Lesson Plan: Thesis and Motive(s)
Romance Studies
Objective
This is a warm-up exercise before the draft of the first paper. It is designed to help students formulate a good thesis statement and to encourage them to keep their motive(s) clearly in mind.
Estimated Time
40 minutes
Work Completed Before Class
After completing the reading and discussion of Voltaire's Candide, the class will be asked:
- to read the article by Aram Vartanian, "On Cultivating One's Garden."
- to compose a sentence articulating Vartanian's thesis
- to compile a list of his motives by quoting specific expressions and sentences in the essay.
In Class
In class, we start by reviewing possible definitions of a good thesis statement and writing these on the board.
- Students will work in groups to share their thesis statements, and to offer each other advice as to how to improve particular sentences.
- Each group will choose one thesis statement and write it on the board for the entire class to consider. Together the class will comment on the strengths and limitations of each.
- The class will then begin a discussion of motives by compiling a list of possible motives and writing these on the board.
- The original groups will then reconvene and repeat steps 2 and 3 but this time working on the lists they compiled about Vartanian's motives.
- CONCLUSION: After concluding the discussion on motives, members of the class will be encouraged to articulate what aspects of this exercise helped them to better understand the elements of "thesis" and "motive" in writing.
- Submit your thesis statement and the motive(s) you identified in Vartanian's article.
Esther Ratner
Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation