Your Thesis Statement: The Only Sentence Worth More Than A Thousand Words {Click Mouse to Continue}

Your Introduction Paragraph Attention Grabbing Brief Explanation of topic Thesis {Click Mouse to Continue} First, grab you readers attention with a general statement about your topic. End your introduction with a strong statement/claim that tells your reader what you intend to prove to them about your topic. Then, give your reader a brief explanation (2-5 sentences) of what you will be explaining about your topic.

What to think about… Define a problem and state your opinion about it Put forth a possible solution to a problem Look at an issue/topic from a new, interesting perspective Theorize how the world might be different today if something had or had not happened in the past Put out your ideas about how something was influenced to be the way it is or was.

First, let’s look at what a Thesis Statement is NOT! Thesis Statements Are Not As Hard As You May Think… {Click Mouse to Continue}

Your topic tells your reader what you are talking about. For Example: I will discuss WWI. This is not a thesis, it is only a topic. Your Thesis Statement is NOT Your Topic! Your thesis tells your reader your position on your topic. For Example: WWI was a direct result of the alliance system; had it not been for the alliance in place previous to the start of the war, WWI may have not involved as many countries. This is a successful Thesis Statement {Click Mouse to Continue}

Surprisingly, your thesis should be an arguable OPINION - NOT A FACT! WHY? …Because that is what makes your paper interesting to your reader! Your thesis should always be a statement that demands PROOF! If not, what will you write in the following pages? The Thesis Statement is NOT JUST A FACT About Your Topic! You spend the rest of your paper CONVINCING your reader of why YOUR OPINION is TRUE! Your thesis prepares your reader for the facts that will prove your opinion about your topic to be true-it can not be a fact itself. Your Thesis Should Take A STAND! {Click Mouse to Continue}

That is a fact, not a strong thesis! Now, that is a strong thesis! Let’s Look At An Example {Click Mouse to Continue} Since the Native Americans taught the colonial settlers how to cultivate the land using only primitive tools, the early settlers were able to survive the first decade they landed in America. Native Americans have the ability to live off of the land without any modern technology.

What a Thesis Statement is… It is the sentence that answers your readers biggest question: {Click Mouse to Continue} By telling your reader your point in the first paragraph, you set the tone and make sure they are not frustrated and confused while reading the rest of your paper.

What a Thesis Statement is… Now That You Know What A Thesis Statement Is, Let’s Look At What Makes A Strong Thesis Statement… It Tells your Reader Your Topic It Tells the Reader a Fact About Your Topic It Tells the reader your Point Which of the following is TRUE about your THESIS STATEMENT? {Click Mouse to Continue}

Requirements For a Strong Thesis: 1.I t should not be TOO BROAD! 2.I t should not be TOO NARROW! 3.I t should not be TOO VAGUE! There Are Three (3) Requirements For A Strong Thesis Statement. Let’s look at each of these requirements a bit closer… {Click Mouse to Continue}

A Strong Thesis Should Not Be Too Broad! You may find yourself drowning in information, unable to prove your point!

A Strong Thesis Should Not Be Too Broad! Let’s Look At An Example That would definitely leave you drowning: TOO BROAD! The propaganda committee initiated by President Wilson was so effective that by the time President Roosevelt was in office, he had millions of Americans volunteering during World War II. Much Better! That definitely is an opinion narrow enough to be proven in an essay! {Click Mouse to Continue} People liked helping during World War II because of propaganda.

A Strong Thesis Should Not Be Too Narrow Either! {Click Mouse to Continue} You may find yourself trying to stretch your information and begin repeating yourself too much in the paper!

Let’s Look At An Example Most girls living in the Midwest, in the town of Oklahoma City, were married before they were 18 years old, which caused them to be mothers at a young age. Though this may be interesting, it would take some tugging to stretch it into an entire essay! At the turn of the 19 th century, females were viewed as adults by the time they were teenagers, which caused their lifestyle to be vastly different than the teenagers in the 2000s. That looks like a thesis statement we wouldn’t have to stretch far! {Click Mouse to Continue}

A Strong Thesis Should Not Be Vague! Your paper will not make any sense

Requirements For a Strong Thesis: A Strong Thesis Should Not Be Vague Let’s Look At An Example Getting rid of welfare in the United States is a horrible idea. The word HORRIBLE is hard to define! It makes this thesis Too VAGUE! If the United States were to eliminate the welfare system, it would aggravate an already severe homeless problem and cause a rise in crime. To Fix It Define the term “horrible idea” for your reader. Outlining the major points of your essay would also help. {Click Mouse to Continue}

Where To Start Once you have gathered your information, Ask Yourself a Few Questions: What would my reader want to know about my topic? What is the most important thought that I have about my topic? What will be the point of my paper? What has my research shown me about my topic? {Click Mouse to Continue}

Remember the structure of your THESIS {Click Mouse to Continue}

A Working Thesis A Working Thesis is Made Up of Two Parts: AND were viewed as new technology that changed how wars were fought, especially since the day the Atomic Bomb was released from a plane over Japan. Planes For Example: {Click Mouse to Continue}

2.Is it TOO NARROW? 3.Is it TOO VAGUE? Refining Your Working Thesis To turn your Working Thesis into a Final Thesis Statement, compare it to the requirements for a strong thesis statement: 1.Is it TOO BROAD? {Click Mouse to Continue} IT IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO REWORD YOUR THESIS, ESPECIALLY ONCE YOU’VE FOUND MORE INFORMATION!

