Writing Workshop: Examining Examples of student work
With your group, critique the following thesis statements—specifically identifying strengths and weaknesses
with each student sample. Remember, it doesn’t matter how well you say nothing; it is still nothing.
Introduction to the History Thesis Statement
Examples:
1. The Chesapeake and New England were different socially, politically, and economically. 2. The political and social differences that emerged in the Chesapeake and New England were so important that they eventually led to the Civil War and still effect the North and South today. 3. The divergent cultures of the Chesapeake and Massachusetts resulted from the different motivations for settlement, the economic opportunities provided from the land, and the political organization of these colonies. 4. There were important differences between the Chesapeake and New England that became larger over time as each region became more specialized and complex. 5. The growth of plantation, cash crop economies in the Chesapeake and the diversified economy New England helped shape the social structure of these colonies and the differing forms of governments in each region. However, the emerging sectionalism evident in their development resulted primarily from religious motivations for settlement in New England and the individualistic, economic motivations for settlement in the Chesapeake. 6. Despite the major differences between New England and the Chesapeake, the regions both unjustly enslaved Africans and mistreated Native Americans, which is a violation of Christian morality. 7. New England developed into a relatively democratic region with a diverse economy due to the towns that centered on religious devotion while the Chesapeake became a region with strong economic and political hierarchies due to the plantation economies that came to dominate in Maryland and Virginia. A strong history thesis statement must accomplish the following: