Class Sample: Langston Hughes Thesis Statement
Langston Hughes uses poetry to allow black people to express
themselves
Showed how black people express themselves
Use blues & jazz
Literary criticism = different
Rhythmic slow nontraditional
Topic:
Direction:
Divisions:
Langston Hughes’ poetry
Influences on Harlem Renaissance
nontraditional rhythms & nontraditional diction
Original Thesis Statement:
Langston Hughes revealed the African American culture by
using nontraditional rhythms and diction.
Revised Thesis Statement:
During the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes’ poetry
illuminated the previously stifled African American culture
by incorporating a combination of musical rhythms as well
as cultural slang.
 Highlights relationship between divisions
 Emphasizes Hughes’ influence on Harlem Renaissance =
his impact/effect on the movement
Class Sample: Langston Hughes Topic Sentences
Revised Thesis Statement:
During the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes’
poetry illuminated the previously stifled African
American culture by incorporating a combination of
musical rhythms as well as cultural slang.
Division with two aspects:
biography and literary criticism
Ideas for Topic Sentence A:
Musical rhythms: poets who influenced him & metaphor
for culture
Topic Sentence A (draft):
Hughes’ musical rhythms were inspired by free verse
writers which critics saw as a metaphor for the African
American culture.
Ideas for Topic Sentence B:
Cultural Slang: places he lived & showed despair
Topic Sentence B (draft):
Hughes’ use of cultural slang was inspired by the places
he lived which revealed the despairing tone the African
Americans felt during the time period.