Thesis Statements
Thesis Statements
• A good thesis statement is broad enough you can find different ways
to prove it, but also specific enough that it gives real information to
your reader.
• It should always include the following:
• The full name of the author of the work
• The full title of the work
• The type of work (novel, short story, play, etc.)
• A clear, single point you will prove
Thematic Thesis Statements
• A Theme is a one-two word idea embedded in the text, such as “love”
or “jealousy.”
• But a theme is not a good thesis statement, because it doesn’t say
much and gives your reader little to no solid information.
• ”William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet contains the theme of
love” is not a good thesis:
• Readers know “love” is in the play even if they’ve never read it
• “Love” being in the play doesn’t tell us Shakespeare’ message ABOUT love
• (and a clear message about love might make a good thesis statement)
Thematic Thesis Statements
• A good thematic thesis statement will give the author’s message
about the one-two word theme; generally something you can prove
later in 3 steps.
• DON’T: “Fear is a theme in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies.”
• DO: “William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies explores how dictators
use fear to control their subjects.”
Character Analysis Thesis
Statements
• A good character analysis thesis shows one broad way in which a
character evolves over the course of the work, whether that evolution
is positive or negative. It should hint about how or why the evolution
takes place without giving away too much.
“In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph grows as a person.”
The above isn’t a strong statement since it tells nothing about how or why
Ralph grows.
Character Analysis Thesis
Statements
• DON’T: “In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph grows as a
person.”
• DO: “In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph grows from
a happy-go-lucky school boy into a thoughtful, responsible leader.”
The DON’T version tells the reader nothing useful.
The DO version clearly states the change from one
type of person to another.
Conflict Thesis Statement
• A good conflict thesis statement explores either the reason for a
specific type of conflict, or the solution to a specific type of conflict. It
does NOT merely identify a type of conflict.
• “In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the conflict is the
individual vs. society.”
• The thesis statement above is weak. It identifies a type of conflict, but
that is all it does, so the reader has no idea how this conflict relates to
him/her/them.
Conflict Thesis Statement
• DON’T: “In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the conflict
is the individual vs. society.”
• DO: “William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet reveals that when
an individual is in conflict with society, the individual has no hope
unless society itself can be changed.
The DON’T example tells nothing useful about the conflict.
The DO example tells the reader what the solution to the conflict
is and therefore has meaning.
Thesis Statement Wrap Up
• A good thesis statement always does the following:
• Gives the author’s full name
• Gives the complete title of the work
• Identifies the type of work
• Makes a clear, concrete statement that explores meaning in the text.
