OUR MISSION – Learning how to Write a Short Literary Analysis about Something We’ve Read #1 - How to Formulate a Strong Thesis Statement

TDEC TDEC – a way of thinking through your written analysis of a text Thesis Thesis Details Details (evidence from text) Elaboration Elaboration Commentary Commentary These parts are factual—not up for debate. WHAT did the writer do? Re-present it to your reader. 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.

T SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis 1)Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the prompt directly and accurately. 2)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. 3)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. 4)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. 5)It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there enough evidence in the story to support my argument? 6)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).

T SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis 1)Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the prompt directly and accurately. 2)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. 3)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. 4)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. 5)It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there enough evidence in the story to support my argument? 6)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.