These are the initial necessary steps we need to take as we begin
the Research Paper (RP) and (also called Synthesis Paper) process:
Step 1: Go to the Miller text~(pg. 25 & pp. 574-575) and begin the
first process which is selecting the topic you are interested in. Please
remember, for the purpose of our class, we are writing papers that
reflect some aspect of George Orwell’s 1984. Listed below are a
variety of themes and issues addressed in 1984. Your paper must
research one of these topics, comrades. (If you have an idea of your own,
please discuss with me.)
media
propaganda
bourgeoisie
class consciousness
Bolshevik Revolution
communism
socialism
media rhetoric
utopia
dystopia
Cultural Revolution 1966 Marxism
nuclear armament
Stalinism
Leninism
Capitalism
industrial revolution
nationalism
Trotskyism
historical revisionism
totalitarianism
Step 2: Ask yourself the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is my general subject?
What is my specific topic within that general subject?
What do I intend to do in my paper? What is my purpose?
What is my position on that specific topic? (VITAL!)
After you ask yourself these questions, write them down~
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Step 3: Write the questions down and answer them:
What is my general subject? Cultural Revolution of 1966
What is my specific topic within that general subject? Mao
tse Tong’s expulsion of many aspects of the Chinese culture.
What do I intend to do in my paper? To research and
document the radical moves Chairman Mao used to promote
his communist agenda.
What is my purpose? To inform (the essence of the
expository paper) and to persuade and argue that Chairman
Mao’s Cultural Revolution parallels the Ministry of Truth’s
practices in George Orwell’s 1984.
What is my position on that specific topic? I am in direct
opposition to any government using propaganda to alter and
revise history.
Note how I went from the General (Cultural Revolution of 1966) to the
specific~propaganda. Once you have narrowed your subject to its topic
you are ready to get even more specific and begin formulating your
thesis statement. Listed below is my thesis statement that I arrived at
after narrowing my subject to the topic:
Step 4: Writing your (Tentative) Thesis: Every thesis statement has
to have a fact and an opinion(your point of attack~why you believe the
way you do).
Highlight in yellow your fact in your thesis, and highlight in pink your
opinion(s).
(Tentative) Thesis: The Cultural Revolution of 1966 led by Chairman
Mao tse Tung was a totalitarian propaganda campaign designed to
erase and revise essential elements of the Chinese culture. This
revolution also mirrors a similar purge George Orwell illustrates in
1984 and reinforces Orwell’s political, prophetic message : it is vital for
individuals to maintain political awareness and an astute, critical mind
in order to avoid becoming a naïve automaton who never questions
authority or the government.
Step 5: Convert your (Tentative) Thesis Statement into a
Research Question:
Does the Cultural Revolution of 1966, led by Chairman Mao tse Tung,
that was a totalitarian propaganda campaign designed to erase and
revise essential elements of the Chinese culture, mirror a similar purge
in George Orwell’s1984, that reinforces his political, prophetic message:
it is vital for individuals to maintain political awareness and an astute,
critical mind in order to avoid becoming a naïve automaton who never
questions authority or the government?
Step 6: An effective thesis has these characteristics:
1. Clearly signals the purpose of the paper (My thesis immediately
sounds persuasive by stating the Cultural Revolution was
totalitarian in nature)
2. States or takes a definite position, stating specifically what the
paper will be doing (My thesis labels the Cultural Revolution as
propaganda and not an historical event, and then I add Orwell’s
prophetic approach and how it mirrors reality.)
3. Expresses that definite purpose and position in precise, familiar
terms (Please note the heavy use of verbs in my thesis to keep the
ideas salient and specific.) I use the following verbs for emphasis:
designed, erase, revise, mirrors, illustrates, reinforces, vital,
maintains, questions.
4. Is appropriate in scope for the paper’s length ~since this paper is
supposed to be 8~10 pages in length, you will need a substantial
thesis
5. Signals the structure that will follow in the paper~My thesis first
addresses the Cultural Revolution and Chairman Mao and then
shifts to 1984. This is the structure my paper will follow.
(The previous steps were taken from George Miller’s The Prentice Hall
Reader.)
Finally, remember this last element when writing your tentative thesis
statement and your paper:
Audience: Who do I want my audience to be?
Scroll down to the next page. This is the handout for formulating your
own thesis statement. Please print it out and bring it with you to class.
How to Write a Thesis Statement:
Step 1: Write the questions down and answer them:
1. What is my general subject? _____________________
2. What is my specific topic within that general subject?
______________________________________________
3. What do I intend to do in my paper? ________________
_________________________________________________
4. What is my purpose? ______________________________
___________________________________________________
5. What is my position on that specific topic?
__________________________________________________
Step 2: Writing your (Tentative) Thesis: Every thesis statement has
to have a fact and an opinion(your point of attack~why you believe the
way you do).
Step 3: Convert your (Tentative) Thesis Statement into a
Research Question: ________________________________________
Step 6: An effective thesis has these characteristics:
1. Clearly signals the purpose of the paper . The purpose of my
thesis is: __________________________________________.
2. States or takes a definite position, stating specifically what the
paper will be doing. My position of my thesis is:___________
___________________________________________________.
3. Expresses that definite purpose and position in precise, familiar
terms . I use the following precise , familiar terms: _________
____________________________________________________.
4. Is appropriate in scope for the paper’s length ~since this paper is
supposed to be 8~10 pages in length, you will need a substantial
thesis. The length of my thesis statement is __________ words.
5. Signals the structure that will follow in the paper~My thesis first
addresses____________________________ and is followed by
_________________________________________. The structure
of my paper will probably follow a ____________________
pattern.