- compose an original thesis statement for your topic, and,

- explain how the evidence supports your thesis statement.

(1.5 to 2 pages, double spaced, 1" margins, 12 point Times New Roman Font, Turabian source citations, Word, Pages, PDF only).

Instruction:

Note that for this assignment:

You will use the research question (Of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, who had the better approach to fighting racism and reversing Jim Crow?) as the foundation of your thesis statement. In other words, your thesis statement will be an answer to the research question (Of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, who had the better approach to fighting racism and reversing Jim Crow?)
The thesis statement can be thought of as the main argument for the paper/project. It is your own conclusion, based on your own interpretation of the sources.
To support your thesis statement, you will use specific evidence from the sources. You will make a clear claim about how a particular piece of evidence supports your thesis statement. These are the sub-arguments, and again, they are your own claims as to how evidence supports your own original thesis statement.
Developing your Thesis Statement:

To develop your thesis statement, provide a direct answer to the research question, and provide three specific pieces of evidence from the text that support your contention. This might, and probably should evolve as you develop your project - but it is important to take a stand and prepare to argue it.

Example:

Topic: King Philip's War (1620 - 1680)

Research Question: Did the colonists have reason to provoke King Philip's War?

Potential Thesis Statement: Yes, the colonists had reason to provoke King Philip's War, as evidenced by Metacom's repeated attacks, the needs of the many new British colonists arriving, and the threat posed by increasing Native American alliances.

To break it down, your thesis statement needs four parts:

1. An answer to the Research Question.

2. Evidence 1/3

3. Evidence 2/3

4. Evidence 3/3

Let's see how the example accomplishes this:

Potential Thesis Statement: Yes, the colonists had reason to provoke King Philip's War, as evidenced by Metacom's repeated attacks, the needs of the many new British colonists arriving, and the threat posed by increasing Native American alliances.

1. An answer to the Research Question: Yes, the colonists had reason to provoke King Philip's War

2. Evidence 1/3:  Metacom's repeated attacks

3. Evidence 2/3: the needs of the many new British colonists arriving

4. Evidence 3/3: the threat posed by increasing Native American alliances

Making your your claims:

In the body of your paper, you will explain how each of the pieces of evidence you mention in your thesis statement support it. You should plan to devote at least one paragraph to each claim, but you may find that you need more.

The key to making a claim is stating how it supports the thesis statement clearly, and following that clear statement with a discussion that explains it in further depth.  Continuing with the  example above, here are some ways you might approach making a clear claim.

Evidence 1/3:  Metacom's repeated attacks

Claim: Metacom's repeated attacks show that the colonists had reason to provoke King Philip's War.

Support/Explanation: Discuss what happened during the attacks, when they were, how they led colonists to provoke the war.

Evidence 2/3: the needs of the many new British colonists arriving

Claim: The needs of the many new British colonists arriving to New England reveal that reasons the colonists provoked King Philip's War.

Support/Explanation: Discuss the different needs, and how they provided reason to provoke the war.

Evidence 3/3: the threat posed by increasing Native American alliances

Claim: The threat posed by increasing Native American alliances provided ample reason for the colonists to provoke King Philip's War.

Support/Evidence: Discuss the different alliances, and how they led the colonists to provoke the war.