thesis writing & "classical argument" writing?

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Is one supposed to be familiar with writing theses and in the so-called "classical argument" form in college? I'm having a b***h of a time because I'm very familiar with either (I've written one thesis in my life, and never have written a "classical argument.")

Err... are you talking Thesis as in graduate project or thesis as in one sentence outline for an essay?

I'm guessing.... essay?

If so, these links might help.

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These are things they should be teaching you in English Comp I. If you're just starting back to school, you need to take English Comp first.

If you cannot think and then write about those thoughts effectively, you're not going to do well in College. That's been my experience anyway.

If this is for a Comp class, you need to get a clarification from your teacher or go go see a tutor in the writing lab.

Essay. I didn't do any of this in high school, and my English 1 class it was expected that I know how to use the classical argument form, even though I've never written like that before. I took a skills building (non-credit) "Intro to College Writing" class in the spring of this year because I didn't know how to write a 5 paragraph essay on the placement test (I didn't do any essay writing in high school either.) We didn't touch the classical argument in that ICW class.

I've never been much of a writer, and have had significant difficulty thinking about the ideas I want to write about, and then get them down on paper effectively (I think I can do it, but it just takes a ton of time.)

Wow, in my opinion they should not expect you to know this in English I. They should be TEACHING you this...

Anyway, your school should have a writing lab (with free tutors), and you should use it!

That second link to Purdue OWL should help too. It's a great writing site....

Scholastic writing all pretty much follows a standard formula. Once you get the form down, it really isn't that hard.

I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.


PS


I had a great comp teacher who supplied her students with sample papers with all the parts labeled and highlighted. That, more than anything else, helped me figure things out.

Something like that might work for you too.

People in this state were expected to have done this in high school. I'm not from the area, and when I entered high school (ie moved here the day before high school started), I had never even heard the term thesis before. I don't think I wrote a single paper all through high school! I was so far behind in writing compared to my peers that I just accepted a reduced grade in the class instead of trying to figure out how to catch up. I wish I hadn't done that now.

^^^ Yeah...

I kind of skated through high school English too. Still, yearly research papers were required in order to pass. So, I was forced to do a bit of writing, but I really did not understand how to organize a paper properly.

Anyway, keep at it. Essay writing is a skill you'll need in almost every college class you take. It is definitely worth any and all effort to learn.

If you search a bit, you can find plenty of writing resources on the web. Also, if you're really struggling with a paper, you could post a draft here. I'm sure people would be happy to give you a bit of constructive criticism.

Wow, I wish I had gone to your school. I wouldn't be sitting here with this problem now, I don't think.

I've got some resources close to me that have offered to help (and sit down with me) after I've put out the SOS about this problem. I totally agree that I'm going to need to write better as I get through school, but I didn't anticipate that I would need more than the standard sequence of classes.

I was recommended to get Strunk & White and Writers Inc, as well as using the Purdue OWL and the Winthrop.edu links. I've already got a basic pocket manual from the class I just dropped, as well as the Allyn & Bacon Style Guide (from the same course that I dropped in the summer.)

Strunk & White is very good, very cheap, and very portable.

It follows its own advice to keep things clear and short, and it doesn't restrict itself to stating what the rules are, but tells you why they are, which is more important.

It is also very pithy and quotable, and gives good examples that contrast good and bad writing.

Second on Purdue OWL, that site has literally saved my ass since I've been in grad school.

I'm a good writer fundamentally but have never formally learned formatting or structuring for anything (I couldn't define off-hand what the "classical argument" is ), it didn't matter much in undergrad but the OWL has pretty much walked me through the last couple years.