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Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook

$29.95
  • Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook
  • Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook
  • Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook
  • Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook

Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook

$29.95

  • A yearlong course for grades 11-12

     

    The senior thesis is a capstone project, the crowning achievement in a student’s academic journey. In completing the thesis, students bring all that they’ve learned—reading, writing, and arguing—to bear on one issue. They learn the background of the topic, analyze other people’s arguments, and synthesize their findings and discoveries, putting it all together to form a true, good, and beautiful whole.

    Through the use of workshops, assignments, and presentation practices, the Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis workbook walks students step-by-step through the process of writing and then delivering a thesis. Students will gradually draft the six parts of the thesis—introduction (exordium), statement of facts (narratio), thesis statement (partitio), argument (confirmatio), counterargument (refutatio), and conclusion (peroratio)—as they are taken through the thesis process from start to finish, from choosing a topic to crafting a snappy title, and everything in between.

    Versatile and straightforward, this text can be used by students who are only writing a thesis paper, only delivering a spoken address, or doing both. Additionally, the genius of Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis is that it can be utilized by students using any rhetoric curriculum and even by strong students who have not yet studied rhetoric.

    Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis is an all-in-one resource—journal/scratch pad/research notebook and rough-draft-to-final-copy writing guide—that will equip students to create a strong, compelling, and well-crafted senior thesis. The text is spiral bound so that students can easily draft portions of their theses and take notes in the workbook, either in class or at home.

    To learn more about the value of the senior thesis, read Dr. Alyssan Barnes's blog post, "From Sophomore to Senior: Why Students Need the Senior Thesis," here.

    This is a consumable item. For more information on this product’s copyright, please refer to our General FAQ section here.

     

    What sets Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis apart from other rhetoric texts?

    • RA Thesis can be used in conjunction with any rhetoric curriculum
    • RA Thesis uses clear, accessible language
    • RA Thesis takes students step-by-step through the writing of the thesis, from start to finish
    • RA Thesis aids students in writing a paper, speech, or both
    • RA Thesis helps reluctant or struggling writers generate good ideas and organize them well
    • RA Thesis contains presentation practice and writing workshops in each chapter
    • RA Thesis supplies tips from former senior thesis students
    • RA Thesis includes sample student writing and an example of a complete student thesis
    • RA Thesis brings classical rhetorical theory to bear on a contemporary issue

    What people are saying about Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis:

    “It is crucial for contemporary students to know the classical rhetorical tradition. Dr. Alyssan Barnes takes this ancient wisdom and presents it in its full complexity, showing through helpful exercises and clear processes the practicality, richness, and wisdom of this tradition and how it applies to the modern student. Only a master teacher of the art, with long and deep experience, could have produced a book this valuable to students.” —Gregory Roper, PhD, Chair of English, University of Dallas, and Author of The Writer’s Workshop: Imitating Your Way to Better Writing

    “The senior thesis process can overwhelm students and parents alike. Research, writing, defending—these things seem like impossibilities. Thanks to Dr. Alyssan Barnes’s latest entry in the Rhetoric Alive! series, solace is just ahead. Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis offers hands-on, practical advice to help navigate the murky waters that often bog down thesis work.” —Sean Hadley, Thesis Director, Trinitas Christian School

    Students who have used Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis are saying:

    “This workbook walked me through writing a thesis in simple but elegant steps that kept me engaged and actually made me a better writer.” —Ben B.

    “At first, I was dreading the idea of doing a thesis, but this step-by-step method let me organize and express my thoughts in a fun and easy way.” —Grace M.

    “Before I did the exercises in this book, I wasn’t a very good public speaker. I am now much more confident sharing my ideas in front of an audience.” —Blake N.

    “With this workbook as a guide, I was able to understand and compose a proper argument. The explanations helped me organize my thoughts while writing my thesis.” —Will D.

  • Published Reviews

    Testimonials

    “The senior thesis process can overwhelm students and parents alike. Research, writing, defending—these things seem like impossibilities. Thanks to Dr. Alyssan Barnes’s latest entry in the Rhetoric Alive! series, solace is just ahead. Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis offers hands-on, practical advice to help navigate the murky waters that often bog down thesis work. Her book walks students through every step, supplying engaging exercises and enlightening examples along the way. If your school is looking to start a thesis program, this book is for you. If your course is in need of something to kick-start students and staff out of a rut, this book is for you. Or, if you just want to see ways in which your school’s thesis curriculum might be improved, this book is for you." —Sean Hadley, Thesis Director, Trinitas Christian School

    “It is crucial for contemporary students to know the classical rhetorical tradition. Dr. Alyssan Barnes takes this ancient wisdom and presents it in its full complexity, showing through helpful exercises and clear processes the practicality, richness, and wisdom of this tradition and how it applies to the modern student. Only a master teacher of the art, with long and deep experience, could have produced a book this valuable to students.” —Gregory Roper, PhD, Chair of English, University of Dallas, and Author of The Writer’s Workshop: Imitating Your Way to Better Writing

    "Without the workshops in each chapter, my thesis would have been an incoherent list of facts and opinions." —Richard H., senior thesis student

    "This book really taught me how to write! The focus on rhetorical appeals is especially helpful." —Connor F., senior thesis student

    "Working through all of the assignments significantly helped my time management and reduced the stress of the larger assignment." —Aidan S., senior thesis student

    "The workshops were a really great way to figure out my thesis in manageable pieces." —Anne A., senior thesis student

  • Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Sample Syllabus (PDF)

    Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Rubric for Practice Presentations (PDF)

    Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Peer Evaluation Form (PDF)

    Informal Fallacy Summaries (PDF)

    Ask the Magister (teacher)

  • Alyssan Barnes, PhD

    Dr. Alyssan Barnes began teaching in 2001 at an urban classical school in Dallas, Texas, which offers a classical education primarily to less fortunate students. She now teaches rhetoric, Latin, and AP English at Live Oak Classical School in Waco, where her three daughters also attend. She completed her PhD in rhetoric in 2014 and wrote her dissertation on classical education. She is also the author of Rhetoric Alive! Book 1: Principles of Persuasion.

  • Grade Level: Grades 11-12
    Use: Consumable product
    Course Length: Yearlong
    Content Credit: 1 full high school credit
    ISBN: 9781600513572
    Width: 8.5in
    Height: 11.0in
    Pages: 280
    Version: 1.0
    Note: This book is spiral bound so that students can easily draft portions of their theses and take notes in the workbook.