Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Thesis Statements and Color of Water

Qualities of a Good Thesis Statement


An argument
When you write an extended literary essay, often one requiring research, you are essentially making an argument. You are arguing that your perspective-an interpretation, an evaluative judgment, or a critical evaluation-is a valid one.
For your top three favorite topics, create a thesis statement that would fit the criteria discussed in class
For homework, post your thesis statement by 12am tonight!

Bad Thesis Statement Example:
You would not want to make an argument of this sort:
Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge.
That doesn't say anything-it's basically just a summary and is hardly debatable.

A better thesis would be this:
Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.
That is debatable, controversial even. The rest of a paper with this argument as its thesis will be an attempt to show, using specific examples from the text an