Writing Instructions and Practices
WRITING A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE THESIS STATEMENT
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- ANALYZING POLITICAL CARTOONS
WRITING A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE THESIS STATEMENTA thesis statement is a one-sentence answer to a historical problem suggested by the essay question/statement. When evaluating the validity of a prompt, it is possible to agree, disagree, or do a little of both. As long as a position can be defended, it is permissible to challenge the ideas expressed by the question/statement. It is, however, imperative that the statement can be supported a contrary position with facts. In many cases, there will be agreement with the ideas expressed in the prompt and a positive thesis statement will be the result. For example, a prompt that suggests expansion into Texas and Oregon greatly influenced the outcome of the presidential election in 1844 is an accurate summary of the issued of the campaign. It would be answered with a positive thesis statement that affirms the validity of the prompt. On the other hand, the question/statement may be confronted because it is an overstatement or even inaccurate about a historical event or phenomenon. In this case, it is appropriate to disagree with the ideas expressed and write a negative thesis statement that challenges the ideas of the prompt. For example, a question/statement that suggests the Mexican War promoted American unity in the 1840s cannot be defended, and the thesis statement would negate the assertions being made. A final possibility is a question/statement that is partially correct. It may express some ideas that you can defend and others with which you disagree. Here, use a positive/negative thesis—that is, one which acknowledges both agreement and disagreement with the ideas expressed by the prompt. For example, an essay statement that credited the Compromise of 1850 with contributing to a sectional harmony could only be accepted as partially accurate. While recognizing that the Compromise soothed tensions briefly, it also needs to be pointed out these sectional conflicts flared up again within four years. Thus, a prompt would be written that addressed both the positive and negative aspects of the prompt. Practice To practice writing positive, negative and positive/negative thesis statements, look a the following essay prompts and their respective thesis statements. Notice that each prompt was converted into a clarifying question and the answer to that question became the thesis statement. By transforming the prompt to a question, it can better be determined the degree to which there is agreement or disagreement with the ideas being expressed. 1. “The Polk administration’s policies toward Texas were the primary cause of the Mexican War.” Assess the validity of this statement. Question: Did President Polk’s policies cause the Mexican War? Positive thesis statement: President Polk’s aggressive and warlike policies toward Texas annexation caused armed conflict with Mexico in 1846 The writer aggress with the ideas in the prompt and will demonstrate that Polk’s policies were responsible for causing the war.
Assess the validity of this statement. Question: How effective was popular sovereignty in dealing with slavery in the territories? Negative thesis statement: Rather than promoting sectional harmony, the implementation of popular sovereignty became a divisive means of dealing with the question of slavery in the territory. The writer does not agree with the prompt’s statement about the effectiveness of popular sovereignty. He/she will use evidence to show how ineffective popular sovereignty was I n resolving the slavery question in the territories.
Assess the validity of this statement. Question: Did Henry Clay lose his political effectiveness in the 1850s? Positive/negative thesis statement: Although Henry Clay lost much of his political influence in the 1850s, he did author one last union-saving measure that solidified his place in history as “the Great Compromiser.” The writer sees both positive and negative ideas in the prompt. He/she plans to introduce some evidence to show Clay’s diminished influence but also to acknowledge his important role in putting together the Compromise of 1850, the last of his many compromises.
Assess the validity of the statement. Question: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Positive Thesis: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. “President Polk’s “failure of nerve” cost America its rights to the 54’40˚boundary of Oregon.” Assess the validity of the statement. Question: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Negative Thesis: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. “The land acquired in 1848 hurt the United States more than it benefited the nation’s development.. Assess the validity of the statement. Question: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Positive/Negative Thesis: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cartoons are very difficult to analyze. When students first look at a cartoon, they are bombarded with data and some may be unable to find the meaning in the drawing. Without the structure of topic sentences and paragraphs to guide them, they may go into “information overload” as they try to absorb everything presented in the cartoon all at once. They do not dissect the cartoon piece by piece and cannot see how the representation can be use as part of the DBQ response. Treat the cartoon as a historical source and establish a logical, step-by-step process for analyzing it, as is done with documents and charts. The worksheet below provides a systematic mode for reading cartoons. By using it, key elements of the representation can be identified and ultimately a development of a summary of the cartoon’s information can be used in the DBQ answer. Look at the following worksheets and cartoon on the election of 1844. Complete the worksheets and discuss your answers with the class. 
Figure 1: Political Climbing Boys, Anonymous, 1844 Cartoon Analysis Worksheet What is the date of the cartoon? ________________________________________ What is the significant event(s) was or were going on for the nation at the time of the cartoon? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Who is the author of the cartoon? What do you know about his/her background? Is political bias apparent in the cartoon? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What historical figures are in the cartoon? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What does the caption/title mean? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What label/phrases are used within the cartoon? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do the labels within the cartoon support or challenge the caption? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What objects do you see in the cartoon? List the three most prominent. Are the objects symbols or stereotypes? Explain._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summarize the point of the cartoon. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Who would support/oppose the message of the cartoon? Why? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Shorter Version (TACOS) What is the date of the cartoon? _________________________________________ Who is the author? ___________________________________________________ What does the caption/title mean? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What objects do you see in the cartoon? List the three most prominent. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summarize the point. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.79 Mb. Share with your friends:
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