What is a Thesis A thesis statement is the main idea of an essay. It puts forth an arguable

Statement? opinion about a subject.

A thesis statement has 3 main parts: the subject, the opinion, and the plan.

Think SOB: Subject, Opinion, Blueprint

1. Subject

The subject tells the reader exactly on what, or whom the essay focuses.

EXAMPLE:
Animal Farm and “Harrison Bergeron”is the SUBJECT of the thesis.

2. Opinion

The precise opinion gives your answer to a question about the subject.A precise opinion is vital to the reader's comprehension of the goal of the essay.

EXAMPLE:
Animal Farm and “Harrison Bergeron” are fierce criticisms of utopian visionsis the OPINION of the thesis.

3. Blueprint

The blueprint is a plan for the essay. In the blueprint, the author signals an intention to support the precise opinion.

EXAMPLE:
…in their portrayal of absolute power and paralyzed citizensis the BLUEPRINT of the thesis. It shows how the writer is going to focus on examples of absolute power and examples of paralyzed citizens to support the opinion that each work of literature criticizes the utopian visions.


Examples of an effective thesis:
Box the subject, Underline the opinion, and draw a squiggle line under the Blueprint.

  1. While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.
  1. In “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry shows the triumph of love over material wealth through Jim and Della’s selfless devotion to one another.
  1. Although General Zaroff is characterized as an intelligent and well-traveled man, the reader can sensehis lack of sophisticationviahis “most dangerous game,” his treatment of Ivan, and his ultimate defeat by Rainsford.

Examples of an ineffective thesis:

WEAK THESIS / WHAT ARE ITS FLAWS?
In this essay, I will show how “The Necklace” is a better short story than “Gift of the Magi.”
School violence is on the rise because kids are evil; they just don't know right from wrong anymore.
Animal Farm portrays the decline of a society.

STRONG VERBS to USE when WRITING A THESIS

ASSERT

CONFIRM

DEMONSTRATE

DEPICT

DESCRIBE

DISPLAY

EMBODY

EMPHASIZE

ESTABLISH

EXEMPLIFY

EXHIBIT

EXPLAIN

EXPOSE

HIGHLIGHT

ILLUSTRATE

POINT OUT

PORTRAY

PRESENT

PROVE

REPRESENT

REVEAL

REVEAL

SHOW

SUGGEST

UNDERLINE

UNDERSCORE

VERIFY