In January, 1968, there were simultaneous attacks in 27 Vietnamese cities and four major South Vietnamese military bases. Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital, which had, until then, seen virtually no military action, was attacked by Vietnamese communist fighters. Some South Vietnamese cities, such as Hue, were completely overrun and held by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops for over six weeks. At the end of the Tet Offensive, 2,000 South Vietnamese troops and 300 American troops were dead, along with 8,000 Viet Cong and 200 North Vietnamese troops. It is generally considered that the Tet Offensive was the beginning of the end for US intervention in Vietnam, and shortly thereafter, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election.

My paper will argue that while many historians have argued that the Tet Offensive was a great victory for the communists and their supporters, in fact it was the Viet Cong’s greatest defeat. I will argue this based on these sources:

1) The autobiography of Ho Chi Minh, where he confesses they lost many lives and material.

2) The article “The End of Tet,” in which three military officers explain how they had the military advantage.

3) American Pageant explains that support for the way was still high in the United States.

Etc., etc., etc.

Types of Theses:

Simple Thesis:

Thomas Jefferson was a great statesman who deserves to be remembered as the father of American idealism.

Use this construction when you are discussing a broad idea with many implications and various levels of supporting argument. While it is the “simplest” in grammatical composition, it can be the most complex of essays in development.

Compound Thesis:

Thomas Jefferson was a great statesman and a man of impeccable moral character.

Use this construction when your topic falls evenly into two parts and each part has significant support. Your strongest, or most important point, should be stated second.

Compound Complex Thesis

While Jefferson’s writings contain Americans’ most inspired ideals, Jefferson himself was a hypocritical radical.

Reserve this construction for your most controversial papers, those with strong support on the opposing side. This is the most sophisticated grammatical construction, demonstrating the writer’s understanding of both sides of an issue.