Week 3 Assignment
Learning Resource
Insights: Thesis Building
This week's work will demonstrate how to build an effective thesis, starting with enhancing your understanding of a literary thesis. You may recall lessons from other writing classes about how to construct a thesis, but a thesis for a literary analysis is a special case: It makes an argument about your interpretation of the literary work. Then, the body of your paper builds a case for your interpretation using evidence from the text.
Role of the Thesis in Literary Analysis
A literary analysis is your interpretation of a literary work. It is not just an explication (or explanation) of what the work says; rather, it advances an argument about what the work means. An effective thesis statement should make a claim that others might dispute, or that is not overly obvious. In other words, the thesis puts forth a case, and the strength of that case depends on how compelling your evidence is to your readers.
Your argument should improve readers’ understanding of the work and help them to see it in new and different ways. There is no "right answer" in a literary analysis, only a strong case, and that starts with an effective thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be the product of your careful examination and analysis of the literary work.
Thesis Placement
The best place for the thesis of a literary analysis is at the end of the introductory paragraph. This paragraph provides background or context, such as a brief summary of the story that leads up to the thesis statement. Placing the thesis at the end of the paragraph signals to the reader that the statement sums up your argument. In other words, your thesis functions as a roadmap, or blueprint, for your paper. (Writing@CSU)
Following is an example of a thesis that serves as a blueprint for a literary analysis of the short poem "Résumé" by Dorothy Parker, as well as an explanation of what makes it effective:
In "Résumé," Dorothy Parker subverts the idea of what a résumé is—accomplishments and experiences—with an ironic tone, silly images of suicide, and witty rhymes to point out the banality of life for those who remain too disengaged from it.
What makes this thesis effective is that it does not just state that the poem’s “poetic devices” exist—it makes a strong argument about “how and why” those devices are used. (Carbone)
For homework this week, you will map out the parts of your thesis blueprint. The blueprint will consist of a claim (main argument) and three warrants (reasons or subpoints). You will revise and refine it until you arrive at a well-crafted thesis statement.
This handout on thesis statements provides more explanation of the thesis statement in a literary analysis.
Applying the Writing Process to Thesis Development
As this handout on brainstorming explains, the writing process takes place in several stages, beginning with various forms of prewriting, such as brainstorming, freewriting, clustering/mapping, etc. As you move into drafting your paper, you may find yourself returning to your prewriting techniques to refine or round out parts of the paper. When you finish a first draft, you are not done. The writing process continues into the stage of rewriting, where you focus on revision to improve the rough draft. Revision may cause you to return to your thesis to refine it and make it stronger.
Thesis Building as an Iterative Process
As you work on improving your thesis, ask yourself these questions:
· Does my thesis respond accurately to the assignment? Am I addressing the topic directly?
· Have I narrowed the thesis so it has a clear and specific focus?
· Does my thesis make an argument about the literary text? Have I avoided just stating the obvious?
· Does the thesis offer enough scope for my argument to be supported in the body of the paper?