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Lesson
One: The Thesis
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The
thesis statement is the single most important aspect of your
paper;
it is, essentially, the justification for its very existence. A
good thesis sentence should contain:
Developing
The Argument
Topic
versus statement- At the outset of your brainstorming,
you will likely first decide on a topic for your paper;
namely, the particular subject you plan to address in
response to the assignment (in some cases, the assignment
will already include a specific topic). Your job in
formulating a thesis is to find a specific statement to make
about that topic.
-
Examples
of Topics-"Natural Imagery in Wordsworth and
Coleridge"; "Plato's Treatment of Gender Roles
in The Republic."
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Examples
of Statements: In The Prelude,
Wordsworth uses natural imagery to reflect his
increasing awareness of divinity, while in "This
Limetree Bower My Prison,” Coleridge's treatment of
nature serves to establish his relationship with
fellow human beings"; "In The Republic,
Plato's arguments for gender equality are
characterized by sameness of role, yet still subject
to a male-dominated hierarchy."
Using
your sources to find your argument- Rather than
making an opinion statement (one thing is
"better" than another, etc.) your argument
must be pulled from textual evidence. Conversely,
however, it cannot be a restatement of what your source
tells you, but must be an original thought arising from
some point of interest, contradiction, or vagary within
the text.
Specificity-
In writing your statement, be sure to say exactly what
you're arguing- do not make a broad generalization. Your
reader should know from your thesis what your specific
arguments are, not just roughly what they prove. Also,
take into account the length you intend your paper to
be. In the space of six pages, for example, you can't
thoroughly discuss the effects of, say. World War II on
America, but you might be able to analyze one aspect of
its impact on a specific industry or social group.
-
Too
General:- "There are many similarities
between Madame Bovary and Anna
Karenina but there are some differences as
well."
-
More
Specific: "Though both Madame Bovary
and Anna Karenina pivot around the
tension between individual liberty and societal
mores, Flaubert concerns himself with the decadence
of self-indulgence, while Tolstoy focuses on the
notion of feminine entrapment."
Tension-
Perhaps most important, make sure that your argument can
be controversial. If you set out to prove something that
is a given (like "the 1960s were an era of
American cultural upheaval" or "Hamlet
undergoes numerous psychological changes") your
paper is not only uninteresting, but entirely pointless.
When you think you've decided on a statement, see if you
can make a counterargument to refute it. Your job is to
show how the evidence of your sources should be
interpreted in a particular light, but crucial to its
being worth reading is the fact that other
interpretations are possible.
The
Thesis as a Blueprint
Framing
your paper - In addition to stating your argument,
your thesis should give an indication of the particular
components thereof. Though it is not necessary for you
to include the gist of each subsequent topic sentence in
your thesis, it is important that the basic prongs of
your over-arching idea be addressed.
-
Incomplete
thesis: "In Moby Dick ,
Melville renders Ahab as a diabolical figure."
-
Complete
thesis- "In Moby Dick,
Melville renders Ahab as a diabolical figure through
the contrasting Christ imagery of the Whale,
omnipresent biblical mythology, and a psychological
descent analogous to the Fall."
-
One
more note: Contrary to popular belief, your
thesis does not have to be just one sentence. If you
cannot construct an adequately complex thesis
without making a heinous run-on, by all means, break
it up.
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