Chapter 3: The Full Three Storey Thesis
Watch This!
Now that we understand what makes a thesis statement strong, the following Video 3.1 walks through the differences between a strong and weak two storey thesis using “The Plot to Privatize Common Knowledge” by David Bollier. It would be useful for you to have the two storey thesis statement you wrote for Chapter 2 beside you so that you can reconsider your own writing as you follow along.
After watching the video, it’s time to look more closely at your own work. Below is the two-storey opening or thesis statement we developed in Chapter 2 for Welsh’s “Kids Around the World Just Want to Hang Out.” How does your work compare in terms of specificity and complexity?
Example
Writing an argumentative essay aimed at university students as readers, Michael Welsh in “Kids Around the World Just Want to Hang Out” compares the responses given by two separate groups of high school students from Stockholm, Sweden and Keene, New Hampshire who were surveyed about “their preferences and visions for their cities.” Welsh uses this comparison to convey a distressing reality he hopes his American readers will be motivated to address: while both groups of students seemed to have the same hopes and visions for a greener, cleaner future for their cities, the students of Keene displayed considerably less vision than their Stockholm counterparts, “limited expectations” of their government’s ability or interested to help them attain their goals, and a worrying reliance on commercial companies to provide them the accessible, common, and entertaining spaces they desire.
