As JP encountered some difficulty in the AP classroom MCQ's on thesis identification, we reviewed his multiple choice answers and addressed thesis identification in a non-academic essay where the writer may not explicitly articulate a thesis in the opening paragraph. We then studied how to write and to analyze a compare/contrast essay by studying Gladwell's essay comparing social movements on the 1960s with internet social movements today. JP did very well identifying the like items of comparison in the essay ,and we then discussed the writer's differentiation between the degree of sacrifice, and the amount of hierarchical organization in today's internet social movements vs the civil rights movement. We last analyzed how despite the logic of the essay and its strong organizational points, its conclusion can be questioned given that the writer neglects to reference internet social movements that have in fact produced results perhaps comparable with the social movements of the 1960s.