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Thesis Maker: Three Steps to a Strong Thesis Statement . A Tutorial for the Students of Mount Vernon High School by Mr. Tuel, Librarian. Step 1. Choose your topic. Do some reading/study about it. (Depending on the class/teacher, your topic may be chosen for you.). Step 2.
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Thesis Maker:Three Steps to a Strong Thesis Statement A Tutorial for the Students of Mount Vernon High School by Mr. Tuel, Librarian
Step 1 • Choose your topic. • Do some reading/study about it. • (Depending on the class/teacher, your topic may be chosen for you.)
Step 2 • Choose your focus. • This limits the information you will present about your topic. • The focus will also identify the approach you will take toward your topic: informational/expository or argumentative/persuasive.
Step 3 • Write your thesis statement, a single sentence that • Identifies the topic and focus of your paper • States the main idea/argument of your paper • Controls the content and direction of your paper • Think of your thesis as an umbrella under which all of your paper will be covered.
Example 1 • TOPIC: Jim Crow laws • FOCUS: Effects of • THESIS: “Jim Crow” laws, enacted by many Southern legislatures between 1877 and the early 1950s, mandated segregation of blacks and whites and impacted public transportation, schools, and many businesses.
Example 2 • TOPIC: The impact of the individual in history • FOCUS: The murder of Emmett Till • THESIS: The gruesome and vicious murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in the Deep South in 1955 for his supposed whistling at a white woman captured the attention of the nation and helped to ignite the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
Example 3 • TOPIC: The rise of jazz • FOCUS: Breaking down racial barriers • THESIS: The rise of jazz during the Harlem Renaissance helped to break down barriers between blacks and whites in the entertainment world of the 1920s.
Example 4 • TOPIC: World War II • FOCUS: Impact on the homefront workforce • THESIS: In addition to impacting the role and perception of the U.S. abroad, World War II brought changes to the homefront workforce in the form of industrial mobilization and the addition of women and minorities.
Example 5 • TOPIC: The U.S. Constitution • FOCUS: How it changes • THESIS: Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, two landmark Supreme Court decisions, demonstrate the planned flexibility of the U.S. Constitution.
Your Turn • On your own paper, write the following: • Your TOPIC: • Your FOCUS: • Your THESIS: