English 102 / Tenenbaum
About the thesis sentence for Analysis Essay #2 (Crescent)
About the Thesis
Like the thesis for Analysis Essay #1, your thesis should be:
• Arguable: Other readers might disagree or have a different interpretation with your thesis
idea. Your thesis should not be a summary of the various source texts; likewise, it should
not be a statement of fact. Facts are not arguable.
• Limited and focused: The thesis should be narrow enough that you can cover it thoroughly in
this length (4-5 page) assignment. It should focus on a specific idea. An overly general
thesis will lead to a disorganized essay that has a hard time following its statements up
with support.
• Precisely worded: Your thesis should be in concise, specific, straightforward language. The
words in it (and words related to those words) will become key words in your essay,
words that will be repeated in topic sentences throughout, words that will help your
readers follow your ideas.
• Organized: Your thesis should present its ideas in the order that it makes most sense for the
essay as a whole to present them in. That is, your thesis is a miniature map or outline of
your whole essay: Each word and concept in your thesis will be unfolded and explored in
order as the essay continues. (Thus, the order of the wording in your thesis may change as
you draft your essay and move paragraphs and ideas around. Ultimately, in your finished
essay, the order of your thesis and the order of your paragraphs match up.
Your thesis should contain:
 A topic (the particular aspect of the book that you’re looking at)
 An idea about that topic (your interpretation of what the book says about that topic).
It’s this idea that requires the support and analysis your essay will provide.
General Ideas for Topics
Character analysis: Make a claim about how a character changes or develops. Or consider the
interaction between two characters: Make a claim about how two characters affect each other.
Character’s role: Make a claim about how a character shapes the plot: What is that character’s
role in the book? Or, if you’re considering a pair of characters, consider what roles they play in
the book and how they balance or shape the plot.
A symbol or theme or thread: Make a claim about the meaning of one of the themes or threads
you’ve been following in your notes or that has come up in class: the purpose of stories and
storytelling, water, family, etc.
Food and cooking: Make a claim about the meaning of food in the book or to a particular
character.
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Thesis Template
The template below is a good starting point for developing a thesis sentence because it contains a
slot for the topic and a slot for the idea.
In this book about _________________, the writer shows that _______________________.
topic
idea
Examples
Each example below offers a different view of the topic and will require a different sort of
journey through the book. The Topic is in italics. The Idea is in bold. Your sentences might vary
the wording of the original template somewhat; however, this template is a good starting point.
Your thesis in your final, revised essay might retain this pattern, or might evolve into a
somewhat different or very different sentence.
Your essay will probably need to include several sentences that build up to this thesis so that a
reader is ready to understand what you are talking about when you make your thesis statement at
the end of paragraph 1.
1. In this book about the development of Sirine and Han’s ability to love, the author
shows that they both have accept the unknown in themselves and in each
other before they can truly love.
2. In this book about what it means to be in exile, the writer shows that in order to
be happy in a new place, one must eventually come to terms with being
separated from one’s original home.
3. In this book about the relationship between myths and stories and real life, the
author shows that the strangeness and mystery of a myth or a story can help
one work through with the difficulties of real life.
4. In this book in which water is a predominant element, water comes to symbolize
both the origin of self and the journey to one’s true self.
5. In this book about the importance of food and cooking, the author shows that food
is a kind of communication.
6. In this book about the importance of food and cooking, the author shows that food
keeps the characters in touch with their own feelings and with each other.
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