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The thesis is the thread of your paper that ties together all the pieces of the cloth—the evidence. It is the organizing main argument. Your job is to tell why and or how something in the historical record is important, not just a report of facts.
For example, if your paper topic was on the Sioux, then your thesis might be something like this:
Sioux people in Canada are different from Sioux in America, because they have experienced different histories with the movement of settlers, governments, warfare, and attachments to place. The Canadian tribes show a greater retention of cultural tradition, but less economic or social stability.
Your thesis statement should be organized into one to three sentences. In addition it is important to turn that statement into a question. Such as with the above example,
“How was the Canadian Sioux experience with westward expansion different from the American Sioux?”
The outline serves as the bridge between your notecards and the writing of your paper. The process forces you to put your notecards into an order that makes logical sense to your reader. It allows you to focus on the structure of your paper without worrying about the style of your prose. With a well-crafted outline, you will find that your paper almost writes itself.
Together with your thesis statement, you must submit a detailed outline that captures the order and hierarchy of every relevant notecard you have gathered.
The outline should follow the traditional hierarchy ofThe outline may be typed or carefully hand written. Like your notecards, you should use shorthand when writing your outline.