Power Point Presentations: Crafting a Thesis & The Basic 5 Paragraph Essay

Please pre-view these slideshows on The Basic 5-Paragraph Essay & Moving from Topic to Thesis.

(Select "view" to run the program)

Why Marriage is Good for You

Please respond to the following questions in a minimum of one paragraph (six sentences) each:

1. Does Gallagher make a sound case for marriage? Explain why/why not.
2. Gallagher discusses only traditional, heterosexual marriage. What effect might including civil unions or gay marriages have on the essay? Would it have shifted it's focus or strengthened/weakened her essay?
3. What objection does Gallagher have to framing her argument in "exclusively moral, spiritual, and emotional" terms (2)?
4. Why does Gallagher think she has to defend marriage? What preconceptions about marriage does she assume her readers have?
5. What do you believe is the strongest argument that Gallagher makes in her essay? Explain.
6. Respond to at least one of your peers' posts by posing thoughts for further consideration or contributing to their analysis.

Fatwa City

1. How does presenting the definition and the use of the word "fatwa" impact your thinking about Murphy's examples? What imagery is it mean to evoke?
2. What areas of life are being focused on, according to Murphy, by people who want to legislate morality?
3. What is the "creeping moralism" that Murphy refers to in paragraph 5? What is his opinion of it? How do you know? 
4. Select a portion of text with details that strike you as intriguing and analyze why it is effective and what impact it has on you as the reader. 
5. Respond to the content of one other classmate's post-- what can you add or contribute to their analysis?