2 Sample topic and thesis statement

Here’s how to go from a general topic to a refined thesis statement.

General topic: Immigrants in Canada

Refined topic: Immigrant workers in Canada 1830 – 1940

More specific: British pauper children as indentured workers in Canada 1830 – 1940

Questions:

• Why were British pauper children used as indentured workers in Canada between 1830 and 1940?
• Why did the practice end in the 1940s?

Preliminary thesis:

British pauper children filled an important labour shortage on Canadian farms between 1830 and 1940.

Refined thesis:

Canada’s practice of importing young children labourers was the controversial result of Britain’s attempts to deal with the poor and to fill Canada’s labour needs. Changing public perceptions of childhood eventually led to the demise of child labour importation.