WHAT
+
HOW
+
WHY
The
Three-Part
Thesis
Statement
Purpose of the Thesis
 The
thesis, usually expressed in one (rarely
two) sentences, is the central, organizing
claim of your paper.
 Because each paragraph’s job is to drive
an argument forward by proving the
thesis, the thesis largely determines the
type of paper you get to write.
 If your claim is complex, you have the
option of picking the best arguments for
your strong paper and having a lot to talk
about.
The Thesis Generator
1. WHAT: Observation; what you noticed in the text
X = specific strategy, literary or
rhetorical device(s), and/or pattern
2. HOW: Complication; how O works/changes
X shifts from A to B, emphasizes C,
functions as a D, dramatizes E…
3. WHY: Significance; how O + C together
contribute to the author’s/text’s larger meaning,
reveal larger tensions or concerns, etc.
So what? Why is this important? O +
C reveal/suggest/undermine etc…
Evolving Thesis Statements: O + C
•In
Melville’s The Tartarus of Maids, images of dead
whiteness, and blankness
Observation: pattern/device
•emphasize the similarities
between female factory
workers and the homogenous paper products
Complication: creates analogy
Significance: MISSING
Evolving Thesis: What + How
•In
Melville’s The Tartarus of Maids, images of dead
flatness, whiteness, and blankness
WHAT: pattern/device
•emphasize the similarities
between female factory
workers and homogenous paper products
HOW: creates analogy
WHY: MISSING
Evolving Thesis : How + Why
WHAT: MISSING
•Similarities
between female factory workers and the
homogenous paper products
HOW: creates analogy
•suggest
that industrialization dangerously replaces
vital human reproduction with lifeless industrial
production.
WHY: reveals historical conditions
and their hidden effects
Evolving Thesis: What + Why
•In
Melville’s The Tartarus of Maids, images of dead
flatness, whiteness, and blankness
WHAT: pattern/device
HOW: MISSING
•suggest
that industrialization dangerously replaces
vital human reproduction with lifeless industrial
production.
WHY: reveals historical conditions
and their hidden effects
Three-Part (What How Why) Thesis
•In
Melville’s The Tartarus of Maids, images of dead
flatness, whiteness, and blankness
WHAT: pattern/device
•emphasize the similarities
between female factory
workers and the homogenous paper products,
HOW: creates analogy
•thereby suggesting
that industrialization
dangerously replaces vital human reproduction with
lifeless industrial production.
WHY: reveals historical condition and
its hidden effects
Six Key Aspects of a Strong
Thesis Statement
 Thesis






statements should be:
CLEAR
STRUCTURED
SPECIFIC
ARGUABLE
RELEVANT
and INSIGHTFUL
Clear & Structured

Clarity: Do not use overly elevated diction just
because this is a formal paper. Simple but polished
language will get your point across and often
appears more sophisticated than language that
“tries too hard.”

Structure: This is easy! Use the three-part structure
listed above, and you’ll never go astray.
Specific

SPECIFIC means no generalizations or grand claims.
Your thesis needs to be grounded in specific details of
the text.

“Reading Twain’s Huckleberry Finn alongside Tuan’s
work on space and place reveals the importance of
home in the 19th century.”

NOT specific: This statement is general, its claim is very
big, and it isn’t anchored in particular aspects of
either text. You can’t use a two whole texts to make
an argument - you have to narrow it down.
Arguable

ARGUABLE means a claim that a reasonable person
could disagree with; statements of fact are neither
arguable nor compelling. If your thesis is too obvious,
you’ll be reduced to paraphrasing the plot because
you can’t make an argument.

“On the raft, Twain portrays the power of familiarity
in creating place.”

NOT arguable (no one who has read the text would
disagree!)
Relevant

RELEVANT means the thesis addresses the significance
of the matter at hand. Whatever you’re arguing, you
need to explain why the author is doing what you
claim he/she is doing, to what end, to what purpose.
You also need to think about why YOU are arguing
what you’re arguing - what is your end or purpose
(other than that you have to write a paper to pass this
class)?

“Huckleberry Finn spends his time at the Grangerfords’
attempting to avoid getting embroiled in the feud
that structures their daily life.”

NOT relevant. What is your point in making this claim?
Insightful

INSIGHTFUL means taking the time to really think of
something that you think is not obvious, that will
require the length of the paper for you to prove it.
The best papers are ones where you feel like if you
don’t explain it, or show the analysis that got you to
your claim, your reader will not see it. They are also
the most fun to write. Your essay should teach your
reader something new about the text they wouldn’t
have seen otherwise. I encourage you to get weird
with this (as long as you can back it up with
evidence).
To Sum it Up: Writing as a
Process
 Thesis
statements often evolve as you look more
closely at your quotes while writing. This is a good
thing, usually leading to a more complex, arguable,
and significant central idea.
 A thesis with only one or two of the full three is not
“bad” or “wrong.” It hasn’t been built up to its
optimal level of insight, but that one part is still
necessary for later evolutions.
 Before you turn your paper in, ALWAYS check to
make sure that your thesis matches the argument
that you’ve ended up writing! If your essay went in
an unexpected direction, revise your thesis to fit the
essay that you wrote.