ENG125: Introduction to Literature

WritingaClearandSoundThesisforaLiteraryAnalysis
Purpose:Usethisresourcetolearnaboutthesisstatementsandasatoolforcreatingyourown.
Whatisathesis?

Thethesisstatementisthekeystoneofyourpaper.Youcancompareittothefoundationofabuilding:If
yourfoundationispoorlybuiltortooweakifitstoogeneralorflimsythebuildingwillfalldown.
Itskeytobuildastrongfoundation,onethatwillholdupthemanypartsofyourbuilding.

Whatdoesthethesisstatementdo?

Thethesisstatementannouncestheanalyticalargumentyouintendtoproveinthemainbodyofyour
essay.Youmightviewitasaroadmapforyouranalysissincetellsthereaderwhattoexpectinthe
essay.Besuretowriteaclearanddirectroadmapthatcontainstheessentialelementsofyourargument.

Wheredoesthethesisstatementgo?

ENG125: Introduction to Literature

Thethesis,whichcanbeoneortwosentences,shouldbeplacedsomewhereintheintroductionofyour
essay.Itwilloftenappearasthelastsentence(s)intheparagraph.

Whatshouldathesisstatementinclude?
Asuccessfulthesisstatementkeepsyourbuildingstandingandhelpsreadersfindtheirwaythroughthe
essay.Itshouldalsobethoughtprovokingandengaging.

How should I write a thesis statement?

When you first begin to write a thesis, you may write a working thesis or a statement that helps you get a
start on your paper. A working thesis statement is just like a regular thesis statement, except that you can
tweak it and change it as you explore your topic, conduct your research, and develop your paper.
Your thesis statement should include two parts: what and why.
What: What claim are you making about the text?
Why: Why should we care about that claim? Why is your claim important to you and your analysis? In
other words, your thesis should answer the So what? question.

The So what? question can include various approaches.

o What is important about this analysis?
o Why does the analysis matter in how we understand the work?
o What makes this analysis interesting and relevant to our understanding of the human
condition?

What does a good thesis statement look like?

Example:Throughitscontrastingforestandtownscenes,MarkTwainsTheAdventuresofTomSawyer
indicatesthattofindexpressfreedomandimaginativecreative,onemustleavecivilizedsocietyandgo
backtonature.

Thisthesisstatementprovidesastrongfoundationandaclearroadmap.Italsopresentsan
interpretationofaliteraryworkbasedonananalysisofitcontentandanswerstheSowhat?

question.
Thethesiscontainscleardetailsandnamestheauthorandbooktitle;italsoshowsaclearcontrast
tobemade.

What does a not-so-great thesis statement look like?

ENG125: Introduction to Literature

Example:TheAdventuresofTomSawyerbyMarkTwainisagreatAmericannovel.

Whatswrongwiththisthesisstatement?Itsanopinionaboutthebook,notanargument.

Example:InTheAdventuresofTomSawyer,MarkTwaindevelopsacontrastbetweenaboyswild,
imaginativelifeintheforestandhismoresedate,controlledlifeinthetown.

Whatisstillmissinginthisthesis?
ItdoesntanswertheSowhat?questionwhatisthepointofthecontrast?Whatdoesthe
contrastsignify?

Which is the better thesis statement for the movie World War Z, and why? Check with your
instructor to see if you got the answer right.
1

In World War Z, a virus changes people into flesh-eating zombies, which can mean the end of the

2
3

world if humans dont fight back.

Brad Pitt, in World War Z, fights zombies to save his family and the entire world.
In World War Z, the protagonist, played by Brad Pitt, struggles to find the origin of the virus as

well as a cure, which represents how modern societies respond to disease.

Zombie movies, like World War Z, feature world apocalypse with the scientist struggling to find a
solution, a concept that has a long history in American culture and reveals a belief about
technology.

Template for Writing a Thesis for a Literary Analysis

Fill out the blanks below, and then revise your sentence into a thesis.
The conflict identified in the story/poem/drama ____________________(title of work) ___________by
_____(name of author)_____________ and ________(title of work) ____________________by
_______________(name of author) ___________________ centers on ___________________________,
which represents______________________________, showing that humans ______________________.

In the story/poem, ____________(name of work) ______________________ and ______________(name

of work) ______________________, the writers __________(name of writer of first work) ___________
and __________________(name of writer of second work) _________________________, focus on
___________________(name of conflict) __________________________ to reveal how ____________.

ENG125: Introduction to Literature

Thesis Checklist

Does your thesis mention the titles of the works and the authors?
Does the statement refer to a specific conflict?
Does the statement provide a narrow focus on how you will address or evaluate the conflict?
Does the statement provide an answer to the So what? question as it relates to the topic?