Examples TOPICQUESTION AND THESIS STATEMENT CharacterIn The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts Pearl as alien to her society until her father acknowledges her. Relationships among Characters In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger shows that the relationship between Holden and Phoebe acts as a positive force on Holden.

Examples TOPICQUESTION AND THESIS STATEMENT ThemesThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a satire on racism. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men poignantly expresses the alienation and loneliness of migrant farm workers. Style: Effective use of imagery, foreshadowing, or symbolism to advance character development, theme or artistic purpose Through the use of images and symbols in The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger reveals many subtleties about Holden's sensitive personality.

Examples TOPICQUESTION AND THESIS STATEMENT StructureIn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the river journey to illustrate Huck's increasing awareness of the moral hypocrisy in the "civilized" South. Critical Overview: Background on critical reputation of the novel including controversies What reasons do critics have for censoring The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Is the novel obscene? Is the novel racist? Is the language too coarse? Is it immoral?

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □In (title of work), (author) (illustrates, shows) (aspect) (adjective). □In “Barn Burning,” William Faulkner shows the characters Sardie and Abner Snopes struggling for their identity. □In (title of work), (author) uses (one aspect) to (define, strengthen, illustrate) the (element of work). □In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses foreshadowing to strengthen the plot.

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □In (title of work), (author) uses (an important part of work) as a unifying device for (one element), (another element), and (another element). NOTE: The number of elements can vary from one to four. □In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses the sea as a unifying device for setting, structure and theme.

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □In (title of work), (author) uses (literary device) to (accomplish, develop, illustrate, strengthen) (element of work). □In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses the symbolism of the stranger, the clock, and the seventh room to develop the theme of death.

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □(Author) develops the character of (character’s name) in (literary work) through what he/she does, what he/she says, what other people say to or about him/her. □Langston Hughes develops the character of Semple in “Ways and Means”…

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □(Author) (shows, develops, illustrates) the theme of __________ in the (play, poem, story). □Flannery O’Connor illustrates the theme of the effect of the selfishness of the grandmother upon the family in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □(Author) (shows, develops, illustrates) the theme of __________ in the (play, poem, story). □Flannery O’Connor illustrates the theme of the effect of the selfishness of the grandmother upon the family in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Sample Patterns for Literary Thesis Statements □(Author) develops his character(s) in (title of work) through his/her use of language. □John Updike develops his characters in “A & P” through his use of figurative language.

Video Clip: A Reminder □ to-write-a-killer-thesis-statement/ to-write-a-killer-thesis-statement/