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Writing a thesis

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  Quote Kevin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Writing a thesis
    Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 02:51
I've got a midterm exam in Advanced Placement US History coming up in three days and I need help stating a thesis with a prompt like this for an essay.

.To what extent and for what reasons did the policies of the Federal Government from 1865 to 1900 violate the principles of Laissez-Faire. Which advocated minimal governmental intervention in the economy? Consider with specific reference to the three following areas of policy: railroad land grants, control of interstate commerce and antitrust activities.

Thank you to anyone who would like to help me with this I'm in kind of a rush with everything else going on.        

Edited by Kevin - 17-Jan-2008 at 00:41
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  Quote Constantine XI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 04:21
How many words is this "thesis" meant to be?
 
Mine had 20,000 as a minimum, and it ended up being 34,000
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  Quote Ponce de Leon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 05:15
Thesis' are overrated

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  Quote Constantine XI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 05:47
Originally posted by Ponce de Leon

Thesis' are overrated

 
Theses
 
And yes, they kind of are.
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  Quote Parnell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 15:14

How hard are they? I have to do one in two years time. That;ll be fun.

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  Quote Cataln Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Jan-2008 at 16:40
AP US History is a high school class, so it's a thesis for ... I'm guessing ... a DBQ.  In other words, a sentence which provides what the essay is going to be about and what he/she is trying to prove.  Everyone hated DBQs and I loved them; if his AP US History was anything like mine, then they don't allow the use of outside information (just what the documents provided in the prompt give you), which makes them less fun.
 
If this is for a DBQ then he should have 'three' groups, or three subtopics for three essays. DBQs are pretty straightforward and require only five paragraphs:
 
1.  Introduction
2-4.  Information
5. Conclusion
 
It's a high school essay aimed at helping you develope the skills necessary for a good university thesis.
 
So, more specifically when talking about the question he gave - he needs three reasons, or two reasons and the 'extent' of the government's reforms.  The prompt kind of gives you your thesis statement though, since it already gives you your three groups that you can talk about in the essay.
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  Quote Kevin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 00:40
Originally posted by Cataln

AP US History is a high school class, so it's a thesis for ... I'm guessing ... a DBQ.  In other words, a sentence which provides what the essay is going to be about and what he/she is trying to prove.  Everyone hated DBQs and I loved them; if his AP US History was anything like mine, then they don't allow the use of outside information (just what the documents provided in the prompt give you), which makes them less fun.
 
If this is for a DBQ then he should have 'three' groups, or three subtopics for three essays. DBQs are pretty straightforward and require only five paragraphs:
 
1.  Introduction
2-4.  Information
5. Conclusion
 
It's a high school essay aimed at helping you develope the skills necessary for a good university thesis.
 
So, more specifically when talking about the question he gave - he needs three reasons, or two reasons and the 'extent' of the government's reforms.  The prompt kind of gives you your thesis statement though, since it already gives you your three groups that you can talk about in the essay.


I think it is just more of a straightforward thesis based essay, However  I have done DBQ's and I think they are overrated in terms of difficulty, But again thats me.
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  Quote hugoestr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 01:24
What is a DBQ?

Do research in wikipedia about the tree topics that you were given.

Of all of those, I would pick to stress railroads since this was one area where the violations of Laissez-Faire were probably the greatest. Interstate commerce and anti-trust policies can be argued as a way of preserving free and fair competition. Not so with railroad grants


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  Quote Kevin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 17:20
Originally posted by hugoestr

What is a DBQ?

Do research in wikipedia about the tree topics that you were given.

Of all of those, I would pick to stress railroads since this was one area where the violations of Laissez-Faire were probably the greatest. Interstate commerce and anti-trust policies can be argued as a way of preserving free and fair competition. Not so with railroad grants


 
A DBQ is a document Based Question, What they give you on a test is a series of documents you read the documents then after that you form a thesis and write an essay. So a typical excersise in gathering information and forming an arguement and a conclusion. 
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  Quote Maharbbal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 20:16
About your theses, of course there are several ways that made the US government infringe on the laissez-faire ethos (other you did not mention such as the interventions in Central America) but in my view the most important was the barrier on import which together with a massive influx of capital and labor created the perfect storm (in a positive sense) that allowed the US economy not only to take off but also become the first in the world by far.
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  Quote Cataln Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 21:35
For those interested, here's a sample DBQ:
 
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