World Political History 6

THESIS STATEMENT ASSIGNMENT:

For this assignment, here is a guide:

A.    How to write a thesis statement and what I expect

A good thesis statement will be a roadmap for the rest of your project. While this project is now a presentation instead of a paper, you should approach it with a similar perspective in terms of argument and organization. It will be a very important part of your project and will need to be well crafted, well written, and polished to excel.  It is possible that the thesis statement that you submit for this assignment will not be the thesis statement that you will end up with on your final project. I realize that this is a process, but at this point in your research you should have a good idea of what your argument (road map) will be. Now is the time to focus on your argument and work on polishing and crafting the quality of your thesis statement.

For this submission, you should submit a Word document or PDF file formatted as: Your Name Your topic (be specific – just a sentence will do) Thesis Statement: (with your thesis statement sentence here).

NOTE: A thesis statement is ONE sentence (only). That is all I am looking to read here. If you are still struggling and feel that you need to include context, it is fine to include your entire or part of your introduction, but you must be aware and underline or bold your actual thesis statement. I want to be sure that you know what your argument is and that you understand that a thesis statement is one sentence ONLY.

B.    What is a thesis statement?

More than likely, once you submit your thesis statement, and I grade it, I will send it back with changes and suggestions. I would like you to be aware of a few things though, even before we get started. A good thesis statement will be the backbone of your paper. It will guide each paragraph and also make your paper much more interesting. What I am referring to when I say “thesis statement,” is an argument. Please be aware, that a college level history term paper or oral presentation is not just a random collection of facts. It needs to have an argument/or a point of view. I realize that some high schools and   possibly international students may not have encountered this before. However, I am absolutely positive that any college level course requires this. Trust me, I empathize with you, and have (as an undergrad and graduate student) written hundreds of papers that all included a strong thesis statement (and those that didn’t were usually sent back to me for rewriting).

C.    How should you word your thesis?

I encourage you to be both forceful and focused when writing a thesis statement. Although there are some courses that require you to write thesis statements that begin with “The purpose of this paper” or “I intend to prove…” I DO NOT WANT THAT!. Your thesis statement does not need “the purpose of this paper is…” because the thesis is the purpose of the paper. It does not need the pronoun “I”, “myself”, or “me”, because nobody else should be writing your paper. A few general examples:

1. “It is necessary that the Indian government puts a stronger emphasis on their national population policy to avoid a population crisis.”

2. “It is imperative for the Chinese government to consider the implications of an environmentally damaged country.”

3. “AIDS in South Africa is the single most dangerous threat to their democracy and economic growth, and only through education and proactive government policies will there be success.”

These are not perfect examples, but they do demonstrate that there is an inherent argument that the paper will then attempt to prove or demonstrate. This is where your research will pay off.

Keep in mind as well that you are doing history. For this quarter, you ARE historians. Historians do NOT write mysteries. At the beginning of the quarter you asked questions, at this point you are answering them. That is why you have spent time doing research – so you could answer your own questions. Now it is important that you answer your questions in the introduction. In effect the thesis statement is the PLOT of your project/paper/presentation. So, it is not your job to keep the audience guessing. You do not END the presentation with your thesis. It is RESTATED in the conclusion, but it is FIRST stated in your introduction/thesis statement! That is probably the one fact of a thesis statement that students are resistant to. You can console yourself with the fact that historians like to read the end of the book first!!!

Thesis statement Qualities	Developing	Competent	Good	Accomplished
Argument	Presents fact or vague and obvious topic.	More precise and specific topic, but still not a developed argument.	Begins to incorporate an argument, but not still may be vague	Precise, arguable thesis statement. Presents a clear argument that will require specific research and analysis to support.
Format	May not be in one sentence.  Either too short or too long and spread out.	May not be in one sentence, but connected and may be revised to fit.	May be one sentence, but needs work on flow.	Very well written thesis statement sentence that is clear and has good flow.
Analysis	Does not lend itself to analysis or a original way of examining an issue or problem.	Leads to research that is general and broad.  May not require specific analysis.	May require analysis, but may be too imprecise to narrow down research.	Presents an argument that is novel or interesting and leads to analysis.
Voice/Style	May use passive voice or have awkward phrasing. Contains “I” statements	May use passive voice.  May alter voice. May contain a “This thesis will…”	May need work on phrasing.  Possibly has statements such as “the purpose of this paper…”	Active voice, clear and engaging word choice.
Mechanics	Multiple errors in spelling, word choice, syntax or punctuation.	May have errors in spelling, word choice, syntax or punctuation. May have awkward phrasing.	Very few errors in spelling, word choice, syntax or punctuation.	No punctuation, spelling, syntax or word choice errors.