Make Your Case
An Introduction to
Thesis, Claims, and Evidence
Chicago Metro History Education Center
Special thanks to National History Day for the use of material from “A Guide to Historical Research through the National History Day program.” This presentation is made
possible by National History Day, Inc., and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The contents of these educational resources were developed under a grant from the Department
of Education, with additional support provided by the Fry Foundation. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education or
the Fry Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Make Your Case
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What does a History Fair student have in
common with an attorney in a courtroom?
Your thesis statement tells the
reader or viewer in 1-2 sentences
what your project will
attempt to prove or analyze.
A good thesis statement:
• Takes a stand by making a point which will be backed up
by evidence
• Has a narrow and specific focus
• Expresses one main idea
• Tells the viewer why the subject is historically significant,
and often suggests change over time
• Is presented as a statement, not a topic or question
• Is historical, not a statement about current events
If you are using the National History Day theme
“Debate and Diplomacy in History:
Successes, Failures, Consequences,”
you should integrate the theme into the
analysis presented in your thesis.
You can use the words of the theme explicitly
or you can express the relationship to
the theme by using different words that
convey the same idea.
Let’s help this student from Milwaukee
strengthen their thesis statement.*
What’s wrong with this thesis statement?
Immigration to Milwaukee
*Taken from A Guide to Historical Research through the National History Day Program
How did Lizzie Black Kander make a
difference to Milwaukee’s Jewish
immigrant community?
Lizzie Black Kander and Jewish Immigration to
Milwaukee from 1880-1920.
Lizzie Black Kander used her cooking classes
and The Settlement Cookbook to teach
Milwaukee’s Jewish immigrants about
American culture.
Through her cooking classes and The Settlement
Cookbook, Lizzie Black Kander introduced
Milwaukee’s Jewish immigrants to American
culture, which helped them assimilate and
learn how to avoid ethnic discrimination.
Judge your own draft thesis statement! Does it…
• Take a stand?
• Is the topic narrow?
• Is the thesis clear and specific?
• Can the assertion be backed up by evidence?
• Does it express one main idea?
• Does it tell the viewer why the subject
is historically significant? Does it answer the “So
what?” question or show change over time?
• Is it presented as a statement, not a
topic or question?
• Is it historical?
If you were creating the Lizzie
Black Kander project, what types
of primary and secondary sources
would you seek out in order to
develop and support your thesis?
What’s your evidence?
PRIMARY
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Photographs
Map
Census
Letters
Interviews or Oral
Histories, Memoirs
Newspapers
Cookbooks
“Rights” organizations or
protective associations
SECONDARY
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Encyclopedias of…
Books and articles about
settlements, immigration,
Milwaukee, Jewish
community, food and
cooking, assimilation
Biography
Interview with expert
Check these theses
1)
After the 1919 riot the means of enforcing segregation
became more accepted, more formal, often more violent,
and completely legal.
2)
Pesticides kill thousands of farmworkers and must be
stopped.
3)
How did The Jungle make an impact on the foods we
eat?
4)
The Juvenile Court system was established to remove
children from the adult criminal justice system and help
them reform, but over the years it became a source of
punishment and imprisonment.
5)
Richard J. Daley died in 1976.