The Thesis Statement What is it What does

The Thesis Statement What is it? What does it do? How do I know if I have a good one?

What is an analytical essay? • An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience. • Your argument in an analytical essay is that your presentation of the particular object of your analysis represents the clearest and most logical way to break down that concept, idea, or issue.

Example of an analytical thesis statement: • Though the essay is directly addressed to parents as the primary audience, the author redefines the term “counterculture” in a way that includes a broader audience outside of those who are direct caretakers of children.

The paper that follows should: • Point to specific evidence from the text that shows the author is specifically and directly addressing parents and caregivers. • Give the author’s definition of counterculture. • Explain, based on textual evidence, who is included in counterculture. • Give examples from the text (and do close reading of those examples) of the term counterculture in use.

Cont’d. • Justify why this is an important research question. • Conclude with a restatement of thesis and reiteration of the argument.

What is a thesis statement? • Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy.

Cont’d. • In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you'll make in the rest of your paper.

What it is/What it Does A Thesis Statement: • tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. • is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. • makes a claim that others might dispute. • is usually a sentence or two at the end of your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

How Do I Get A Thesis? • A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a "working thesis, " a basic or main idea, an argument that you think you can support with evidence but that may need adjustment along the way.

How Do I Know if My Thesis is Strong? • Have I followed the prompt? Re-reading the assignment prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. • Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it's possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

Cont’d • Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like "good" or "successful, " see if you could be more specific: why is something "good"; what specifically makes something "successful"? Does my thesis pass the "So what? " test? If a reader's first response is, "So what? " then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

Cont’d • Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It's o. k. to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.

Cont’d • Does my thesis pass the "how and why? " test? If a reader's first response is "how? " or "why? " your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Poor Thesis • The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.

Better Thesis (Working) • While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.

Revised Thesis (Final) • While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government. • Compare this to the original weak thesis. This final thesis presents a way of interpreting evidence that illuminates the significance of the question. Keep in mind that this is one of many possible interpretations of the Civil War—it is not the one and only right answer to the question. There isn't one right answer; there are only strong and weak thesis statements and strong and weak uses of evidence.

Poor Thesis • Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

Better Thesis (Working) • In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

Revised Thesis (Final) • Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society and go back to nature. • This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

The Mapping Thesis • The thesis statement can help "map" a paper as it suggests an order or direction for the paper's development. A thesis statement, for example, might read: • If your thesis starts out “Judy Syfer's essay, "I Want a Wife, " exaggerates the marital expectations facing women in our society today, ” the paragraph could continue with the following sentence mapping out the path for the paper’s development: “Those expectations include managing a household, maintaining a career, and having a good relationship with a spouse. ” • In this example, thesis statement suggests an obvious path for development in "marital expectations. " The writer develops the paragraph by exploring the term "marital expectations. " Three following paragraphs, for example, would logically discuss 1) household responsibilities, 2) careers, and 3) marital relationships.

How? Why? • A good thesis statement often answers the above questions. You may encounter a thesis statement that reads: • The lifestyle of a teenager in the Middle Ages was very different from the lifestyle of most modern American teenagers.

Cont’d • So what? Why should a reader continue? In what ways are the lifestyles of the youth different? Better versions of this statement might be: • Because of the relative freedom enjoyed by young people today, the lifestyle of modern American teenagers is very different from the lifestyle of teens in the Middle Ages. (this at least says why the difference exists) • A young person in the Middle Ages had very different expectations about marriage, family, and personal freedom than do young adults today. (this version of the statement emphasizes the Medieval, not modern, teenager, but it still does not present an argument to be defended)

Cont’d • An even more detailed version of this thesis could "map" the paper for a reader: • Young people in the Middle Ages, who were considered young but responsible adults by the age of sixteen, had fewer social choices when compared to modern American teenagers. Unless they followed a religious calling, medieval teenagers had to contend with an arranged marriage and bearing children while living without what we would consider personal privacy or freedom.

Questions to Consider in Writing and Assessing your Thesis: • What is the main idea of your paper in 25 or fewer words? • What is the assignment asking you to do? How can you respond to the prompt while focusing on a small area of investigation? • What "code words" (such as "relative freedom" or "lifestyles") does the draft of my thesis statement contain? Are these words adequately explained? • As you read over your paper, have you supported thesis or digressed? Where? How?

To Sum it Up, Your Thesis: • Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic. • Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. • Is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper. • Is generally located near the end of the introduction (sometimes, in a long paper, thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph). • Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Sample Student Thesis: Lacks Precision • The author uses poetic devices and figurative language to compare the experiences of the traveler when he meets the fork in the road with many realities in life about choice making.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary, Not Analysis • The author’s main goal for writing the article is to persuade the reader to specifically focus on identifying and understanding the physical symptoms of alcohol addiction in an attempt to ultimately promote alcohol addiction treatment ads.

Sample Student Thesis: Opinion, Not Analysis • Fast food advertisements today in society have affected the people as a whole. They use derogatory statements and persuasive lingo to lure people into their establishments.

Sample Student Thesis: Lacks Precision, Clarity • O’Brien uses linguistic devices such as, imagery, similes, metaphors, repetition, and contradiction to show the difference between true, and untrue war stories, and how a person may tell a "true" war story, without it actually being true.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary, Not Analysis • Research states that hospitals with hotel like luxuries will help patients heal faster, be happier, and cause employees to be more caring, but the cost is currently too high.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary and Opinion, Not Analysis • Throughout the short story, The Kiss, Kate Chopin captures the indecency of a woman between two lovers. This story leaves you wanting to seek out your own morals and values.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary and Opinion, Not Analysis • In the song Runaway Love by Ludacris and Mary J. Blige, there are three young girls that are in bad situations at home and decide to runaway. So what could be so bad to make three girls decide to runaway from their home? Home is supposed to be where you feel safe and comfortable, but for some people it is not that way.

Sample Student Thesis: Lacks Organizing Principle, Cohesion • The short story The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe is one of the author’s murder stories, telling of the revenge that Montresor, the protagonist, takes up towards the antagonist, Fortunato, after suffering many injuries and insults. . This paper will analyze the short story on the linguistic level, focusing on diction, tone, irony, and imagery in chronological order of the story.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary • In the beginning the Tea Party had been looked at as being a fringe movement. Due to the defeat of the Republican-supported candidates by Tea Party challengers, the Republicans and Democrats are now taking them seriously.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary and Opinion, Not Analysis • Cell phone use can cause harmful effects while driving, because it limits our concentration and judgment. If not used properly can cause great danger.

Sample Student Thesis: Summary • The article is giving insight to why the legalization of marijuana is up for debate.

Reminders: • Do NOT summarize • Do NOT write an opinion or personal response. • Do NOT write a “research paper” • DO offer a critical interpretation • DO argue that your interpretation is the clearest and most logical of all possible interpretations • DO offer an analytical stance that can be supported through close reading • DO be specific • DO attend to the rhetoric (purpose and message) of the text, and question the possible underlying beliefs or assumptions • DO map out the direction of your paper in thesis statement • DO test your thesis statement against the questions I’ve suggested.