What is a Thesis Statement?
Develop a Thesis Statement
NHD projects should do more than just tell a story. Every exhibit, performance, documentary, paper and web site should make a point about its topic. To do this, you must develop your own argument of the historical impact of the person, event, pattern or idea you are studying. The point you make is called a thesis statement. A thesis statement is not the same as a topic. Your thesis statement explains what you believe to be the impact and significance of your topic in history.
Topic: Battle of Gettysburg
Thesis Statement: The battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the Civil War. It turned the tide of the war from the South to the North, pushing back Lee's army that would never fight again on Northern soil and bringing confidence to the Union army.
- Thesis Statement:
- The thesis statement is that sentence or two in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the essay is going to be about
- A thesis statement declares what you believe and what you intend to prove. A good thesis statement makes the difference between a thoughtful research project and a simple retelling of facts.
- …the function of a thesis statement is to introduce the reader to the purpose of the document and outline the major topics that will be covered to achieve that purpose.
- A thesis statement is a statement in an essay that you plan to support, discuss or prove. Not all thesis statements can be empirically proven, but many of them represent an argument. A thesis statement should also stand out as an indicator of the clear direction in which you will take your essay. It should be strongly worded, impossible to miss, and in shorter essays of a few pages, it should show up in the first paragraph or introduction of your paper.
- The thesis statement is that sentence or two in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the essay is going to be about
