THIS IS THE SENTENCE THAT CONTAINS THE MAIN ARGUMENT OF YOUR PAPER!
THESIS STATEMENT
AN ARGUMENT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PROVE IS TRUE
It’s True! It’s True!
Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is going to be a clear declarative sentence at the end of your introductory paragraph that tells what you're going to be writing about.
Thesis Statement
A thesis statement should serve as a brief roadmap of your essay. It should explain your point, as well as how you will support your point.
Thesis Statement
The Thesis should respond to and fully address ____________.
Thesis Statement
The Thesis should respond to and fully address THE PROMPT.
Your thesis statement should contain your main argument.
Because a thesis statement should serve as a “roadmap” or a preview of what you are going to write about, you should include the main points you are going to use to support your main argument.
These main points are what you will specifically discuss in each body paragraph, and what you will state as a fact in each topic sentence.
For a 5 paragraph essay, you should focus on three supporting claims to back up your main argument. These should be mentioned in your thesis, and fully explored in each body paragraph.
THESIS STATEMENT
So, once again....
THESIS FOR A FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY
Because a thesis statement should serve as a “roadmap” or a preview of what you are going to write about, you should include the main points you are going to use to support your main argument.
These main points are what you will specifically discuss in each body paragraph, and what you will state as a fact in each topic sentence.
THESIS STATEMENT
In other words...
In a five paragraph essay, your thesis statement should not only contain your main argument, but it may also list the claims that you will make in each of your body paragraphs.
Let’s say that for some reason we wanted to write a paper on the following prompt:
In an insightful, well-organized interpretive essay, analyze the various functions of setting that apply to your text (mood, characterization, symbol). Be sure to also discuss how setting reflects a significant theme.
THESIS STATEMENTS
First we would have to decide what the main argument of the essay needs to be.
In an insightful, well-organized interpretive essay, analyze the various functions of setting that apply to your text (mood, characterization, symbol). Be sure to also discuss how setting reflects a significant theme.
THESIS STATEMENTS
If we focused only on the setting and theme, the thesis may look like this:
The setting of a house that contains a darkened, shuttered room and a body hidden within the floorboards helps Poe to convey that one cannot hide from guilt (theme).
These examples will be based on “The Tell Tale Heart.”
THESIS STATEMENTS
But, in order to fully respond to the prompt, you would need to include the following in your thesis as well:
In an insightful, well-organized interpretive essay, analyze the various functions of setting that apply to your text (mood, characterization, symbol). Be sure to also discuss how setting reflects a significant theme.
THESIS STATEMENTS
Luckily, this prompt sets us up for the typical 5 paragraph essay format. Let’s look at the recipe for this paragraph and thesis:
RECIPE FOR A THESIS:
Main argument:
The functions of the setting convey the author’s theme.
Supporting Arguments:
1. The setting creates a mood which helps
convey the theme
2. The setting reflects the character, which helps convey the theme.
3. The setting serves as a symbol, which helps
convey the theme.
THESIS STATEMENTS
Having to include all of this information means that your thesis should:
Introduce the setting and address how the setting creates a mood, reflects characterization, acts as a symbol, and how all of these elements work together to convey a theme.
Let’s see what this would look like in practice…
THESIS STATEMENTS
Introduce the setting and address how the setting creates a mood, reflects characterization, acts as a symbol, and how all of these elements work together to convey a theme.
The setting of a house that contains a darkened, shuttered room and a body hidden within the floorboards creates an anxious and eerie mood, reflects the unstable personality of the narrator, and symbolizes the narrator’s own guilt, all of which combine to convey the theme that one cannot hide from guilt.
The setting of a house that contains a darkened, shuttered room and a body hidden within the floorboards creates an anxious and eerie mood, reflects the unstable personality of the narrator, and symbolizes the narrator’s own guilty conscience, all of which combine to convey the theme that one cannot hide from guilt.
Put all of that together, and you get something like this:
Main Argument 1st claim 2nd claim 3rd claim
Each claim will become its own body paragraph.
Not only will the reader now know your complete argument,
but they will know what to look for in each paragraph.
