Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow the link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain that a thesis states an interpretation of a literary text and needs a defence through textual evidence and a line of reasoning. (Guide: “What a literary argument does”; Practice Question 1)
- I can explain that a thesis may preview the line of reasoning without listing points, devices or evidence. (Guide: “What a thesis is”; Practice Question 4)
- I can define a line of reasoning as a logical sequence of claims, and say why a list is not one. (Guide: “The line of reasoning”; Practice Questions 2 and 9)
- I can explain that commentary shows the relationship between evidence, claims and thesis. (Guide: “Commentary: the part that makes it an argument”; Practice Question 3)
Skills
- I can tell a thesis from a summary, a fact, a topic and a list of devices. (Guide: “What a thesis is not”; Practice Questions 1 and 6)
- I can revise a weak thesis step by step into a defensible one. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Questions 6 and 7)
- I can write commentary using four moves: interpret, explain how, connect to the claim, connect to the thesis. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Questions 5 and 8)
- I can plan a three-claim line of reasoning in which each claim builds on the last. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Question 9)
Reasoning
- I can use the self-assessment table to rate my own thesis and paragraph. (Guide: “Self-assessment table”)
- I can explain why quotation without commentary does not make an argument. (Guide: “Common misconceptions”; Practice Question 5)
- I can say why a claim needs to sit in a particular position in a line of reasoning. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Question 9)
All ticked? Move on to the Topic 6.7 study guide, Evidence and Composition in a Literary Argument.