SENIOR THESIS is the capstone course and crowning achievement in a student’s academic journey. It is for those students who have successfully completed the writing and rhetoric courses of study (i.e., Lost Tools of Writing and Classical Rhetoric) and high school Omnibus. The Senior Thesis showcases a student’s knowledge and expertise within a subject he or she has chosen and has researched fully. In completing the thesis, a student brings all that he or she has learned—reading, writing, analyzing, deliberating, and persuading—to bear on a single issue. Students research the background of their topic, analyze other’s arguments, and synthesize their findings and discoveries, putting it all together to form a dynamic presentation reflecting the true, good, and beautiful. This process includes both preparing an academic paper and delivering a separate speech.

 

Through the use of seminars, assignments, peer critique, and presentation practices, thesis students are walked step-by-step through the familiar (to them) rhetorical process of Discovery, Organization, Style, Memory, and Delivery. They spend a semester researching an issue followed by meeting with an expert they select in that particular field. In the process, they prepare an academic paper along with a 15- to 20-minute address that is delivered before a general audience.

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Through the year, students 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. These are familiar steps to writing that my students have studied in earlier LTW and rhetoric courses.

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The thesis also includes elements of the three types of rhetoric that students have practiced so far—Judicial (accuse or defend), Ceremonial (praise or censure), and Deliberative (persuade or dissuade). But the goal is to end it on a deliberative note, so students will conclude their speeches by urging the audience to some kind of action.

 

A significant tool for any young person or adult is the ability to effectively research an important topic and then communicate winsomely in order to truly reach the hearts of others. So another significant goal of the Senior Thesis is making students’ speech and writing compelling, pleasing, and persuasive. While students continue to use the five canons for writing and oration, they also develop more deeply their rhetoric credibility (ethos) using their reasoning (logos) to appeal to the audience’s emotion (pathos).

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Experience has shown that the Senior Thesis changes the student. Young people step up to meet the challenge by taking their thesis issue seriously, and they grow up intellectually as their understanding of their issue evolves and takes shape over the course of the research and writing. The thesis gives each student a moment to step out from the crowd and say something important. And they surprise themselves and their classmates by rising to the occasion with a thoughtful and impassioned argument. In a sense, as some have observed, the thesis is about growing up. It’s about moving from inexperience to wisdom, and from being influenced to influencing others. The experience trains students to examine the evidence, to consider carefully the ethical implications of their arguments, and to defend a position winsomely in a setting that extends beyond the classroom.

 

As you can see, the Senior Thesis is truly a crowning achievement for a student, the culmination of years of classical education. It also equips young people to meet the challenges of college-level writing in the liberal arts tradition. And it polishes the skills of deliberative reflection and compelling communication that are essential for becoming effective Christian witnesses and successful adults.

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The Senior Thesis provides students with opportunities like these: ​​

• Step-by-step assistance for researching, organizing, and delivering a thesis

• Support in meeting the challenge of a higher standard of composition and delivery

• Preparation for college-level research and writing

• Collaboration with fellow students for developing and practicing writing and presentation skills

• Consultation with a knowledgable advisor regarding the thesis topic

• Development of confidence and style through dynamic presentation

• Guidance in communicating with clarity, eloquence, and wisdom

• Application of methods for godly communication and effective Christian witness

 

BOOKLIST FOR THE SENIOR THESIS

• Rhetoric Alive! Senior Thesis Student Workbook

• The Elements of Style, 4th Edition (Strunk & White)