What’s Your Point?

1. What’s Your Point? Developing a Thesis Statement

2. What’s Your Point? History is about arguing your opinion!

3. A good thesis starts with a good question!

4. Thesis Statements • “An effective thesis statement tells readers specifically what you plan to write about in your paper AND takes a stand or expresses a specific feeling or argument about your topic.”

5. A Good Thesis Statement • Addresses a narrow topic • Explains what the researcher (YOU) believes to be the historical significance of the topic • Connects your topic to the theme

6. What’s Your Point? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_LFlHp-61I

7. Developing a Thesis • Thesis = Topic + Theme + Significance

8. From Topic to Thesis • Step 1: Immigration in Chicago • This is a topic, not a thesis statement. • Step 2: Lizzie Black Kander and Jewish Immigration to Chicago from 1880-1920 • This is a narrowed topic, but it is not a thesis statement. There’s no argument here! • Step 3: Lizzie Black Kander used her cooking classes and The Settlement Cookbook to teacher Chicago’s Jewish immigrants about American culture. • This is close to a thesis statement, but not quite. It doesn’t state why the topic is important.

9. From Topic to Thesis • Step 4: Through her cooking classes and The Settlement Cookbook, Lizzie Black Kander introduced Chicago’s Jewish immigrants to American culture, which helped them assimilate and learn how to avoid ethnic discrimination. • We have a winner! This thesis looks at a narrow topic AND explains the significance of the topic in history. • Step 5: Make sure you connect thesis to the theme!

10. Examples • Theme: Turning Points • Interest Area: Civil War • Narrowed Subject: Battle of Gettysburg • Working Thesis Statement: The battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the Civil War. • Final Thesis Statement: The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the Civil War. It turned the tide of the war from the South to the North, pushing back Lee’s army that would never fight again on Northern soil and bringing confidence to the Union Army.

11. Thesis Statement? • Four statements about the Haymarket defendants: • Haymarket Anarchists and Labor Conflict in Chicago in the 1880s. • Anarchism in the 1800s was a worldwide movement that often frightened people, especially when they did not understand it. • The eight Haymarket anarchists were found guilty of murder (and four of them were executed). • The Haymarket defendants often seemed to express positive views about the political uses of violence. Given conditions in Chicago in the late 1800s, this explains why these anarchists were so feared by so many. • Match the statements with these descriptions: • A brief heading on a broad theme. Not a thesis statement. • A descriptive statement, but it is not a thesis statement • A thesis statement, but one too vague or broad. • A more specific thesis statemen.

12. Let’s Practice • I want to convince you that… • The reasons you should believe me are… • You share care because (historical significance)