Prepare: In order to successfully complete this week’s assignments, read the following chapters from the text, Essaying the Past: How to Read, Write, and Think about History:

 

Chapter 5: Search Engines, Research Ingenuity
Chapter 6: How to Read a Book without Ever Getting to Chapter One
Chapter 7: Analysis: The Intersection of Reading and Writing
Chapter 8: Making a Case: An Argument in Three Parts
Appendix E: Web of Lies? Weighing the Internet

 

Reflect: A strong history paper is driven by an analytic thesis statement. An analytic thesis will let the reader know the argument you intend to make and is a definite assertion of your answer to a question. It should present a precise claim, which you can then support with specific evidence from primary source texts and relevant scholarly sources.

 

The thesis addresses these issues:

 

What is your point?
What are you trying to prove?

 

A good thesis has the following characteristics:

 

It is analytic, rather than descriptive. It explains how or why what you are asserting is important.
It is precise. A statement so general or so “safe” that it fails to present a strong position is a weak thesis.
It is something worth arguing about. Read your thesis and ask yourself, “so what?” Why is this claim significant?
It is clearly and convincingly supported by the rest of the essay.

 

Write: Consider the definition of a strong, analytic thesis statement presented above. In your initial post of at least 250-300 words:

Explain the historical context most directly relevant to your chosen topic.
Describe potential sources that are relevant to your chosen topic.
Present your preliminary analytic thesis statement.
Support your work by providing properly-cited references to at least two sources you plan to use in your paper.