Develop at least 5 different working thesis statements.

Using the reading from WR, start brainstorming different ideas for the final essay. These are not going to be set in stone, so don’t be afraid if you think you might change your idea later–that’s perfectly fine! For this assignment, I want to see you’ve started thinking about the course’s topic, which is contemporary folklore (i.e. urban legends). In other words, the course theme is an aspect of folklore connected to an aspect of the contemporary world.

Also, just because the textbook covers American folklore, mostly, you are not required to focus on American folklore. Feel free to find folklore from any culture you are interested in researching.

Submission:

This exercise is divided into two sections that should be a total of about a page (300 words):

1.) Develop at least 5 different working thesis statements. These can be fully different topics you are interested in pursuing, or they can be similar, yet refined versions of a similar claim.

In the coming week, you’ll be picking a single claim and further refining it.

–To create a working claim, start by asking yourself two questions: 1. What will you be arguing specifically and 2. Why does it matter to your audience?

–Ask yourself is it specific. Try to specify who you’re discussing, what topic you’re discussing, and how your version of this topic is unique.

–Ask yourself if the opposite of your thesis can be argued. If it can’t, then you do not have a strong claim.

For instance, “folktales often influence young children” is not a strong thesis because it is not unique and no one can argue the opposition (i.e. no one can argue “folk tales never influence children”). A stronger claim would be “the children’s game ‘Bloody Mary’ helps children mature because it allows them to interpret their Ids, or in other words, their immaturity, and then grow from the experience.” An opposition could be argued that the game does not help children mature. Another might be that it does help them mature, but not because it helps them identify their immaturity.

2.) Please discuss the initial steps of your research essay. You may consider discussing the following:

A.Subject

B. Purpose and Audience

C. Genre

D. Sources of Information

E. Reviewers and Deadlines

You may also include any other information you find related to this journal entry.

Purpose:

To help brainstorm potential topics and start thinking about the main project for this course. We’ve got to start somewhere!