Question 26
The best thesis sentence for the student essay on this exam is

Question 26 options:

In 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D. C., for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in support of proposed civil rights legislation in a speech titled “I Have a Dream” (Oates 255).

As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights activist, and a Baptist minister, Dr. King had plenty of experience addressing an audience (Oates 123).

In order to convey a message of equal rights for all Americans that would inspire change in a mutually respectable and nonviolent way, he would need to convince Americans that the problem of racial inequality exists and to encourage them to take action in resolving the problem of racism, prejudice, and hatred by allowing freedom and equal rights for everyone.

As Dr. King presents this struggle for freedom with references to the past, present, and future, his message is effectively enhanced through the use of specific rhetorical strategies and stylistic techniques to deliver a true masterpiece.