Historical Thesis Defense

Overview: Students will gather and analyze historical information, including contradictory
data, from a variety of primary and secondary sources, to support or reject hypotheses and
construct and defend a written historical argument using these sources.
Directions:
Step 1- Students select a historical thesis to prove or reject.
Step 2- Student gather and analyze historical information over their thesis.
Students must have a minimum of 4 sources and they must include a
primary source, a secondary source, an internet source, and a source
that contradicts your conclusion.
Step 3- Students create an annotated bibliography of the sources they
gathered. Sources should be cited in APA format and should do the following.
Summarize: Describe in detail the information from the source.
Assess: Answer the following questions as you assess your sources. Is it a
useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?
Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the
goal of this source?
Reflect: Explain how this source either supports or rejects your hypothesis.
Step 4- Students write their thesis defense. This is limited to a maximum of
500 words and should explain how the evidence either supports or rejects the
hypothesis.
Possible Hypothesis:
1. Interning Japanese-Americans during WWII was necessary to ensure
public safety.
2. The U.S. was right to reject the Treaty of Versailles
3. The U.S. was right to use the Atomic Bombs on Japan during WWII









Rubric:

Proficient Partially Proficient Unsatisfactory
Thesis

Written component
contains a clear and
specific thesis
supporting or
rejecting the
hypothesis.

____/10-7
Written component
contains a thesis
supporting or
rejecting the
hypothesis.


____/6-3
Thesis is unclear or
not present.



____/2-0
Sources Annotated
bibliography contains
at least 4 sources
correctly cited in APA
format. All
requirements for the
sources are met.
Annotation
summarizes,
assesses, and
reflects on all sources
in great detail

____/70-50
Annotated
bibliography
contains at least 4
sources cited in APA
format. All
requirements for the
sources are met.
Annotation
summarizes,
assesses, and
reflects on all
sources.


____/49-20
Annotated
bibliography does not
meet the minimum
requirements for
sources and may be
improperly cited.
Some requirements
for the sources are
not met. Annotation
lacks detail.


____/19-0
Organization Thesis defense is
well-written and
organized in a clear
manner with no
grammatical, usage,
or mechanics errors.


____/20-15
Thesis defense is
written and
organized in a clear
manner with minimal
grammatical, usage,
or mechanics errors.

____/14-10
Thesis defense is
poorly written or
unorganized with
many grammatical,
usage, or mechanics
errors.


____/9-0
TOTAL= _____/100