HISTORY 300 PRESENTATIONS:

Remember, this week we will be hearing presentations from you and your classmates. These are short, only 7 or 8 minutes, but you MUST PREPARE SOMETHING IN ADVANCE. If it looks like you are simply winging it, your grade on this assignment will suffer. If you want to be clear about the fact that you have given this mini-presentation some forethought, you might want to print out a short handout. As we discussed on Thursday, you may discuss any of the following: your thesis and how you came by it, your sources, the major debates in the field, or what drew you to this topic.

TUESDAY

Melanie

Audel

Jesus

Teresa

Amber

Michaela

Edward

Daniel

Shannon

Brady

Denisse

THURSDAY

Jovelyn

James

Cole

Jamal

Phillip

Kevin

Marquis

Riley

Michael

Irma

Leanne

Philena

THEY SAY/I SAY TEMPLATES FOR HISTORY 300

Sentence Templates + Transitions

Derived from Graff and Birkenstein’s They Say, I Say

Remember: the templates below are meant to “be direct with [you] about the key rhetorical moves that [critical thinking] comprises” (Graff & Birkenstein, 2010). T

Introducing What an Author Says X acknowledges that _____________. X agrees that _____________. X argues that _____________. X believes that _____________. X denies/does not deny that _____________. X claims that _____________. X complains that _____________. X concedes that _____________. X demonstrates that _____________. X celebrates the fact that _____________. X insists that _____________. X questions whether _____________. X reminds us that _____________. X reports that _____________. X suggests that _____________.

Using a Quotation (i.e., Backing up your argument with proof) X states, “_______” ( ). Example: Standage states, “Some [drinks] have served to highlight the power and status of the elite” (2). According to X, “____” ( ). According to Standage, “Wine was the lifeblood of [Greece]” (3). X himself writes, “_______” ( ). Standage himself writes, “Six beverages... chart the flow of world history” (2). Odysseus himself says, “I longed for sweet Penelope” (9.21). In his book, ______________, X maintains that “________” ( ). In his book, A History of the World in Six Glasses, Standage maintains that “Greek and Roman knowledge... had been safeguarded and extended by scholars in the Arab world” (4). Writing in the magazine ________, X complains that “____________” ( ). Writing in the online magazine Salon, Weitz complains that “reality television is little more than gladiatorial combat” (3). X agrees when she writes, “_____” ( ). I believe wine was the most influential drink in history. Standage agrees when he writes, “Wins was the lifeblood of [Greece]” (4).

Explaining a Quotation (i.e., Showing that you understand what the quote says) Basically, X is saying _______. In other words, X believes ____________. In making this comment, X urges us to ________. In making this comment, Cepeda urges us to look consider whether we do, actually, like hard work. X’s point is that _________. The essence of X’s argument is that _____________.

Naming Your Naysayers or Opponents (i.e., Introducing your rebuttal) Here many ____________ would probably object that _______. Here many proponents of choice reading would probably object that complex texts destroy the enjoyment of reading. Of course, ____________s would certainly take issue with the argument that ________. Of course, antiglobalization activists would certainly take issue with the argument that globalization helps out developing countries. ___________s, of course, may want to question whether ______________. Patriots, of course, may want to question whether the United States is acting out of selfish motives in its wars overseas. Nevertheless, critics of _________ will probably argue that ______________. Nevertheless, critics of student-chosen reading will probably argue that reading complex texts is the only way to increase reading levels. Although not all _____________s  think alike, some of them will probably dispute my claim that ______________. Although not all globalization fans think alike, some of them will probably dispute my claim that globalized companies are destroying developing countries.

Making a Concession (i.e., They have a point, BUT...) Admittedly, ___________. Proponents of X are right to argue that ______________. But they are exaggerating when they claim that _____________. Proponents of complex texts are right to argue that reading such material is essential for post-secondary success. But they are exaggerating when they claim that Standage’s book is the only possible complex text for world history students to read. While it is true that __________, it does not necessary follow that _____________. On the one hand, X is right to say ________________. On the other hand, it is still true that _________________.

