1. Journal # 8 What do you know about thesis statements? What do you want to know more about regarding thesis statements?

2. The Thesis Statement Narrows your subject to a single, central idea that you want readers to gain from your essay. Claims something specific and significant about your subject. Conveys your purpose or reason for writing. Often concisely previews the arrangement of ideas.

3. Thesis Statements HOWWHAT SO WHAT + = Significance Form/Style Content

4. SO WHAT WHAT/TOPIC HOW

5. Lets Practice!!! Please get out a note card Write your name in the top left corner Please write a thesis statement that answers ONE of the following question… 1. How/Why did the Black Plague have a direct relation to the start of the Renaissance? 1. What change or reform would lead to a more successful education system in the United States?

6. Trade with someone Read their thesis statements Does it have? How? What? So What? Is it a provable argument? Does it flow?

7. Trade with someone Read their thesis statements Does it have? How? What? So What? Is it a provable argument? Does it flow?

8. The Bad Too broad The Renaissance sparked in European minds the transformation of artists into individual achievers and artwork into a form of expression. The Black Death was an extremely influential part of Europe’s history which negatively impacted the economic, religious, and personal aspects of Europe and its people.

9. The Bad Too specific The public’s demand for the destruction of the Berlin Wall led to the eventual reunification of Germany. The pentathlon event was one of the original events from the Ancient Olympics and remains as a part of the Modern Olympics representing, as it has changed over time, the change in what society thinks is most important in athletics.

10. The Bad Too obvious The French Revolution was an epoch of progression and downfall which is progressively reflected in governmental aspects of France throughout history.

11. The Ugly Un-provable The bombing of Pearl Harbor indirectly caused the Cold War because it drew America into WWII, creating two superpowers that split Europe between two new factions. The modifications made to the Olympics throughout history fostered its purpose by establishing peaceful relations among European nations, which consequently improved their economy. As the industrial revolution progressed, and with the protection from governments in place recognizing the plight of women, women in the workforce began to feel empowered and their lives became more manageable.

12. The Good John Locke’s enlightened ideas about natural human rights challenged traditional views and inspired societal changes that ultimately led to the French Revolution. The fall of the Berlin Wall, optimistically foreseen as the final step of German unification, proved to be in reality the beginning of an arduous struggle for the two nations to economically and socially unite.

13. The Good Oliver Cromwell’s religious upbringing and role in the English Civil War led him to become a talented military leader and an innovative yet effective ruler for England during an age of absolute monarchs. The Continental System, in combination with events of the Napoleonic Wars, proved to be a key factor that would eventually help Britain to lead the way in the Industrial Revolution.

14. Thesis Rubric