Writing a Thesis
Making an Argument:
What is your position on your leader?
An NHD Thesis
One sentence that presents an argument about the topic.
 Addresses a narrow topic.
 Explains what the researcher believes to be
the historical significance.
 Connects the topic to the NHD theme.
The body of the paper or the website > >
The script of the performance or documentary > >
The headings and captions in an exhibit > >
Henry Ford created the assembly line.
Henry Ford made cars more affordable with the
production of the Model T.
Henry Ford’s vision as an industrial leader led to the
development of the assembly line in the early 1900s.
Ford’s legacy as an industrialist reshaped American
culture by creating an automobile that was affordable for
the average American worker.
Think about ….
How do you define leadership?
What does it take to be a great leader?
Besides being a leader who has followers, there also needs
to be a goal,
motivation, a plan, action(s) taken, persistence to achieve,
…Just being a cool person will not keep people willing to
follow you for long…
What are the qualities that it takes to be a leader?
Brainstorm a list of words.
Which 3 are most important?
UNPACKING LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY
 Any leader should articulate a vision, have a plan for where society
is and where they want it to go. What is your leader’s vision?
 Does leader motivate others and how?
 Does your leader make effective decisions.
 Is your leader willing to confront difficult or challenging issues and
face them head on?
 How did person impact history?
Thesis = Topic + Theme + Impact.
3 Parts:
☛Topic
☛theme words are interwoven
☛Impact
☛ How did your person change an individual, community,
country, world?
☛ What was/is the historical impact?
☛ Did it have a societal, economic, political,
technological, or other change?
The 5 W’s
WHO deals with who is being affected or involved in the situation you are researching. Think of it like
the characters in a story.
WHAT is associated with the event you are researching, or what the “who” is involved in. This is a
very broad term that can pertain to almost anything you are studying. Are you looking at a war, treaty,
movement in history?
WHERE Specific locations are going to be your main target here, looking exactly where the event you
are researching took place. Within your project you may want to include information on why this event
took place in this particular location.
WHEN In this case, you are looking for a specific location in time instead of space. Include a time
frame if at all possible, such as, “The American Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865.”
WHY This is the most important element! Why is going to look at a couple of different things, but most
importantly why did an event happen and why was it important. Basically, you are going to want to look at
this through a lens of cause and effect; what caused it and what were the after effects. Remember to
pull in the theme: LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY!
Don’ts!
 Don’t include the kitchen sink!
 No I, we, they, us
 Leave out the facts - leave those for the
project - put the argument in
 “changed history forever” or “…the most
important date of all mankind”
An argument takes a stand on
an issue. It seeks to persuade
an audience of a point of view.
Night at the Museum is
a movie that portrays
the historical events.
Night at the Museum is
inaccurate in its portrayal
of historical events.
Description
Argument
Non-Examples
O Frederick Douglass
made a speech in
which he wondered
why slaves should
celebrate the Fourth
of July.
O Statement of fact.
Nothing to argue.
Non-Examples
O Frederick Douglass’
speech, What to the
Slave is the Fourth of
July, is the most
effective speech
ever.
O Offers only the
writer’s opinion.
There is no criteria
for why the speech is
effective.
Don’t: Jackie Robinson was a really important
black baseball player.
Do: Jackie Robinson played baseball at a time
when teams were segregated, black from white.
With the assistance of team manager Branch
Rickey, Robinson took action, desegregating Major
League Baseball as the first black ball player with
the Brooklyn Dodgers. He left a legacy opening
professional sports to African American athletes.
Don’t: I think Susan B. Anthony did good
things.
Do: Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s right
to vote. Through social action and her writings,
Anthony inspired thousands of women and men
to fight for suffrage, which eventually resulted in
the 19th amendment.
Think about ….
How do you define legacy?
What does it take to leave a legacy behind?
Questions to consider …
 Why is this person important—explain the
historical significance. Give three clear
reasons why this was important to history at
a local, state, national, and/or international
level
SOOOOOOO,
What happened?
Historic Impact: How did/does their legacy
ripple out into the bigger parts of history?
Sentence Frame
At a time when _____ _______________________________ (status
quo, circumstance),
_______________________________________________ (Topic),
showed leadership
by__________________________________________________.
The immediate impact was
______________________________________________________,
The long-term consequences, or legacy , included
_________________________________________.
At a time when blacks in Mississippi were not allowed to vote, and
Freedom Summer set the stage for revolutionary changes, Fannie Lou
Hamer showed leadership by helping to found the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party in 1964 and giving a memorably
passionate speech at the convention. Although there were early
failures and it was an arduous journey, Hamer’s leadership helped
result in the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Hamer’s leadership resulted in a
legacy of voting and political empowerment for black Mississippians.
Wait!! I’m still
confused. Could you
try explaining it
another way?
You are not just introducing your topic.
You are creating an argument that expresses
your topic’s significance and demonstrates
how the theme plays a central part.
What are you trying to prove?
30 Second Pitch
You have 30 seconds to explain the historical
significance of your leader. GO!