Review:How Do You Write A Thesis Statement? 1.Start off with your TOPIC! 2.Before trying to decide on a thesis, choose a topic you are interested in researching! 3.Once you have gathered some information, ask yourself a few questions: What is the most important thought that I have about my topic?What is the most important thought that I have about my topic? What has my research shown me about my topic?What has my research shown me about my topic? What would my reader want to know about my topic?What would my reader want to know about my topic? What will be the POINT of my paper?What will be the POINT of my paper? 4.Use your answers to write a thesis. 5.Edit your thesis several times until it meets all the requirements. 6.Is it too broad? Is it too narrow? Is it too vague? 7.AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, What is your opinion?! {Click Mouse to Continue}

Research 101!! Researching Steps and Tips

Why use note cards and an outline? It helps you to... –stay on course and not get off-track when you put your final product together. –see if you have enough (or too much) material to support your thesis statement. –figure out the order in which your subtopics will appear in your final product. Figure out the most logical flow of information, the best order for the information to be in. It is useful to take notes on index cards because it gives you the flexibility to change the order of your notes and group them together easily. Start with an introduction and end with a conclusion

How to Create Note Cards 1.Write the subtopic heading of the note at the top Left of each note card. 2.Cite author/page number in upper right hand corner 3.Use 1 fact or detail that supports your main idea on each card. 4.The notes on a single note card should be from the same source and on the same topic. 5.Only write information directly related to your thesis.

6. Your note cards should have main ideas. 7.Distinguish between 'fact' and 'opinion'. 8.Use the word 'over' to indicate information on the back of the card. 9.Write only essential words, abbreviate when possible. 10.Be accurate: double check direct quotes and statistics. 11.Identify direct quotes with quotation marks and the person's name. 12.Use ellipsis points (...) where you leave out non-essential words from a quote.

13.Bracket your own words [ ] when you add them into a quote. This is sometimes needed for the quote to make sense. 14.Produce your final product from your own notes cards and you have a better chance of not plagiarizing your project 15.make sure you can tell which topic the information refers to 16.make sure you can identify the source and the page for each piece of information

Let’s Look at an example... Our topic is Propaganda… Thesis: The propaganda committee initiated by President Wilson was so effective that by the time President Roosevelt was in office, he had millions of Americans volunteering during World War II.

Subtopic (left hand corner) Author and Page Number (right hand corner) (This is also how your parenthetical Documentation will look) McLean 30 Posters Posters were hung in schools... Effect= young men will join the armed forces “Had it not been for posters, some of the brightest men may not have ever joined after they graduated high school. Then, America may not have been as successful during WWII.” One Set Of Facts Supporting The Thesis Quote from The author

How to Write an Outline Why do it? –t–to organize your paper. What is it? –p–phrases that identify the sections of your paper or project. –c–come from the words you select to label and then group your own questions. How to do it: –L–Look over the questions you brain stormed –D–Decide on some words or phrases that are common to groups of questions. –T–Turn those words or phrases into specific subtopic headings.

10 History Writing Tips 1.Don’t use contractions in formal writing. 2.Keep Capitalization Consistent. 3.Always use past tense to describe history. 4.Make it clear when using “he” or “she.” 5.Introduce your quotes. 6.Single space and indent when the quote is more than 4 full lines. 7.Use “percent” or “per-cent,” …..not “%,” “twenty,” …..not “20,” “dollar,” not “$.” 8.Use ellipses (…) 9.Use a dictionary!!! 10.Get punctuation right in quote marks. [“Blah blah blah,” not “Blah blah blah”, and “Yada yada yah.” not “Yada yada yah”.].

Quotation Basics General rules… Don’t quote too often or too much When quoting… DON’T FORGET TO SET QUOTATION MARKS!!! Make sure the statement makes sense Don’t make it longer than necessary Don’t take up more than 2 or 3 lines Identify the source BEFORE you quote NO: The strikers were “a dangerous mob.” YES: According to D.H. Dyson, the plant manager, the strikers were “a dangerous mob.” Use ellipses (…) when you leave words out and brackets [ ] when you add words that were not there before. According to J.D. Rockefeller, “Selling oil made him wealthy… [and] had a lot of power in America.”

How to Write Quotations Short Quotation Example: The early settlers were not hostile to the Native Americans. As pointed out in by the Claxton Banner in 1836: “Our Sioux neighbors, despite their fierce reputation, are a friendly and peaceable people.” Short Quotation Example with Omission (use ellipses): “As pointed out by the Claxton Banner in 1836: “Our Sioux neighbors… are friendly and peaceable people.” Long Quotation Example: The early settlers were not hostile to the Native Americans. As pointed out by the Claxton Banner in 1836: Our Sioux neighbors, despite their fierce reputation, are a friendly and peaceable people. No livestock have been disturbed, and the outermost cabins are unmolested. We trust in God that our two peoples may live in harmony in this territory.

How to Use MLA Parenthetical Citation (In-text citation) In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what's known as parenthetical citation. Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s). –Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3). Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the Burke citation above, will look something like this: Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, Notice that the last name is written first. Also, it is indented and double spaced. MLA Citation! ( Includes the author and page number)

REMEMBER… Each source that you use to help you write your paper needs to be cited a specific way IN YOUR PAPER AND THE WORKS CITED PAGE. USE THE WEBSITES TO HELP YOU… –Citationmachine.net – 01/ 01/ (Make sure you chose MLA formatting)

How to Write a Conclusion Summarize the main points of essay Examine intro Did you cover everything you said you’d cover? Remind the reader of the significance of what they read Answer the “Why’s” This is where you state your opinion Be more objective, but this is where you’d emphasize why you chose this topic Don’t end with a quotation. Respect your own work. End with YOUR thoughts.

How to Create a Works Cited Page When in doubt… Use the Modern Language Association Format for Referencing Sources. ALPHABETICAL by author “No Author” is alphabetized according to the 1 st word of the title (except for “A”, “An”, “The”) Double space each entry and between each item Begin each left margin and indent any additional lines FIVE SPACES –Hanging Indent