Precepts are an opportunity to discuss your text in small groups. The students are expected to lead these discussions so that they can become experts of their text and explore topics of interest that will be relevant to each student's thesis project. In service of this goal, students should have excellent annotations and notes in an external journal to show their preparation. Precepts will be held after school from 2:30pm - 3:30pm  on the following dates:

October 25th

November 1st

November 15th

December 6th

Here are your precept groups and the reading assignment for the first precept:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15sU1nrEhT7mLTsFYF7HUFrLuYM7aCPRCmeiSpVSb8Xw/edit?usp=sharing

Now that you have completed the Planned Inquiry. The next step is to begin engaging in research to answer your previously formulated questions. This step is called the Conceptual Inquiry. The intention of the Conceptual Inquiry is to engage in responsible research regarding each text so that you can discover tensions between the texts or ideas. These tensions let you know that your chosen topic is worth writing about. From there, you then decide which tension you most desire to engage with and how you want to engage with that tension by formulating an interesting question and an initial thesis statement.

Click the following link to see an example of a completed Conceptual Inquiry (Keep in mind that this example only utilizes one text. Your Inquiry must use both texts.):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z6Jn_MjzBFHL4_FHH2xck7-bjD2wUC9LAq7GNI6ODKc/edit?usp=sharing

Please submit one copy to your Humane Letters teacher and one copy directly to your advisor.

DUE JANUARY 12

UPDATED DUE DATE JANUARY 16

Now that you have a clear  and precise argumentative direction, it is time to start writing the essay! You will be submitting two rough drafts in this process. Both drafts must be given directly to your advisor by the end of the school day on the relevant date. No copy is required to be given to your HL teacher at this step.

The first rough draft should meet the following requirements:

1) 10-15 pages due February 9th

2) All argument paragraphs should be present, but your rhetorical elements, such as the introduction and conclusion, are not necessary.

3) Best efforts should be made in terms of punctuating and formatting, but the draft need not be polished in terms of syntax and word choice.

The second rough draft should meet the following requirements:

1) 15-20 pages due February 23rd

2) The draft should be a complete copy of your essay. All elements should be present, although they may be in need of perfecting.

3) Include Works Cited page.

Now that you have written a beautiful thesis and become a master of your two texts, it is time to engage in discussion about your ideas. This is your time to express your excellence and show your teachers, peers, and invited guests that we all ought to adopt the view you have advanced. Formally, this process breaks down as follows:

General Format

The duration of the defense is one hour.  The first 50 minutes consists of a conversation between the student and the panel members which includes the student’s advisor, a director from the Senior Thesis Committee who, though not as involved as the advisor, has been overseeing the student’s progress throughout the thesis process, and a “third reader” who has volunteered to read the students essay and take part in the defense.  The defense begins with an introduction by the director followed by some opening questions posed by the student’s advisor.  Throughout the rest of the first 50 minutes, all panel members are invited to pose questions and participate in discussion.  The last ten minutes will be reserved for questions from the audience which will be solicited by the student him or herself.

Preparation

The senior must bring into the defense room his or her thesis and two senior thesis texts and may bring any other relevant text.

Panel Discussion

The panel members may ask any question relating essentially or tangentially to the subject of the thesis or the content of the chosen texts. Moreover, the panel members may ask questions about the topics and texts discussed in Humane Letters as they pertain to the subject of the thesis.

The senior ought to demonstrate extensive knowledge of the student’s own essay and relevant texts, thoughtfully explore threads tangentially related to the texts and essay, and fair-mindedly engage with questions and alternative positions presented by the panel (i.e. neither hastily dismissing nor readily conceding positions).

Post-Defense

Seniors must contact advisors the day after the defense to be informed whether or not they passed. The advisor will not disclose the level of pass; the distribution of all evaluation and feedback forms occurs after the completion of all defenses. Those earning a “No Pass” will uniquely receive the evaluation/feedback form within a week to support their rewriting effort.