Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1

Click on the sentence that would work well as the thesis statement for a research paper from five to ten pages long. Remember that a thesis should be a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it should be of adequate scope for a five-to-ten-page paper; and it should be sharply focused.

For help with this exercise, see Thesis statements.

Example

1 of 10

Question

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◯ The development of general anesthesia made modern surgery possible, for it allowed surgeons to work slowly and carefully for the first time.
◯ On October 16, 1846, observers of the first surgery performed on a person anesthetized with ether were astonished when the patient neither screamed nor seemed aware of any pain.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 1

2 of 10

Question

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◯ A surprising number of adventurers who achieved fame as explorers were later revealed to be charlatans who had not even found the places they said they had discovered.
◯ Robert E. Peary is still credited by many people with the discovery of the North Pole in 1909, but the available evidence strongly suggests that he never reached his goal.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 2

3 of 10

Question

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◯ Many old Hollywood films have disappeared forever as the single surviving copies disintegrate from exposure to heat and moisture.
◯ Because old Hollywood films capture historical moments that would otherwise be lost, restoring and preserving at least one copy of every possible film is a task that American scholars should support.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 3

4 of 10

Question

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◯ The electoral college, which was created in the eighteenth century to solve the problem of voters’ lack of knowledge about candidates from other states, never worked as the framers of the Constitution intended.
◯ The electoral college system was developed in the eighteenth century under circumstances much different from those facing the country today.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 4

5 of 10

Question

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◯ The United States caused needless civilian casualties by dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki in 1945, for the bombing of Hiroshima had already convinced the Japanese authorities to surrender.
◯ Nagasaki, a populous Japanese city on an inlet of the East China Sea, was devastated on August 9, 1945, by the second atomic bomb dropped by the United States.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 5

6 of 10

Question

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◯ Evidence from the trial of Bridget Bishop, the first woman hanged for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, indicates that Bishop had indeed been attempting to cast spells.
◯ For centuries in much of Europe, women who were midwives or herbalists were often charged with practicing magic because they were regarded with deep suspicion by Christian clergymen.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 6

7 of 10

Question

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◯ The British, who are famous for their love of horses, used horses in warfare even when modern equipment, such as tanks, became an available option.
◯ The extended carnage in the trenches of the western front in World War I could have been ended much sooner if British military officers had been willing to use tanks instead of horses in battle.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 7

8 of 10

Question

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◯ Israel has been struggling against one enemy or another since the United Nations voted to establish the Jewish state in 1948.
◯ Citizens of Arab countries have long been encouraged to express grievances against Israel, while they are seldom permitted to speak out against oppressive policies of their own governments; this deflected anger has contributed to the vehemence of anti-Israeli feeling in many Arab lands.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 8

9 of 10

Question

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◯ To the surprise of modern scholars, the ancient Greek explanation for the prophetic powers of the oracle at Delphi—fumes that rose from the floor of the Temple of Apollo—may have a basis in fact, for the temple sits above the intersection of two underground faults that allow fumes of the hallucinogen ethylene to percolate up through the underlying limestone.
◯ For over twelve centuries, ancient Greeks traveled to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi to consult the oracle there, and they believed that the prophecies she made while in a trance were divinely inspired.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 9

10 of 10

Question

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◯ For decades, great buildings have been demolished in this country—from coast to coast and in cities and towns—because Americans have little sense of history.
◯ The demolition of New York’s Penn Station was the catalyst for the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which helped save and restore other landmarks, including Grand Central Station and the New York Public Library.
Thesis statements in Chicago (CMS) papers 1 – 10