Your Final Paper's Thesis: The Difference Between an A and a B Grade

According to the 1C Grading rubric, the A thesis is clear, poses contradictions, qualifications, and limits.

In contrast, a B thesis, while clear, is less ambitious and absent contradictions, qualifications, and limits.

An effective way to elevate a B thesis is to begin with a dependent clause, which you respond to in the independent clause.

Examples

While heinous criminals stir our feelings for retribution, translating that retribution into the death penalty creates so many problems, humanitarian, legal, and democratic, that we are well served, except in the most extreme circumstances, to abolish that barbaric policy.

Despite the lavish praise for HBO's The Sopranos, the show is sodden with cliches, stereotypes, and mindless violence that impede it from rising to the level of "transcendent" TV that it is so often called.

 

Important

Please remember your final paper is a test of your ability to adhere to the student learning objectives, which are manifest in the grading rubric. Your grade reflects your adherence to those objectives and your preparedness and readiness for higher levels of English. Therefore, English 1C instructors must be precise and consistent in the application of the rubric to your essay. As a test of your writing abilities in 1C, the final paper cannot be rewritten, so be sure to proofread it several times.