Last assignment please read carefully

BA  2196/2996  MASTERY  EXAM  –  Making  a  Thesis  and  Claims   There  are  two  basic  approaches  to  analyzing  the  responses  for  the  mastery  exam:  

APPROACH  #1:  Why  do  specific  parts  of  the  respondent’s  response  make  up  the  best  response?  

Following  Approach  #1,  your  claims  will  draw  from  specific  pieces  of  evidence  in  the  response.  

EXAMPLE:  

Waldroop  gives  the  best  advice  because:  he  first  correctly  ARGUES  that  Jane  should  stop  accommodating  and   enabling  Andy’s  bullying  behavior  and  start  setting  clear  limits  for  him;  then  he  wisely  SUGGESTS  that  Jane   simultaneously  stroke  Andy’s  ego  and  criticize  Andy’s  faults  to  get  through  his  defenses  and  complacency   about  his  bad  behavior;  and  finally,  he  rightly  RECOMMENDS  that  Jane  should  carefully  arrange  meetings  with   Andy  that  help  Andy  take  time  to  consider  how  his  “mean  streak”  may  lose  him  his  job.  

Assertive  Modifier   Respondent’s  Action   Specific  Part  of  Response   ADVERB  (such  as…)   VERB  (such  as…)  

A  specific  piece  of  evidence   from  the  Respondent’s  

Response  

• correctly   • appropriately   • smartly   • rightly   • suitably   • wisely  

• acknowledges   • argues   • asserts   • claims   • emphasizes  

• posits   • recognizes   • recommends   • stresses   • suggests  

Bolded  in  the  example   In  Italics  &  ALL  CAPS  in  the  example   Underlined  in  the  example      APPROACH  2:  How  does  the  respondent’s  response  answer  the  question  best?  

Following  Approach  #2,  consider  the  following  analytical  questions:  

• Is  the  respondent  the  most  credible  because  of  his/her  position  or  his/her  experience?  What  about  the   respondent’s  experience  makes  him/her  most  credible?  

• Is  the  respondent’s  response  most  plausible  and  sensible  for  the  scenario?  Why?   • How  does  the  respondent  structure  his/her  argument,  and  why  is  it  the  most  compelling?   • Is  the  respondent  most  thorough  in  his/her  response?  Why?   • Does  the  respondent  have  the  best  interests  of  the  characters  in  mind?  How  do  you  know?  

EXAMPLE:  

Chuck  McKenzie  gives  the  best  response  for  three  reasons:  first,  he  provides  the  most  thorough  RESPONSE  by   proposing  solutions  that  address  Jane’s  issues  with  both  Andy  and  the  rest  of  her  staff;  second,  he  has  the   most  qualified  EXPERIENCE  for  analyzing  situations  like  this  one  because  of  his  background  as  a  senior  vice   president;  and  third,  he  offers  the  most  practical  SOLUTIONS  TO  THE  CHARACTERS  by  focusing  on  allowing   Andy  to  perform  while  keeping  him  separated  from  the  group.  

Assertive  Modifier   Answer  to  an  Analytical  Question,  Drawing  Evidence  from  the  Response  or  

Information  about  the  Respondent   ADJECTIVE  (such  as…)  

What  is  being  discussed  in  your  body   paragraph  –  an  aspect  of  the   Response  or  the  Respondent  

Type  of  evidence  that  you  will  use  to   answer  and  prove  the  Analytical  

Question  

• The  best   • The  most  practical   • The  most  sensible   • The  most  pertinent   • The  most  qualified  

Bolded  in  the  example   In  Italics  &  ALL  CAPS  in  the  example   Underlined  in  the  example  

BA  2196/2996  MASTERY  EXAM  –  Tips  for  Thesis  and  Claims    

All  claims  MUST  be  specific  and  include  an  assertive  modifier  (see  charts  for  examples).    The  assertive   modifier  indicates  your  opinion  about  the  response.     These  topic  sentences  use  an  assertive  modifier  to  make  assertive  claims  about  the  response:  

• McKenzie  offers  the  most  practical  solutions  to  the  characters  by  focusing  on  allowing  Andy  to   perform  while  keeping  him  separated  from  the  group.  

• Waldroop  correctly  argues  that  Jane  should  stop  accommodating  and  enabling  Andy’s  bullying   behavior  and  start  setting  clear  limits  for  him.  

These  topic  sentences  do  NOT  make  assertive  claims  about  the  response  –  they  are  just  summaries  of  the   response.    The  first  one  uses  a  modifier  (an  adjective),  but  it  is  not  assertive:  

• McKenzie  offers  practical  solutions  to  the  characters  by  focusing  on  allowing  Andy  to  perform  while   keeping  him  separated  from  the  group.  

• Waldroop  argues  that  Jane  should  stop  accommodating  and  enabling  Andy’s  bullying  behavior  and   start  setting  clear  limits  for  him.  

Thesis  statements  must  be  clearly  punctuated  and  phrased.    If  (and  only  if)  your  thesis  is  a  list  using  a  colon,   separate  your  claims  with  semi-­‐colons.    Also,  consider  using  the  following  connecting  terms  between  your   claims  for  clarity:  

• first…,  then/next…,  and  finally…   • first…,  second…,  and  third…  

  This  example  uses  a  colon,  semi-­‐colons,  and  no  connecting  terms:  

Chuck  McKenzie  gives  the  best  response  for  three  reasons:  he  provides  the  most  thorough  response  by   proposing  solutions  that  address  Jane’s  issues  with  both  Andy  and  the  rest  of  her  staff;  he  has  the  most   qualified  experience  for  analyzing  situations  like  this  one  because  of  his  background  as  a  senior  vice  president;   and  he  offers  the  most  practical  solutions  to  the  characters  by  focusing  on  allowing  Andy  to  perform  while   keeping  him  separated  from  the  group.  

This  example  uses  a  colon,  semi-­‐colons,  and  connecting  terms:  

Waldroop  gives  the  best  advice  because:  first,  he  correctly  argues  that  Jane  should  stop  accommodating  and   enabling  Andy’s  bullying  behavior  and  start  setting  clear  limits  for  him;  then,  he  wisely  suggests  that  Jane   simultaneously  stroke  Andy’s  ego  and  criticize  Andy’s  faults  to  get  through  his  defenses  and  complacency   about  his  bad  behavior;  and  finally,  he  rightly  recommends  that  Jane  should  carefully  arrange  meetings  with   Andy  that  help  Andy  take  time  to  consider  how  his  “mean  streak”  may  lose  him  his  job.  

This  example  uses  connecting  terms  only:  

Waldroop  gives  the  best  advice  because  he  first  correctly  argues  that  Jane  should  stop  accommodating  and   enabling  Andy’s  bullying  behavior  and  start  setting  clear  limits  for  him,  then  wisely  suggests  that  Jane   simultaneously  stroke  Andy’s  ego  and  criticize  Andy’s  faults  to  get  through  his  defenses  and  complacency   about  his  bad  behavior,  and  finally,  rightly  recommends  that  Jane  should  carefully  arrange  meetings  with  Andy   that  help  Andy  take  time  to  consider  how  his  “mean  streak”  may  lose  him  his  job.