AP THESIS Review

A thesis statement:  tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.  is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.  directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.  makes a claim that others might dispute.  is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

How do you know if you have a solid thesis? Try these four tests:  Does the thesis include all parts of the question? This is the most important fact to remember because an incomplete thesis results in an incomplete answer to the question. An inadequate essay will result, which will receive a low grade.  Would a reasonable reader NOT respond with “Duh!” or “So what?” or “Gee, no kidding!” or “Who cares?”  Does the thesis avoid general phrasing and/or sweeping words such as “all” or “none” or “every”?  Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic sentences (the subtopics needed to prove the thesis)?  If you cannot answer “YES” to these questions, you will need to make changes in order for your thesis to pass these tests.

Pardoner’s examples  A thesis statement for “The Pardoner’s Tale” might address the abstract concept of greed as it is handled in the story.  Greed is something that man has struggled with for centuries, as demonstrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Chaucer.  “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, is a story about how three men kill one another while looking for Death.  “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, suggests that the “deadly” sin of greed is stronger than any oath of friendship, and will ultimately lead those who give into its allure to their own destruction.

Are they true thesis statements or not? Examples…

Successful Thesis Statements  Provoke thought and should read beautifully.  Your thesis statement should include two parts: WHAT and WHY.  WHAT: What claim are you making about the text?  WHY: Why should we care? Why is your claim important?  Your thesis should answer the “so what?” question.

Example  “Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.”  “In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.”  “Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American ideals, one must leave ‘civilized’ society and go back to nature.”

Edgar Allen Poe’s Examples…  “Edgar Allen Poe’s work was affected greatly by the current events of his life, covering his family life, his childhood, and his career; these events changed his style and subject of his works.”  “Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter falters and ultimately breaks down with the introduction of the character Pearl.”  “The character of Ben in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a great [or important, or crucial, or unforgettable, etc.] character.”  “Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.”

These are just suggestions… Thesis Templates

Template One ____________________ uses ______________, (Author’s Name) ______________ and ___________________ to show_____________________________________.  *The first blank is for the author’s name; the second two or three are for rhetorical devices; the final blank is for a thematic idea. Be as precise as you can when identifying rhetorical features and themes. Avoid merely restating the question.

Template Two In ___________’s __________ __________ (author) ( genre) (title) The character ___________ is ____________ (name) (synonym of evil) for his or her ____________________; (explain immoral behavior) however, he or she is developed more sympathetically through _________________________________. (describe author’s technique)

Template Three In ________’s _________ ____________, (author) (genre) (title) the ________________ scene(s) of (synonym for violent) ____________________ emphasizes the (describe event) Work’s theme of _____________________. (statement about humanity or the human condition)

Review… What is Essential?

Here are the Thesis Essentials:  Title of Work (The Great Gatsby)  Author (F. Scott Fitzgerald)  Literary Device- (In this case) Character (Tom Buchanon) -This is the part of the thesis that requires you to identify a literary device. This part of the AP prompt is interchangeable. It could be a symbol, a setting, a scene, allusion, metaphor (etc.)  Purpose: How and why Fitzgerald uses Tom's past to illuminate the idea that material wealth inevitably leads to a decline in moral values. ( This statement answers how Tom's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.)

A Checklist for deciding if your thesis is effective: __The thesis statement presents an opinion that is sufficiently limited. __The thesis statement answers “So What” by saying something meaningful. __The thesis statement presents an arguable statement which can be supported and is worth exploring. __The thesis statement answers all parts of the question or prompt. __The thesis statement asserts a single idea. (No more than one!) __The thesis statement is located at the beginning of the paper.

Main Values… Remember….

The thesis statement has TWO MAIN VALUES: 1. It serves as a test of whether your main idea meets the requirements It is a constant, compact reminder of the point your paper must make, and it is therefore an indispensable means of determining the relevancy or irrelevancy, the logic or lack of logic, of all the material that goes into the paper.