As my followers know, I have started a series of writing tips for the formal essay. Check out last week's installment on the Introduction Paragraph here. Part 2 of this series is a continuation of part 1, for today, we will be focusing on a specific aspect of the introduction paragraph: the thesis statement.
1. What is a thesis statement?
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The Oxford English Dictionary defines the thesis as "a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved." Basically, the thesis contains the argument of your paper. This argument is not a set in stone fact. It is a debatable claim, and your job as a writer is to form an opinion about the claim and prove to the reader why your opinion is valid or correct. What are you trying to prove to the reader? What is in your specific book or research are you trying to highlight in your paper?
2. What are some examples of basic thesis statements?
Some basic examples of thesis statements include:
-Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray contains Gothic elements that reflect the decaying psyche of the main character.
-Eating fast food regularly causes obesity, high cholesterol, and bad blood pressure.
-In Lord of the Flies, Piggy represents women.
All three of these are claims. They involve outside research (whether through numerous health reports or a specific novel) that you will need in order to prove their validity. What Gothic elements reflect Gray's decaying psyche? How does that work? What is it about fast food that causes obesity? What "feminine" traits does Piggy have that prove he represents women?
3. But wait, what's this about a theme statement?
For advanced classes, mainly in English as oppose to others, professors prefer a deeper type of thesis. Gone are the days when you could argue "Oscar Wilde'sThe Picture of Dorian Gray contains Gothic elements that reflect the decaying psyche of the main character," as wonderfully complex as that may sound.
A theme statement is a universal statement that encompasses one of the central points the author is trying to make in the piece as a whole. I say "universal" because the theme statement CANNOT apply to a specific novel, character, or author. Technically, you could apply it to multiple novels and papers.
The theme statement explains how your claim plays into the novel itself. Why is it significant that Dorian's psyche decays? Why is Piggy portrayed as a woman? What is the author trying to say?
4. How do I come up with a theme statement?
To reiterate, a theme statement makes a comment on the novel as a whole. To go into detail, let's look at the Lord of the Flies statement from number 1. So, we've decided Piggy has feminine traits. We've outlined what those traits are. But why is Piggy the one who is feminized? Because Piggy has feminine traits, we, as the reader, claim he symbolizes women as a whole. Ergo, the author is claiming that what happens to him while in the jungle is what happens to women. If you've read the book, then you recall how much Piggy struggles in the jungle. He has a hard time doing the things the other boys do, is not physically apt to be in the jungle (due to his asthma), and he ultimately dies. Therefore, the author seems to be implying that women cannot survive in nature, that they are fragile and not meant to face the chaos and monstrosities of the world.
So your completed theme statement is:
"Women are fragile and have no place in the natural world."
And your completed thesis, with a theme statement, would be:
"In Lord of the Flies, William Golding gives the character Piggy feminine traits to show that women are fragile and have no place in the natural world."
Not a thesis that makes me particularly happy, but it does the job.
5. A Basic Model for Beginners
Whenever I have a friend who is struggling to write a thesis, especially one with a theme statement, I recommend the following model. Similar with the introduction, as you practice formal writing and thinking in this way, you can expand from this.
[Author]'s novel/short story/poem/play/etc. [Literature Title] contains [Element of Literature You Talk About in Body Paragraphs] to show [Theme Statement].
If we were to fit our Lord of the Flies thesis into this model, it would look like this.
William Golding'snovel Lord of the Fliescontains a character, Piggy, with feminine traits to show that women are fragile and have no place in the natural world.
I hope this helps! Happy writing!!
