English Thesis

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

I think this is rididculous

Well i have major fueds with my english teacher, and the most recent was over a thesis paper.

She said that my thesis statement was incorrect. she said a thesis statement must be (and i quote) "An opinionated statement, that cannot be true".

i think the is absolute bull, but thats just me. any of you agree with me? is this really correct?

Brian

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

what i dont get is, what if your opinion is true?

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

yes it helps. the situation we were dealing with was the book Julius Caesar. I was going to find a quote on how the book shows that brutus is an honorable man, but she said that its true.

 

i mean i understand how on genreal ideas, its very broad and open, but on things like books, where things are written in text and presented in certian ways, its hard to make and acceptable thesis statement.

 

she just doesnt make it that clear i guess. its a hrd thing to grasp

 

its like defining whats right. you really cant do that.

 

Brian

[sbgolfer]

If your opinion, thesis, is true then there is no reason in writing the paper. It's almost like you are always writing a persuasive essay. There always needs to be another side to your thesis.

What is your thesis?

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

well im not sure if you have read caesar or not, but we had to pick a quote and show somthing about it. i was going to pick a quote that showed how brutus was honorable, but because that was true, i had to pick the same quote and show how antony manipulates people. i didnt agree with it, but its what i wrote.

 

i already wrote the paper and got a b+ on it, but i was just curious on thesiss' in general

 

Brian

[raehtz10]

Okay, I have been reading the last few threads you have created, and you aren't presenting a strong case for you. In each thread, you are making yourself sound like the victim. The MHSAA thing, the one with the teacher, and now the thesis statement.

 

In the grand scheme of things, if she didn't like your thesis statement, change it. She is the one that is grading the papers. One of the greatest things you will learn in high school is how to give your teacher (read: boss) exactly what they want. If and when you figure that out, you will do very well in college and even further. It it really worth rubbing the teacher the wrong way again? You will be much better off if you start trying to make friends with the teachers rather than to fight them on everything. Have you heard of the Teacher Expectancy Theory?

 

An individual will act in a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. This can actually be applied to classes. If a teacher doesn't think you are putting in the effort you should, and expects a bad paper, they will actually give a lower grade. Is it right? No. Does it happen? Yes. I had a teacher that would grade the first page on all tests, and then shuffle and finish so he didn't know who's he was grading. However, I also am certain that I was graded easier that some in my English classes due to being Editor-In-Chief of the school newspaper. Also, I did my best to make friends with the teachers, and at least keep things cordial. If you are causing problems constantly, she may actually subconsciously grade you harder than all the rest.

 

I guess where I am going with this is it isn't worth fighting over Brutus being honorable. I agree with you, but the teacher is the one that counts. The sooner you learn that, the better your grades will be.

[meroj]

Okay, I have been reading the last few threads you have created, and you aren't presenting a strong case for you. In each thread, you are making yourself sound like the victim. The MHSAA thing, the one with the teacher, and now the thesis statement.

 

In the grand scheme of things, if she didn't like your thesis statement, change it. She is the one that is grading the papers. One of the greatest things you will learn in high school is how to give your teacher (read: boss) exactly what they want. If and when you figure that out, you will do very well in college and even further. It it really worth rubbing the teacher the wrong way again? You will be much better off if you start trying to make friends with the teachers rather than to fight them on everything. Have you heard of the Teacher Expectancy Theory?

 

An individual will act in a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. This can actually be applied to classes. If a teacher doesn't think you are putting in the effort you should, and expects a bad paper, they will actually give a lower grade. Is it right? No. Does it happen? Yes. I had a teacher that would grade the first page on all tests, and then shuffle and finish so he didn't know who's he was grading. However, I also am certain that I was graded easier that some in my English classes due to being Editor-In-Chief of the school newspaper. Also, I did my best to make friends with the teachers, and at least keep things cordial. If you are causing problems constantly, she may actually subconsciously grade you harder than all the rest.

 

I guess where I am going with this is it isn't worth fighting over Brutus being honorable. I agree with you, but the teacher is the one that counts. The sooner you learn that, the better your grades will be.

 

 

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. This is the definition of kissing butt. You do this all of your life, all that gets you is the label of a butt kisser. I agree that you have to be respectfull of your teacher/boss, but that does not mean that you cannot disagree. If no one ever challenged conventional wisdom, we'd still be playing with persimmon drivers. Just a thought.

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

raehtz10 i am very disapointed that you are judging me now, and bringing in the other topics into this thread. it has nothing to do about the teacher, i was just wondering about thesis statements in general.

 

brutus being honorable or not i could really care less about. its a paper for crying out loud. im just trying to understand the workings of a thesis, becuase i dont really understand how my teacher was trying to present it to me. this has nothing to do with respect.

 

dont take this thread of topic and instigate. i didnt ask for a life lesson.

 

Thesis statements are tough, and i really want to grasp this so i can be better at it, becuase i know its pretty much the basis of college writings lol

 

Brian

[Boba]

Planes, Traines, and Plantains

Is the best paper I have ever seen. I would study it in an effort to see what perfection really is.

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

lmao thats a great paper!!!! i love the profanity.

 

they showed us papers like that and "what not to do on the ACT". they are very humorus.

 

i am proud to say, my paper was not like that :friends: :cheesy:

 

Brian

[Boba]

Oh yea, that's the stuff careers are made of. ^^

Planes, Traines, and Plantains

Is the best paper I have ever seen. I would study it in an effort to see what perfection really is.

 

And writing how "brutus was honorable and showing how antony manipulates people" Really gets students ready for the upcoming nano tech revolution. BTW, I like that you are reading the book "Julius Caesar" in english. What language do you you think JC spoke?

[raehtz10]

Duh! Everyone knows he spoke Romanian :friends:

[jonesbd12]

As another poster stated, Life is all about expectation management and perceptions. Perception is, for most people, reality. Expectation management is nothing more than the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principal. You gain no favor with anyone (teacher, employer, parent) by constantly bucking the system. Assuming you are not independently wealthy, you will always have to consider others expectations and perceptions. Managing those facets of your life will make things much simpler and rewarding. You're young and and your "pushing back" is normal. The quicker you learn to only expend energy on things you can truly change or influence, the happier and more succesful you will be, IMO. Good Luck!

[cap217]

When I read thesis I thought this was a masters thesis and if you were confsed about starting that process I would say you are screwed!!! But this is not a 300+ page "book" so take a deep breath and just suck it up... I am in grad school and nearly done and it sucks, its a marathon and you just need to deal with it. So this at least teaches you that you dont want to be an English major in college or grad school... so at least you know that!

[Gripit N Ripit 54]

what i love is i baught a version of Caesar that on one page has the regular version in shakespear terms...then on the other pages its translated into english :friends:

 

it helped a lot.

 

yeah i know, all the books we read are all old, and they are all depressing!!!! not one book is happy!

 

by the way...we read a caesar book every year. freshman year we read Romeo and Juliet, this year is Caesar, next year is Hamlet i belive, then Senior year is Macbeth.

 

Brian