Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 Program

A 1-semester course for grades 7 or 8 and up

Think of the progymnasmata as a step-by-step apprenticeship in the art of writing and rhetoric. In the award-winning Writing & Rhetoric series, author Paul Kortepeter has recovered this proven method of teaching writing in conjunction with critical thinking and speaking. This is the tenth in a series of 12 books that will train students over 6 years.

Full program includes:

• In Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 (consumable student edition), students will write well-crafted persuasive thesis essays with narrative, descriptive, expository, and comparative elements. The thesis essay is perhaps the most important form of academic writing. In fact, in every major in college, successful exams and term papers depend on excellent thesis writing. Each composition requires strong critical thinking skills, an understanding of audiences and how to “hook” them, and a logical progression of ideas and evidence. The thesis exercise employs all of the skills students have gained in their study of the progymnasmata and adds something more: the consideration and rebuttal of counterarguments. By thinking through opposition to their main ideas, students grow in their ability to think flexibly and to defend their position. In addition, the thesis essay will help students to examine and sustain ideas, two skills much needed in today’s public discourse. In this 1-semester book, students will learn to:
  • create complex thesis statements
  • write thesis essays with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion
  • sustain arguments for 6 paragraphs
  • use topic sentences for organizing paragraphs and information
  • incorporate supportive facts and details, including quotations, paraphrases, and allusions
  • understand audiences better, “hook” their attention, and consider the purpose for reaching them
  • appeal to readers though credibility (ethos) and logic (logos)
  • build copiousness
  • improve essays using speaking as an aid to revision
  • revise essays for redundancies, padded writing, informal tone, dangling modifiers, and faulty predication
  • analyze literature excerpts for theme
  • annotate texts and narrate them both orally and in summary form
  • work on delivery in public speaking—volume, pacing, and inflection
• Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 Teacher's Edition This teacher’s edition includes the complete student text, as well as answer keys, teacher’s notes, and explanations. It also contains descriptions and examples of what excellent student writing should be like for every writing assignment, providing the teacher with meaningful and concrete guidance.
• Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 Audio Files These audio files accompany Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 and allow students to engage their sense of hearing and their listening intelligence as Greg Lowe and Lauraine Gustafson deliver the readings aloud in a thoughtful manner.

See the Support tab above for suggested schedule and product support.

When You're Finished with Book 10 . . .

For updated descriptions of Writing & Rhetoric Book 11: Thesis Part 2 and Writing & Rhetoric Book 12: Declamation, as well as additional suggested tracks of study while these two final books are in production, please see our PDF of suggested tracks or visit our FAQ page and click on the question “When will the rest of the series be available?”