Writing Workshop, Day 3: Thesis Statements

PLEASE NOTE: 10B and 10C must add the following item under "Essay must include...":

"5. A bibliography and footnotes in Chicago format."


1. Select a "current issue" and review sources.

"Current Issue" Sources

• Sources for "General Racism in American Society"
• Sources for "Voting Rights & Disenfranchisement"
• Sources for "Law Enforcement & the Criminal Justice System"

Historical Sources

Primary Sources: 

• President Obama's Selma Speech (you can read the transcript HERE)
• Speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X 
• Description of Birmingham, Alabama from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"  (Audio)

Eyes on the Prize Episodes:

• Eyes on the Prize, Episode 1: Awakenings, 1954-56 (Murder of Emmett Till, Montgomery Bus Boycotts)
• Eyes on the Prize, Episode 2: Fighting Back, 1957-1962 (Fighting School Segregation)
• Eyes on the Prize, Episode 3: Ain't Scared of Your Jails, 1960-1961 (Sit-Ins & Freedom Rides)
• Eyes on the Prize, Episode 5: Mississippi, 1962-64 (Freedom Summer, SNCC, Voter Registration)
• Eyes on the Prize, Episode 6: Bridge to Freedom, 1965 (Voter Registration in Selma, Voting Rights Act of 1965)

Chapters from "Voices of Freedom":

• Chapter 2: Montgomery Bus Boycotts
• Chapter 3: Little Rock Crisis
• Chapter 4: Student Sit-ins in Nashville
• Chapter 5: Freedom Rides

2. Write a "first draft" thesis statement (see our Thesis Guide HERE and UNC's Writing Center Guide HERE).

3. If there is time, identify your three supporting points.