Writing an Effective Central Question and Thesis Statement History of American Popular Culture Research Paper
Past Topics! (Partial List) Saturday Night Live Star Trek The Miracle on Ice The Dream Team Superbowl Invention of the microwave Pop art movement Gender & toys Influence of drugs on music in the 60s Civil rights & rock n roll Marilyn Monroe Depictions of mental health in film Teen movies MTV Music (Woodstock/birth of hip hop/social protest/green Day/punk/grunge/Motown) The Cosby Show Graffiti art Miss America The Simpsons Impact of technol. on dating Walt Disney Women in comics Wizard of Oz James Bond & spy culture Hugh Hefner & Playboy EDM Davy Crockett To Kill a Mockingbird
The Central Question Establishes a connection between your topic and U.S. history, culture, and/or society. Provides your paper with scholarly significance--why the reader should care about your paper. Cannot be written without some knowledge of U.S. history of the period related to your topic Should lend itself to an analytical and argumentative response (the thesis)--not a factual answer.
Other Guidelines Your topic can be broad (Vietnam War), but your Central Question and Thesis need to be narrow and focused. You are writing 6-9 pages, not a book. Determining a central question that can be answered succinctly is a major challenge of this assignment.
Steps for Writing a Central Select a Topic Question: Research--should start with general background on the time period (social, political, economic landscape) Formulate Question As you continue to research, it might be necessary to modify your thesis.
BAD CENTRAL QUESTIONS What is the history of the Olympics?
WHY BAD? Too broad Answer to question is factual Lacks explicit connection to American history
MORE BADDIES Is the mafia as bad as it was portrayed in The Godfather?
WHY BAD? Yes / no question Too general with regard to time period Lack of scholarly significance (The Godfather is fictional piece of work)
YET ANOTHER BAD QUESTION What was it like to attend Woodstock?
WHY BAD? Too broad Again, no explicit connection to American society or culture Not argumentative
Topic Example: Marilyn Monroe Potential Central Question: How can Marilyn Monroe s films be used to understand American culture in the 1950s? Analytical Thesis Statement: Marilyn Monroe s popularity-- demonstrated by the hit film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes --reflected America s move toward a more sexually open culture in the 1950s.
Topic Example: Music of the Counterculture Potential Central Question: What is the relationship between the protest music of the 1960s and the turbulent social climate of the 1960s? Analytical Thesis Statement: Not only did the protest music of the 1960s reflect the time s turbulent social climate but it also at time served as a catalyst for action and social change.
Topic Example: Batman in the Golden Age Potential Central Question: What does the evolution of Batman in the late 1930s through the mid-1950s reveal about American society in the same time? Analytical Thesis Statement: Batman s evolution in both character and enemies over the course of the 1930s-1950s is a reflection of the turbulent social and political climate of those decades.
Topic Example: Murphy Brown Potential Central Question: How can the TV show Murphy Brown be used to understand the changing nature of gender in American society in the 1980s and early 1990s? Analytical Thesis Statement: The television show Murphy Brown reflected the nation s changing gender relationships and conception of American women in the 1980s and early 1990s.
NOW YOU DO IT!