Students will write a senior thesis, all while demonstrating their mastery of the topics of Invention, Arrangement tools, and Elocution skills. Students will be led from clearly defining their thesis topic, to thoughtful arrangement, and to appropriate expression. Students will be guided through responsible research including how to properly cite their authority and how to consider issues like bias in their sources. This classical writing program teaches students more than just the basics of writing a senior thesis. It will also challenge their thinking by teaching them to integrate their years of learning into a single issue. By employing the three canons of classical rhetoric – invention, arrangement, and elocution, the student will be equipped to overcome the three problems all writers face while tackling an expanded essay and cultivating deeper thinking as they integrate various fields of study.   The exploration of the canon of memory will be a key component of this course as the students not only develop skills needed in the memorization of a text but also employ what they have learned over years of study to complete an integrated thesis. The step-by-step instruction makes the writing of a senior thesis manageable for all students from their research during Invention to their Delivery during their defense.

Additional Texts: The Office of Assertion by Scott Crider