1.
HIST 302: The Thesis
An effective analytical paper relies on a clear thesis.
The thesis is not a fact or summary of facts (these have no meaning on their own), but a historical claim worth discussing (arguable).
It briefly (one or two lines, max) reveals your argument, your orientation, and your conclusions
(what you will prove, defend, and illustrate in the rest of the paper).
The best thesis answers why, how, caused by what, or with what consequences (thereby addressing the “So what?” question your reader might raise).
A good thesis statement:
Is a claim or assertion, not a statement of fact or observation.
2.
WEAK:
BETTER:
Russia defeated Napoleon’s Grande Armee in 1814.
Because of Kutuzov’s strategic retreats and disruption of French supply lines,
Napoleon could not sustain the occupation of Moscow.
Is a claim or assertion, not an announcement or intention.
WEAK:
BETTER:
In this paper, I will show how the emancipation of Russia’s serfs came about.
Emancipation of the serfs in Russia was caused by fear of serf revolts, a devastating loss in the Crimean War, and Alexander II’s abolitionist sympathies.
Takes a stand, rather than offering options. 3.
WEAK:
BETTER:
There are some negative and positive aspects to Bakunin’s anarchism.
While Bakunin’s anarchism offered a revolutionary alternative to autocracy, it promoted the use of terror to achieve political ends.
4.
5.
Is a complete thought, not the title or topic.
WEAK:
BETTER:
Native Peoples and the Russian American Company
The Russian American Company relied on the Alutiiq peoples’ superior hunting skills to supply furs for export.
Chooses a single focus for development.
WEAK:
BETTER:
Tolstoy’s pacifism was a response to heightened Russian jingoism, and he corresponded with other political thinkers in India and the United States
Although Tolstoy’s pacifism was a specific response to heightened Russian jingoism, it inspired political thinkers outside of Russia to use non-violent methods to resist their oppressive governments.

6. Is specific, and avoids vague language.
WEAK:
BETTER:
The Decembrist revolt failed for many reasons.
Because of the social divide between Russian elites and the majority of the population, the Decembrists could not generate the necessary support to topple the autocracy.
7. Avoids question words.
WEAK:
BETTER:
In this paper, I will explore why the Russian intelligentsia and the police despised one another.
The polarization of the political right and left in late imperial Russia led the intelligentsia and the police to exaggerate the danger and evil posed by the other.
Avoids unprovable opinion. 8.
WEAK:
BETTER:
The life of a Russian serf was awful.
Taxation, unending toil, and a poor diet made it difficult for Russian serfs to subsist, let alone to support national development projects.
9. Is concise.
WEAK:
BETTER:
The development of populism was a complicated process, caused by the guilt of the intelligentsia due to its social privileges. When they arrived in the villages to learn, peasants either ignored or shunned them. The result was that the revolutionaries decided to carry out the revolution on their own.
The rise of terrorist revolutionary cells may be traced to the failure of the idealistic and isolated populist movement of the 1870s.
10. Is historically significant.
WEAK:
BETTER:
The Crimean War shows the inhumanity of man to man.
The Crimean War resulted from the Russian need to flex its imperial muscles in
Europe, at any cost.
11. Avoids the “straw man” fallacy.
WEAK: Some might say that the Russian peasant revolts were the expressions of bestial and immature villains, but they were actually the articulation of genuine village grievances.
BETTER: Although Russian landowners often saw peasant revolts as expressions of bestial and immature villains, they were actually the articulation of genuine village grievances.