1) Is There a Single Sentence That Expresses My Thesis?

CHC 2D Thesis Checklist

1) Is there a single sentence that expresses my thesis?

You should be able to reduce your argument to one sentence.

2) Is my thesis in the first paragraph (or paragraphs) of the essay?

Your thesis statement should be in the first paragraph or two; you would be amazed how quickly people start to wonder what the point is.

3) Is my thesis too narrow or narrow enough?

It is possible to be too narrow. (For example: My essay will demonstrate, with examples from the text, that Bartleby was not a reliable scrivener. ** NOTE: Bartleby is a kind of clerk, a copyist, “who obstinately refuses to go on doing the sort of writing demanded of him.” Such a thesis denies any interest in Bartleby as a character and the question being answered does not advance our critical understanding of the story.

However, very few essays are too limited.

4) Do I have enough examples to support my thesis?

Remember that you have to prove something. Someone has to be convinced. You must provide details from literary texts to back up your general statements.

5) Has my thesis statement accidentally been delayed until the last paragraph?

A remarkable number of students start out with a vague generalization in the first paragraph, work through their examples, and by the end develop quite an intelligent evaluation. The reader suddenly finds out in the last lines what the student was trying to show.

If this happens to you, rewrite your opening paragraph to include the thesis statement. You don't have to give everything away right at the beginning, but you certainly have to reveal the direction you are headed. (And, look at that last paragraph again to see that it draws a conclusion, rather than repeating the introduction.)

Summary - In short form - Is my thesis:

1.  Stated in a single sentence?

2.  Stated at the beginning?

3.  Sufficiently narrow?

4.  Backed up by examples?

5.  Not revealed only at the end?

http://www.tru.ca/studentservices/writingcentre/owl/emergency/thesis.html

Examples of Thesis Statements:

WEAK:

"Dorothy Richardson's The Long Day is a provocative portrayal of working class women's lives in the early part of the twentieth century."

This is a weak thesis for a paper, since it is overly vague and general, and is basically descriptive in nature. The thesis does not suggest why or how Richardson's book is "provocative."

SATISFACTORY:

"The narrator of Dorothy Richardson's 1905 work, The Long Day, exemplifies many ideas and perspectives of the early twentieth century's new feminism."

This is a bit better, since the author is actually suggesting that there might be an argument about early twentieth-century feminism. But note how the language is still vague. What ideas and perspectives? To what effect does Richardson's work deal with these ideas?

EXCELLENT:

"While The Long Day's narrator exemplifies many tenets of the new feminism, such as a commitment to women's economic independence, her feminist sympathies are undermined by her traditional attitudes towards female sexual expression."

OK. Now we are getting somewhere! This is a solid thesis. Note that the language is specific (commitment to women's economic independence, as example). Also, the author has detected a contradiction in the text, a tension that the paper can fruitfully analyze. It could be strengthened further by suggesting HOW Richardson's sympathies are undermined by her traditional attitudes.