Thesis or Bust
The NBA moved its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina following the passage of HB2.
What is a statement of fact (not a defensible thesis)?
When gathering sources for an AP research project requiring 6 sources, this is the minimum number of counterargument sources you must include.
What is 2?
These sources appear in magazines, use easily understood language for general audiences, and seldom provide full citations or bibliographies.
What are popular sources (or popular articles)?
A thesis statement should never be phrased as one of these; it must be an answer or assertion.
What is a question?
A short news article reporting on a trending topic that offers no author credentials, citations, or references.
What is a bad (or non-credible) source?
While economic boycotts aim to force social change, corporate realignments in response to state legislation often prioritize brand reputation over long-term civil rights progress.
What is a strong, defensible thesis statement?
Transition words like "Although," "While," or "Despite" are typically used at the beginning of a thesis to introduce this component.
What is a concession (or counter perspective)?
These sources are written by researchers, feature technical language, include full citations, and undergo rigorous expert review before publication.
What are scholarly (or peer-reviewed) journal articles?
Transforming "Does social media harm youth?" into a strong thesis requires replacing a simple "Yes/No" response with a claim that outlines these specific factors.
What is a line of reasoning (or specific causes/effects)?
An article written by university faculty featuring extensive footnoting and published in an academic journal.
What is a credible (or scholarly) source?
Popular articles are always better sources to use in an AP essay than scholarly journal articles
What is an oversimplified generalization (or weak claim)?
True or False: Including a counterargument in your thesis statement weakens your overall position.
What is False (it demonstrates complexity and nuanced understanding)?
Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Science.gov are examples of these tools used to find academic literature.
What are research databases (or search engines)?
In the process of "Examining Your Question," this is the initial broad prompt or inquiry that guides your initial source gathering.
What is a Research Question?
This common online red flag occurs when an article relies entirely on sensational headlines, anonymous quotes, and unverified social media posts.
What is lack of credibility (or clickbait / unverified reporting)?
This required element of an AP thesis previews the specific evidence and reasoning structure that will follow in the paper.
What is a Line of Reasoning?
In the thesis template [Concession] + [Core Claim] + [Line of Reasoning], this clause directly follows the concession to state your main position.
What is the Core Claim (or principal argument)?
Claudia Rankine's piece "The Meaning of Serena Williams" in The New York Times Magazine serves as an example of this type of quality source.
What is a credible popular/essay source (or good source)?
A research question asking "How do corporate decisions impact state laws?" becomes a strong thesis when it identifies these specific real-world mechanisms (e.g., economic pressure, public perception).
What are specific perspectives / evidence categories?
When evaluating a source, finding a complete list of these at the end of the work is a key indicator of scholarly rigor.
What are citations (or works cited / bibliographies)?
Although social media increases communication, it is bad for teens because it causes isolation.
What is a weak thesis due to vague language ("bad") and a simplistic argument?
Addressing opposing views in your research helps prevent this flaw, where a thesis only acknowledges evidence that supports one side.
What is confirmation bias (or one-sided argument)?
Before citing a source in an AP research paper, you must evaluate its reliability, author expertise, potential bias, and this process performed by recognized experts in the field.
What is peer review?
If a research question leads to a thesis that everyone already agrees on, it fails this core AP requirement.
What is defensibility (being open to debate)?
A secondary source that summarizes primary research without citing the original authors or peer-reviewed studies fails this quality test.
What is source attribution (or academic integrity / reliability)?