data, details, examples and sub-arguments develop points and make them convincing particulars by themselves are just information, only their relationship to your points makes them valuable to the thesis statement How removing particulars creates a summary removing the evidence and data turns a research essay into a summary