The area where I feel I have seen the most growth this semester is in developing a strong thesis statement. To do this I used the Little Seagull Manual. I used this source when I wrote my rhetorical analysis essay to develop my thesis. My original thesis was "King uses several facts and statistics to support his idea." After reviewing section W-3b in the Little Seagull Handbook, I was able to revise my thesis and transform it to graduate level. The new thesis statement I used is that King's use of various facts and statistics, including the 1931 "original" American Dream story, as well as discussion of ideas from other sources, supports his belief that people still strive to live the American dream, just a “revised” version. This thesis statement supports my thesis and shows the reader that I am well prepared and know what I will talk about in my