Disagreeing, with Reasons (i.e., They are just wrong) X is mistaken because she overlooks ______________. X’s claim that ____________ rests upon the questionable assumption that __________________. X can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, she argues ___________________. On the other hand, she also says ____________________. By focusing on _______________, X overlooks the deeper problem of ________________.

Establishing Why Your Claims Matter (i.e., Why should I care about this argument?) *This is great clincher material* X matters because _____________________. High school matters because it either opens or closes doors into the rest of my life. Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over _________________. Although doing homework may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of succeeding in high school and developing my brain. Ultimately, what is at stake here is ________________________. Ultimately, what is at stake here is my lifelong flourishing; being lazy now means being unhappy for decades. Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of _________________, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about ________________. Although high school may seem of concern to only a small group of nerdy students, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about having an enjoyable life.

Transitions

For ADDING IDEAS:

also                            another                     in fact        equally important         moreover
furthermore            additionally                              indeed        in addition              

For MAKING A CONTRAST:

however                                      nevertheless                      although                       conversely
on the contrary                        notwithstanding                 even though                  all the same                                              

on the other hand                    by contrast                         nonetheless

For COMPARING:

likewise                               equally                      along the same lines
similarly                             in comparison            in the same way

For CITING AN EXAMPLE:

for example                          in other words            in fact
for instance                          specifically                 after all
as an illustration                 consider        

For SHOWING RESULTS:

accordingly                                hence                              consequently
as a result                                  thus                                 therefore

For REINFORCING AN IDEA:

especially important                          above all                                        most noteworthy
especially relevant                            a significant factor                         most of all       

For ELABORATING (expanding upon a point):

actually                      by extension          to put it another way
to put it bluntly          in short                                  to put it succinctly
in other words           ultimately                               basically

For CONCEDING A POINT:

admittedly                          of course                although it is true that
naturally                            granted                  to be sure

For CONCLUDING:

clearly                                  hence                        consequently
obviously                             therefore                   thus
in short                                all in all

REVISE THE INTRODUCTION

 REVISION:

1. FOCUS ON THE OPENING: Read the first sentence aloud:

            Does the paper start with something overly general like this:

“Humankind has often searched for ways to…”                           --or this--

                                    “Slavery was a great tragedy in American history.”                    --or this--

                                    “Webster’s Dictionary defines freedom as…”                                  --or this--

                                    “Since the beginning of time…”

           

Is the opening sentence exciting? Is it overly general?

            Give the author a sense of how the first sentence sounds to a reader:

2. FOCUS ON THE ARGUMENT: Read the introduction aloud.

            In your own words, what is the subject of this paper?

            What is the key argument/thesis of this paper? Write it here.

            The thesis is like a one-sentence version of your paper.

            Take a firm stand against this argument.

“I disagree with this statement because…”

                        Were you able to disagree? Does the author need to work on making a

bold claim?

EDITING: (do not write run-on, comma splice, fragment, or specific grammar help)

3. FOCUS ON THE FORM:

Read the introduction starting with the last sentence and ending with the first.

If a sentence feels awkward, seems shaky, or sounds unclear, draw a squiggly line underneath it, like this:

            These are a few example of individual who did not let fear overcome them.

Notice that we are not fixing mistakes here—just pointing at them!

4. TURN THE PAPER OVER AND MAKE SOME ENCOURAGING REMARK TO THE AUTHOR.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE:

Once you have laid out your thesis, don’t forget about it. In writing the rest of the paper, you are really just developing your thesis. Develop your thesis logically from paragraph to paragraph.

Your reader should always know where your argument has come from, where it is now, and where it is going. If you are unable to break your thesis into parts that you can prove in various ways, then you probably have a problematic thesis.

Analyze: Students are often puzzled when their professors mark them down for summarizing or merely narrating rather than analyzing. What does it mean to analyze? In the narrow sense, to analyze means to break down into parts and to study the interrelationships of those parts. If you analyze water, you break it down into hydrogen and oxygen. In a broader sense, historical analysis explains the origins and significance of events.

Historical analysis digs beneath the surface to see relationships or distinctions that are not immediately obvious.

Historical analysis is critical; it evaluates sources, assigns significance to causes, and weighs competing explanations.

Adapted from http://www.hamilton.edu/documents/writing-center/WritingGoodHistoryPaper.pdf