Five Ways of Looking At a Thesis

By Erik Simpson (And Heavily Modified by Mr. Britcher)

  1. A thesis says something a little strange.

A: By telling the story of Westley and Buttercup's triumph over evil, The Princess Bride affirms the power of true love.

B: Although the main plot of The Princess Bride rests on the natural power of true love, an examination of the way that fighting sticks (baseball bats, tree branches, and swords) link the frame story to the romantic plot suggests that the grandson is being trained in true love, that love is not natural but socialized, and that violence and romance are intrinsically linked.

Both of these statements, I would contend, are perfectly correct. Only the second one says something, well, weird. Weird is good. Sentence A encourages the paper to produce precisely the evidence that everybody always talks about in The Princess Bride; sentence B ensures that the paper will talk about something new, interesting, and argumentative. No one would ever disagree with point A. You might disagree with point B.

People in To Kill a Mockingbird are racists. Frankenstein warns society against taking science too far. The creature starts out good and becomes bad because of society. Yup. How can you make those things unusual?

Many good papers start by pointing out something that seems not to make sense and then making sense of it.

  1. A thesis creates an argument that builds from one point to the next.

A: The Rules and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey both tell women how to act.

B: By looking at The Rules, a modern conduct book for women, we can see how Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is itself like a conduct book because it questioned the rules for social success, offered a new model for doing so, and challenged the history of women’s conduct.

Your three main points should not be disconnected, unrelated, random facts.

  1. A thesis fits comfortably into the Britcher’s Magic Thesis Statement (BMTS) or some variation of it. W(riter)+B(ook)+A(rguement)+P(oints)=T(hesis)

W+B+A+P=T

The BMMTS:

In _____’s novel/poem/play ______, the authors presentation of ______was directly influenced by ______, ______, ______.

_____’s novel/poem/play ______directly influenced ______through the presentation of ______, ______, ______.

_____’s novel/poem/play ______examined/argued/presented the opinion that/etc. ______through ______, ______, ______

Or---

In ______’s novel/poem/play ______the ______can be seen in/is examined in ______, ______, ______.

  1. A thesis says something about the text(s) you discuss exclusively.

Back to the first example:

A: By telling the story of Westley and Buttercup's triumph, The Princess Bride affirms the power of true love.

B: Although the main plot of The Princess Bride rests on the natural power of true love, an examination of the way that fighting sticks (baseball bats, tree branches, and swords) link the frame story to the romance plot suggests that the grandson is being trained in true love, that love is not natural but socialized, and that violence and romance are intrinsically linked.

Try substituting other works:

A: By telling the story of Darcy and Elizabeth's triumph, Pride and Prejudice affirms the power of true love.

B: By telling the story of Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s triumph, Spider-Man affirms the power of true love.

Sure. Bad sign. Although the Spider man point is a stretch, it still works.

B: Although the main plot of Spider-Man rests on the natural power of true love, an examination of the way that fighting sticks (baseball bats, tree branches, and swords) link the frame story to the romance plot suggests that the Peter is being trained in true love, that love is not natural but socialized, and that violence and romance are intrinsically linked. Um, nope. Good sign.

  1. A thesis makes a lot of information irrelevant.

One more time (so sue me, I like this example):

A: By telling the story of Westley and Buttercup's triumph over evil, The Princess Bride affirms the power of true love.

A plot summary of The Princess Bride would support this thesis. Bad sign. A strong thesis excludes most of the text in order to make a specific claim.

B: Although the main plot of The Princess Bride rests on the natural power of true love, an examination of the way that fighting sticks (baseball bats, tree branches, and swords) link the frame story to the romance plot suggests that the grandson is being trained in true love, that love is not natural but socialized, and that violence and romance are intrinsically linked.

This excludes most of the text. Good sign. Your reader knows precisely which parts of it you'll be talking about and why.

the Thesis Statement

1. A good thesis is restricted, almost bite-sized.

Poor: The world is a terrible mess. / vs. / Good: Trade barriers contribute to international tensions.
Poor: Old age has many difficulties. / vs. / Good: The worst part of being old is the loneliness.
Poor: Crime must be stopped. / vs. / Good: Our courts should hand out tougher sentences.

2. A good thesis is concise.

Poor: Arizona's new health program is excellent, but it has several drawbacks, and it should be run only on an experimental basis for two or three years. / vs. / Good: Arizona's new health program has several drawbacks.

3. A good thesis is specific, not vague.

Poor: Hemingway's war stories are really good. / vs. / Good: Hemingway's war stories helped to create a new prose style.

4. A thesis is not a title.

Poor: The Decline of Baseball / vs. / Good: In recent years, baseball has experienced a significant decline in popularity.
Poor: Inflation and Old Age / vs. / Good: Continuing inflation makes it almost impossible to plan intelligently for one's retirement.

5. A thesis is not an announcement of the subject.

Poor: My subject is the incompetence of Mr. Traverse. / vs. / Good: Mr. Traverse is incompetent at teaching and researching.
Poor: I want to share some thoughts with you about our space program. / vs. / Good: Our space program is a waste of money.

6. A thesis is not a statement of absolute fact.

Poor: The capital of California is Sacramento. / vs. / Good: Sacramento is a great place to live.
Poor: Jane Austen is the author of Pride and Prejudice. / vs. / Good: Pride and Prejudice is boring.

Just a reminder: The TKMB essay on the double lives of the characters is due in Sara’s turnitin.com account by 11:59 P.M. It should be two pages, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font with one inch margins. The emphasis of the paper is on the thesis statement. We have worked on it in class, but Sara has missed some of our discussion, so here is a little cheat sheet. I Hope this helps.

To Kill a Mockingbird Double Lives Thesis Statement- general format:

Topic + Argument + 3 main points = Thesis statement

TKMB character + double live causes what + 3 things that happen because of their double life.

Ex.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, ______’s double life caused him/her to

______as can be seen in ______, ______, ______.

Or

Multiple TKMB characters + double live causes what + 3 characters whose double lives have this effect.

Ex.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, several characters led double lives, including ______as can be seen in ______, ______, ______.