Today we discussed what Kailin thought of the articles she’d read regarding the Tiger Mom phenomenon. She was deeply affected because she is Chinese American and Amy Chua makes broad claims that do not apply to all Chinese Americans.
Next we reviewed over what makes a strong thesis, and how it should generally have three parts: context, claim, and significance. I gave her this handout for reference: Thesis Statements
Next I had her begin drafting the thesis statement for her first essay. While she felt that Amy Chua’s argument does have some merits, she wanted her essay to argue against it. The first thesis statement she wrote was a claim, so I had her push it further by asking her the significance. At first she was uncertain of her thinking, so we talked through it until she was able to revise her statement. Kailin noted how including the overall significance considerably deepened the argument she could make over the course of the paper, which was good on my part to see. I’m looking forward to seeing her first draft.