Great Canadian Historical Figure Thesis Essay
This research based project is a major part of your overall mark in this course.
There are three components: a properly formatted outline, an in-class debate and a
formal essay submission.
The Task:
The first stage in this assignment is to select an acceptable historical figure and
begin to research and construct an essay outline that argues the significance of
your individual. The purpose of your essay is to prove that your Canadian figure is
of great historical significance. In order for you to do this successfully you will
need to conduct intensive research. This means that you should be able to provide
evidence that you have used a minimum of 6 separate sources in your research.
Useful Websites
INFOTRAC- http://infotrac.galegroup.com
**you must sign in**
username: holycross
Password: holycross
Wikipedia Encyclopedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
CBC archives- http://archives.cbc.ca
CBC Greatest Canadian- http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/
Essay Outline
Here is an outline to get you started on your essay. You should look to answer
these questions in order to write a quality essay. Your research in these areas will
provide you with a skeleton for your essay. Remember that you are trying to
prove Canadian historical significance, you may have to interpret what you read
in order to suit the purpose of the assignment. This is the challenge of
persuasive writing!
You are expected to use the following areas (Accomplishments, Impact & Legacy) as
the skeleton of your argument. You should be looking to answer these questions
with as much detail as possible in researching your person. The information you
accumulate for each of these sections should appear on a separate sheet when you
hand in your outline. Please include a formal title page with your work. Remember
to record the source for each piece of information you find!
Your outline submission should be typed!
Main Points:
Paragraph(s): Accomplishments
Look to answer these questions:
 What have they done in their area of expertise (career) that is extraordinary?
 What awards have they received because of their contributions to society?
Paragraph(s): Impact
Look to answer these questions:
 how has society/culture been affected or changed as a result of your person?
 How have people benefited from the work of your person?
 Have they inspired other successful people or groups?
Paragraph(s): Legacy
Look to answer these questions:
 What has your person done that still influences people today?
 Are there buildings, monuments, scholarships, institutions that have been named
after them? (Ex. Schools, stadiums, statues, parks, hospitals, etc.)
 What have other famous people said about your person? Have they been honoured
in any way?
**Remember that each of these themes should be a separate paragraph in your
essay.
Recording Sources
It is important to remember to record the source information when you have found
information to be used in your essay. The source is simply the resource (website, book,
etc.) that you used to find the information. This information will be an essential part of
your first draft. Here are two common examples:
Website:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial & Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication).
Title of Article/Document. Date of Retrieval, from http://www.webaddress.com
Book:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial & Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication).
Title of Book (edition #). City of Publication: Publisher in Brief.
Topic List: Great 20th Century Canadian Historical Figures
1. Pierre E. Trudeau
2. Rene Levesque
3. Wayne Gretzky
4. James Naismith
5. Brian Mulroney
6. Jean Chretien
7. Mackenzie King
8. Wilfred Laurier
9. Nellie McClung
10. Henri Bourassa
11. Maurice Richard
12. John Diefenbaker
13. Lester B. Pearson
14. Robert Borden
15. Louis St. Laurent
16. John McCrae
17. David Suzuki
18. J.S. Woodsworth
19. Leonard Cohen
20. Arthur Meighen
21. Margaret Atwood
22. Adam Beck
23. Joni Mitchell
24. Rick Hansen
25. Marshall McLuhan
26. Joe Clark
27. Moses Znaimer
28. Craig Kielburger
29. Terry Fox
30. Oscar Peterson
31. Agnes Macphail
32. Roberta Bondar
33. Sir Arthur Currie
34. Billy Bishop
35. Fredrick Banting
36. Kim Campbell
37. Emily Carr
38. Emily Murphy
39. Tommy Douglas
40. Bobby Orr
41. Gordie Howe
42. Max Aitken
43. Norman Bethune
44. Tom Thomson
45. Jean Vanier
46. Joey Smallwood
47. Lucien Bouchard
48. Maurice Duplessis
49. Romeo Dallaire
50. Stompin’ Tom Connors
51. Don Cherry
52. Paul Martin
53. Stephen Harper
54. Sarah McLachlan
55. Bryan Adams
56. Ernie Coombs
57. Louise Arbour
58. C.D. Howe
59. Robert Munsch
60. Steve Nash