History Essay

CONSTRUCTING A THESIS STATEMENT IN CANADIAN HISTORY

To construct an effective thesis for a research paper, one good technique is to show a relationship between two or more relevant concepts. Consider the lists below, and mentally experiment by connecting some of them.

Element of History / Relationship Terms / Effect on History
War
Battle
Invention
Technology
Military General
Prime Minister
Person
Event / -was a defining moment
-was responsible for
-about
-was instrumental in
-supported
-weakened
-strengthened
-was superior to
-was inferior to
-had a positive effect
-has a negative effect
-caused
-brought
-led to
-fragmented
-caused turmoil
-destroyed
-undermined
-brought
-affected
-saved / -Economic prosperity
-Economic decline
-Military power
-Military collapse
-political independence
-economic stability or instability
-Political stability or instability
-Rise of a nation
-Fall of a nation
-Influencing another culture
-Dominating/conquering
-contributed to victory
-contributed to autonomy
-social effects
-political effects
-economic effects
-military effects

Examples

·  The World Wars were directly responsible to the increase of women’s rights.

·  Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s decision to scrap the Avro Arrow had a negative effect on Canada.

Thesis Formation Name: ______

Your Chosen Topic: ______

Write down the thesis statement and supporting evidence.

Thesis Statement
(answer to the controversial question and defining moment question) / Argument / Evidence that Proves the Argument
& FOOTNOTE
Footnote Instructions
This is a good essay because it has a clear thesis, strong arguments and excellent writing style.

Documentation in Essays:

How to FOOTNOTE

http://www.aresearchguide.com/index.html
In academic research papers and in any other writing that borrows information from sources, the borrowed information (such as quotations, summaries, paraphrases, statistics or any facts of ideas that are not common knowledge), must be clearly documented.
WHAT ARE FOOTNOTES?
Footnotes are used to give credit to sources of any material borrowed, summarized or paraphrased. They are intended to refer readers to the exact pages of the works listed in the Bibliography section. [1][1]
WHERE DO FOOTNOTES GO?
There are TWO parts to a footnote:
1) immediately after a citation(s) (quote, statistic, etc.) a small number is inserted (each citation is given a number in chronological order)[2][2]
2) at the bottom (foot) of the very same page where the direct citation(s) were made, a footnote is placed that consists of the same small number as the citation and all the publishing information. [3][3]


HOW DO I FOOTNOTE USING MY COMPUTER?
Step 1: Click on insert [4]
Step 2: click on footnote
Step 3: choose footnote
Step 4: click OK
Step 5: type in publication information as follows:
Author’s First Name, Author’s Last Name, Title of Source.
(Place of Publishing: Publisher, copyright date) page number.
Step 6: scroll back up to your essay

[1][1] G. Wayne Miller, How to Footnote in Research Essays (New York: Oxford University Press) 245.

[2][2] Alan Dundes, “Footnote”, World Book Encyclopaedia, 2000 ed.

[3][3] I. Lee, “Sample Footnotes in MLA Style”, A Research Guide for Students
http://www.aresearchguide.com/samplefootnote.html (September 30, 2004)

[4] Ms. King practising J