Writing a Thesis
A thesis statement for an essay response in history will:
1. directly answer the question.
2. tell the reader your position on the question.
3. tell the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. (If you think
of your essay as a “movie,” then your thesis would be the “movie
preview”.)
4. be a single sentence in the opening paragraph. For the purpose of a
thesis statement in history, the introduction of the essay doesn’t need
to be anything more than the thesis.
5. show a connection back to the question by retaining some of the
original language from the question but does NOT repeat the question.
6. contain three SPRITE categories.
A thesis is the second most important thing to do when writing an essay response
for history. After completing SPRITE you will need to identify the three strongest
SPRITE categories that you can build a thesis from for your essay. A strong essay will
only be written with a strong thesis. SPRITE with very little information will produce a
weak thesis which will result in a poor essay.
When writing a thesis statement you should review all the information that you
have researched for SPRITE. Look for patterns or common ideas that will give you
plenty of information to write about. Figure out a way to take all the information you plan
to cover in the essay and condense the main ideas into a one sentence statement that will
be your thesis.
Which do you think is the best thesis statement for the question following question? Rank
the thesis statements below 1 – 4, with 1 being the strongest and 4 being the weakest.
What contributions did the Ancient Greeks and Romans contribute to modern law?
1. There were many contributions made by the ancient Greeks and Romans towards
modern law.
2. Examples of modern law can be seen through the concept of trial by jury, and the
emphasis on the individual.
3. The foundations of modern law were laid with the spreading of Jewish moral
codes, ancient Greek philosophy of reason, and the establishment of citizenship
by the Romans.
4. The Greeks created a jury system that was fair and allowed all citizens to be tried
fairly and therefore it helped uphold the law.