Developing Your Own Thesis

Starting a Historical Analysis Paper

What is a thesis?

• A thesis is the main idea that you construct your paper around.

• The thesis generally explains why or how something happened.

• Your thesis will take a stand on a historical issue or problem.

• Your essay should attempt to convince the reader of something.

Choosing a topic

• First you must narrow the topic down to something that interests you:

• Start with topics that we have studied.– Which units of study interest you?– Examine the terms that we learned within the

unit.– Which of these terms could be possible topics for

your thesis?

The thesis statement

ANSWERS

the thesis question

Developing your thesis question:• Once you have decided upon a topic of study, your

thesis question must be:1. Specific – do not have a topic that is too broad or wide. For

example:

Did imperialism have a positive impact?

– Instead ask yourself the “when, what, where, why, how and whom” questions in order to focus your question:

Did British imperialism in Kenya at the turn of the 20th century have a positive impact on the native peoples?

Developing your thesis question:• Once you have decided upon a topic of study, your

thesis question must be:2. Controversial– Make sure that the question isn’t too obvious. For example:

Was Emiliano Zapata an important figure in the Mexican Revolution?

– Instead ask yourself what might be argued about the topic.

Was Emiliano Zapata’s focus on his local village damaging to the overall cause of the revolution?

Developing your thesis question:• Once you have decided upon a topic of study, your thesis

question must be:

3. Be sure that it is in the form of a question.4. Be sure that you can locate sources about the topic.

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One common problem: • Don’t focus on “what if” questions:

What if Africans would have industrialized first?

• This is impossible to prove! We can only guess.