Transcript Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

OUR MISSION – Learning how to Write a
Short Literary Analysis about Something
We’ve Read
#1 - How to Formulate
a Strong Thesis Statement
TDEC – a way of thinking through your
written analysis of a text
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These parts are
factual—not up for
debate. WHAT did the
writer do? Re-present
it to your reader.
Thesis
Details (evidence from text)
Elaboration
Commentary Your reader should hear a definite shift
because this part is NOT factual. This is
where you provide your insights and
ideas, explaining why/how the details you
chose from the text support your
thesis/argument.
SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the
prompt directly and accurately.
Commit to a specific focus. Don’t give two or three answers. Also,
watch out for vague or general phrases. **Although a strong thesis is
often specific AND complex, meaning it has multiple parts.
BUT…don’t be too specific; you want to be able to write about the
whole text, not just one paragraph. Don’t include specific quotes from
the text. Save those details for support.
Take a bold position that could possibly be challenged or opposed. You
should not just provide facts and/or a summary. Could this thesis apply
to nearly any story? If so, you haven’t been bold enough with your
thinking.
It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there enough
evidence in the story to support my argument?
Provide your reader with essential information. Use wording from the
prompt so a reader could guess the question you were given. Include
the author’s name, the work’s title, and its genre.
Theme Statement vs. Thesis Statement
• In this unit we are often going to write thesis
sentences that answer the question…What is a central
theme of (author’s) (genre) (title)?
• A thematic statement that answers that prompt is
simply one kind of thesis statement.
• We can write a thesis statement, craft an argument,
for any kind of prompt:
In Don Green’s novel Weasels!, how does the narrator
change as a result of the events of the story?
In Rita Pupe’s short story “Laser Tag Massacre,” How
does she use setting to reflect the main character’s
internal conflict?
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
• Possible ideas/brainstorming for a thesis that answers
this prompt:
Subject Areas:
- war, witnessing death, tragedy, being haunted by a memory?
I’m going to pick war. What does Rogers have to say about
this topic? Brainstorm details from the text:
- The soldier feels frustrated and guilty when he doesn’t know
how to help a dying soldier in his troop
- He mocks Calder’s observation that they’ll “never get back”
home but then—remembering the “kid in pieces” they
accidentally killed, he can’t enjoy hugging his own child.
- Holiday dinner with family, he feels like he should be with his
soldiers, can’t communicate with his family, contrast of the
significant war questions with the trivial “white meat or dark”
choice
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
The theme is that war is a really difficult thing.
What is weak about this thesis? (There are
multiple reasons.)
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Rogers’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that war is a
really difficult thing.
While, it still needs improving, what is better
about this thesis?
This is very vague. We need to be more specific. What about
war is difficult in this story? “THING” is a noun we want to
try and ban from our writing. 95% of the time there is more
specific noun.
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Rogers’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that what you
experience during war can remain with you long
after you return home from service.
How can we improve this?
- What did the soldier “experience” in this story?
- What “remains” with the soldier in this story?
- What pronoun should we NEVER use in a thesis?
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Rogers’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that a soldier’s
inability to prevent and forget tragic death during
war can cause emotional damage that remains,
even after returning home from service.
This is better, but what is still too general?
- What kind of “emotional damage” does the
soldier experience in this particular story?
- There’s not much of an argument here.
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Rogers’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that when
people are unable to prevent and forget tragic
death during war, it can cause them to live with a
sense of guilt that separates them from others,
even those they should care about most.
Notice, that this revision attempts to make the theme more
universal by replacing “soldiers” with “people.” The story’s theme
can definitely apply to civilians (those who experience battle and
those who have loved ones who return from battle).
SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the
prompt directly and accurately.
Commit to a specific focus. Don’t give two or three answers. Also,
watch out for vague or general phrases. **Although a strong thesis is
often specific AND complex, meaning it has multiple parts.
BUT…don’t be too specific; you want to be able to write about the
whole text, not just one paragraph. Don’t include specific quotes from
the text. Save those details for support.
Take a bold position that could possibly be challenged or opposed. You
should not just provide facts and/or a summary. Could this thesis apply
to nearly any story? If so, you haven’t been bold enough with your
thinking.
It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there enough
evidence in the story to support my argument?
Provide your reader with essential information. Use wording from the
prompt so a reader could guess the question you were given. Include
the author’s name, the work’s title, and its genre.