Response Paper Guidelines: HIS 110B
1) Each paper must be between 750 words 1000 words. Use 1 inch margins. Submit on
time.
2) Each response essay must have a thesis, and develop an argument based on the thesis.
You will have freedom to craft your own thesis for each response paper, which should
highlight your reactions to the course reading.
3) UNDERLINE YOUR THESIS.
4) Use specific evidence or examples from the assigned readings to support your thesis.
Put your ideas first in these papers and defend your analysis and interpretation of the
readings with specific examples from the readings.
5) Rather than only quoting from the readings, try to paraphrase information to support
your thesis. However, when you use quotes, use SHORT quotes from the reading to
support your thesis. Avoid block quotes of more than 2 lines.
6) Whether you quote or paraphrase information from the assigned readings, to get a
passing grade on these assignments, the paper MUST include citations in either MLA OR
Chicago style.
7) Use appropriate spelling, grammar and punctuation. Make sure to use the spell and
grammar check functions in your word processor before submitting your paper. Even
better, proofread your essay for clarity and style. Good writing requires revision! Try
reading the paper out loud to yourself to revise before submission; sometimes it’s easier
to hear when sentences or phrases don’t sound right than to see it while reading.
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Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History
4c Developing a thesis
A history paper, like many other kinds of academic writing, usually takes the form of an argument in
support of a thesis — a statement that reflects the conclusion you have reached about your topic
after a careful analysis of the sources.
Since the thesis is the central idea that drives a history essay, it is important that you understand
exactly what a thesis is. Imagine that you have been given the following essay assignment.
Discuss the Role of nonviolent resistance in the Indian independence movement.
As you develop your thesis statement, keep the following in mind.
What a thesis is not:
• A thesis is not a description of your paper topic. Although your reader should not have to guess
what your paper is about, the thesis must do more than announce your subject or the purpose for
which you are writing. “This paper is about the role of nonviolent resistance in the Indian
independence movement” is not a thesis statement; nor is “The purpose of this paper is to describe
the methods Mohandas Gandhi used to gain India’s independence from Great Britain.” These
sentences
merely restate the assigned topic.
• A thesis is not a question. Although historians always ask questions as they read (see 3a for advice
on active reading) and a thesis statement arises from the historian’s attempt to answer a question, a
question is not, in itself, a thesis. “Why were Mohandas Gandhi’s methods successful in the movement
to achieve India’s independence from Great Britain?” is a valid historical question, but it is not a
thesis statement.
• A thesis is not a statement of fact. While historians deal in factual information about the past, a
fact, however interesting, is simply a piece of data. The statement “Mohandas Gandhi led the
movement for India’s independence from Britain” is not a thesis.
• A thesis is not a statement of opinion. Although a thesis statement must reflect what you have
concluded, it cannot be a simple statement of
belief or preference. The assertion “Mohandas Gan-dhi is my favorite political leader of the twentieth
century” does not constitute a thesis.
In short, a thesis is not a description of your paper topic, a question, a statement of fact, or a
statement of opinion, although it is sometimes confused with all of the above. Rather, a thesis is a
statement that reflects what you have concluded about the topic of your paper, based on a critical
analysis and interpretation of the source materials you have examined.
For the assignment given above, the following sentence is an acceptable thesis.
From the moment that Mohandas Gandhi decided to respond to force with acts of civil disobedience,
British rule of India was doomed; his indictment of British colonial policy in the court of public opinion
did far more damage to the British military than any weapon could.
You should note three things about this statement (next page).
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What a Thesis is
• First, while the thesis is not itself a question, it is an answer to a question — in this case, the
question posed above: “Why were Mohandas Gandhi’s methods successful in the movement to
achieve India’s independence from Great Britain?” A thesis usually arises from the questions you
pose of the text or texts as you engage in active reading.
• Second, the thesis is specific. In attempting to answer the historical question raised above, the
writer did not make a broad generalization like “Gandhi was successful because people thought he
was a good person” or “Gandhi succeeded because the British were treating the Indians badly.”
Rather, the thesis makes a specific claim: that the contrast between Gandhi’s use of civil disobedience
and the use of force by the British had a significant impact on public opinion.
• Third, a thesis is always a debatable point, a conclusion with which a thoughtful reader might
disagree. In other words, the thesis makes an assertion or a claim that sets up an argument. It is
the writer’s job, in the body of a paper, to provide an argument based on evidence that shows his or
her reasons for reaching a particular conclusion and that will convince the reader that his or her
thesis is a valid one.
The thesis, then, is the heart of your paper. It presents what you have concluded about the topic
under discussion and provides the focal point for the rest of the essay.
4d Constructing an argument
One reason you might find it difficult to develop a thesis statement is that you feel hesitant to come to
independent conclusions about the meaning and significance of the materials you are working with.
After all, what if your interpretation is wrong? It often seems safer just to reiterate the topic, or ask a
question, or state a fact with which no one could argue. But, as noted in 4c, to write an effective
history paper, you must be willing to reach a conclusion about your subject that could be challenged
or debated by an intelligent reader. While this may seem intimidating, keep in mind that historical
issues are seldom clear-cut and that professional historians, working from the same sources, often
disagree with one another or form different interpretations. It is unlikely that there is only one
correct point of view concerning the topic you have been assigned or only one correct interpretation
of the sources you are examining. You do not need to convince your readers that your thesis or
argument represents the only possible interpretation of the evidence. You do, however, need to
convince them that your interpretation is valid. You will be able to do this only if you have provided
concrete evidence from reliable sources in support of your argument and have responded honestly to
opposing positions.