PART ONE: 

Create a pro and con list pick any subject.

Include your thesis statement at the top of your document.  

Under the Pro side, list all the reasons why Wikipedia might be useful for your chosen audience.  

Under the Con side, list all the reasons why it might be problematic, or why another resource might be better in some situations.  

This can be in list form, rather than table form–whatever you prefer, so long as I can tell what’s a Pro and what’s a Con.)  Try to have at least 3 items in each list

EXAMPLE:

 Thesis: Wikipedia is a useful resource for beginning knitters to turn to for a deeper understanding of the craft, even though it doesn’t offer much in the way of direct tutorials. 

Pros:

1. Wikipedia article on knitting offers detailed descriptions of how the craft works, along with nice images that illustrate concepts.
2. article references very authoritative sources on the craft
3. article gives a lot of social situations where knitting appears, and shows the relevance of the craft in modern times
4. The “Talk” page of the article grades this source as a “B”.
5. This was a former featured article candidate.
6. The “view history” page lets us see that this is a frequently visited and edited site, with a lot of care made towards best wording of each section.

Cons: 

1. Wikipedia does not provide specific patterns for new knitters.
2. It uses some terminology that may be initially confusing. 
3. It does not have tutorials for techniques, though it does define them. 
4. No video to watch the craft in action. 

PART 2: Skeleton 

For EACH of the items you listed on your Pro/Con chart submission, turn those into 1-sentence long “Reason” statements like you see on the Skeleton Essay web article ttps://www.powa.org/explain/supporting-your-thesis?showall=&start=2   Include the Con items on this list, as well as the Pro items.

Then, for EACH of THOSE reasons, give 2-4 Sub-Reasons that further illustrate or “prove” why this reason is correct. 

EXAMPLE:

Thesis: Wikipedia is a useful resource for beginning knitters to turn to for a deeper understanding of the craft, though it doesn’t offer much in the way of direct tutorials. 

Reason 1 (From my Pro list): Wikipedia article on knitting offers detailed descriptions of how the craft works, along with nice images that illustrate concepts. 

• Reason 1.1: This article has a detailed “Structure” segment that defines major terminology, like “knit” vs. “purl” stitches.
• Reason 1.2: The images that appear next to each definition use the same color scheme (red and white knitting fabric) in order to better see the differences between different methods.
• Reason 1.3: The “types of knitting” section would help new knitters know that the method that they’ve learned to start with is just one of many possibilities.

Reason 2 (From my Con list): Wikipedia does not provide specific patterns for new knitters.

• Reason 2.1: With crafts, the best way to learn is by doing, and this Wikipedia article provides no instruction for how to get started on a specific project.
• Reason 2.2: the list of External Links at the end of the article is primarily made of articles that are about the craft and history of knitting, but not guided tutorials.
• Reason 2.3: YouTube, as an alternate source, has many good resources for exactly how to get started and how to learn new stitches.
• Reason 2.4: A side-by-side comparison of a YouTube video clip and Wikipedia’s “Structure” section would illustrate the different purpose each would serve for a new knitter.