THE THESIS STATEMENT What is it? A.P. United States History Mrs. Chetelat

Basic Defintion: THE THESIS STATEMENT TELLS THE READER WHAT THE ESSAY WILL BE ABOUT AND WHAT POINT YOU WILL BE MAKING. IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO PROVE?

A thesis statement should be specific to a topic and related to the question SAMPLE QUESTION: To what extent did the Civil War constitute a revolution in American Society? ???????????????????????????????

THESIS TYPES: Simple Thesis: The Civil War was a revolution in American Society. (Rating-poor) Thesis is far too simplistic. It contains no analysis. Statement is too general and vague.

Complex-Simple Thesis: In some respects, Americans experienced profound changes during the war. After the war, it was clear that society had also been changed dramatically in a number of important areas. (Rating-fair) The analytical aspect of the thesis shows promise. However, the thesis does not establish HOW American society was changed by war.

Thesis types continued! Simple-Split Thesis: The Civil War was a revolution in America politically, socially, and constitutionally. (Rating-fair) Thesis provides a basic description of what will be discussed but lacks an explanation or analysis of the 3 areas.

FINALLY! A GOOD THESIS Complex-Split Thesis: The Civil War was a revolution in America politically through the emergence of the Republican Party, socially, through the significant gains of African Americans, and constitutionally through the established supremacy of the federal government. (Rating-Superior) The question is addressed clearly in this thesis statement, there is a brief description of the 3 areas to be discussed in the essay, and there is advanced analytical thinking.

An Advanced Level Thesis: Sophisticated Thesis: Although the Civil War resulted in the political emergence of the Republican Party and led to social gains for African Americans, blacks in the South were virtually abandoned by the North in 1877 and subsequently dominated by the white supremacist Democratic Party of the “Solid South”. Thus, to a larger extent, the Civil War did represent a revolution constitutionally and in national politics but it was not a complete revolution regarding social and political issues in the South. (Rating-Superior++) In this thesis the writer has taken a clear position on the question. The word “although” is used effectively to begin the thesis. It is important to note when an answer is not all one way or the other. The highest scores on the AP exam tend to be in this gray area.

The Introductory Paragraph STRUCTURING AN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH- Key Features:

Basic Features: 1. Establish the setting of the essay and introduce the reader to the time period of the question. The Civil War, occurring between the years 1861 and 1865, was the most devastating conflict in American History.

Basic Features Continued: 2. Provide an insightful comment that establishes the basis for analysis. In determining whether the Civil War was a revolution in American society, one must assess the extent to which society was changed by war.

Organize and set the stage for the thesis 3. Provide a “partition” that establishes the 3 major sub-topics you plan to discuss. Politically Socially Constitutionally

Thesis Statement Finish the paragraph with a clear thesis statement that establishes the purpose of the essay. DO NOT RECOPY THE QUESTION AS A THESIS STATEMENT!

Basic Features of the 5 paragraph essay Paragraph 1: Introduction and thesis Paragraph 2: Discuss your strongest point here! In this case, discuss political implications as organized around your thesis. Paragraph 3: Social implications Paragraph 4: Constitutional implications Paragraph 5: Conclusion…. In the final analysis,……. *Do not introduce any new information in the conclusion

The however paragraph, Although the Civil War resulted in the political emergence of the Republican Party and led to social gains for African Americans, blacks in the South were virtually abandoned by the North in 1877 and subsequently dominated by the white supremacist Democratic Party of the “Solid South”. Thus, to a larger extent, the Civil War did represent a revolution constitutionally and in national politics but it was not a complete revolution regarding social and political issues in the South In this thesis it is important to note that the thesis agrees that there was a revolution occurring in national politics, but not fully a revolution in the South. Therefore, you need to have a paragraph that explains why you don’t fully agree with all aspects of the question. This is the “however” paragraph which shows analytical thinking. You may not always have this paragraph for all essays.

Topic Sentences Write your thesis to show the reader the order in which you intend to prove your thesis. Always make the topic sentence of each supporting paragraph relate to the sub-parts of your thesis. Paragraph 2: Politically, by 1860, the Republican Party emerged nationally with the election of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln. **Topic sentences relates back to thesis. Add at least 3 pieces of evidence in the supporting paragraph to support the topic sentence!