Learning how to Write a Short Literary
Analysis about Something We’ve Read
#1 - How to Formulate
a Strong Thesis Statement
TDEC – a way of thinking through your
written analysis of a text
•
•
•
•
Thesis
Details (evidence from text)
Elaboration
Commentary
These parts are
factual—not up for
debate. How did the
writer do it?
Here is where you provide your
insights and ideas, explaining why
the details you chose from the text
support your thesis/argument
SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the
prompt directly and accurately.
Commit to a specific focus. Don’t give two or three answers.
(Although a specific thesis may also be complex and have multiple
parts)
BUT…don’t be too specific; you want to be able to write about the
whole text, not just one paragraph. Don’t include specific quotes
from the text. Save those details for support.
Take a position that could possibly be challenged or opposed. You
should not just provide facts and/or a summary. (A thesis should be
interesting for a reader!)
It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there
enough evidence in the story to support my argument?
Help your reader. Use wording from the prompt so a reader could
guess the prompt you were given. Will a reader understand what
you mean? Include the author’s name, the work’s title, and its
genre.
Your Thesis is your answer to the prompt,
the argument you are going to make
• In this unit we are often going to write thesis
sentences that answer the question…What is a central
theme of ________________?
• A thematic statement that answers that prompt is
simply one kind of thesis statement.
• We can write a thesis statement, craft an argument,
for any kind of prompt:
Ex. - In _____’s novel_______, how does the narrator
change as a result of the events of the story?
Ex. – How does the setting in ______’s short story
_______ represent the main character’s internal conflict?
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
• Possible ideas/brainstorming for a thesis that answers
this prompt:
Subject Areas:
- war, witnessing death, tragedy, being haunted by a memory?
I’m going to pick war. What does Rogers have to say about
this topic? Brainstorm details from the text:
- the soldier feels frustrated when he doesn’t know how to help a
dying soldier in his troop
- he mocks Calder’s observation that they’ll “never get back”
home but then doesn’t feel emotionally or mentally home when
he returns—thinking about the “kid in pieces”
- Holiday dinner with family, he feels like he should be with his
soldiers, can’t communicate with his family, contrast of the
significant war questions with the “white meat or dark” choice
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
The theme is that war is a really difficult thing.
What is weak about this thesis?
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Roger’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is that war is a really
difficult thing.
While, it still needs improving, what is better
about this thesis?
This is very vague. We need to be more specific. What about
war is difficult in this story? “THING” is a noun we want to
try and ban from our writing. 95% of the time there is more
specific noun.
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Roger’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that what
soldiers experience during war can remain with
them long after they return home from service.
Can we improve this?
- What did the soldier “experience” in “Three
Soldiers”?
- What “remains” with the soldier?
An example for “Three Soldiers”
• Prompt: What is a central theme of Bruce Holland
Rogers’s short story “Three Soldiers”?
A central theme of Bruce Holland Roger’s short
story “Three Soldiers” is the idea that a soldier’s
inability to prevent or forget tragic death during
war can emotionally damage him or her, even
after returning home from service.
An example for “Sleeping”
• Prompt: Why is “Sleeping” a symbolic title for Katherine
Weber’s short story?
• Possible ideas for a thesis:
– The baby is supposedly sleeping the whole time.
– The baby is dead, so, in a way, it is eternally “sleeping”.
– The mother is sleeping because she is not awake to the
reality that her baby has died…or that she couldn’t have a
baby
– Harriet is sleeping because she doesn’t realize what’s going
on.
An example for “Sleeping”
• Prompt: Why is “Sleeping” a symbolic title for
Katherine Weber’s short story?
• Bad thesis: It works as a title because Charles is
supposedly asleep the whole time, but in actuality he
has died.
• A little better thesis: “Sleeping” is a symbolic title for
Katherine Weber’s short story because Harriet
doesn’t have the experience to know what’s
happening, Charles is eternally “sleeping”, and
because Mrs. Winter is asleep to reality.
Notice that in the set-up of the second thesis, the reader is given
much more information. You can guess what kind of prompt the writer
was given. Also, the writer provides the author’s name , the work’s
title, as well as its genre.
An example for “Sleeping”
• Prompt: Why is “Sleeping” a symbolic title for
Katherine Weber’s short story?
• Strong thesis: “Sleeping” is a symbolic title for
Katherine Weber’s short story because the word
represents the emotional state of Mrs. Winter, a
woman who is unable to awaken and face a painful
reality.
Your HW “Us and Them” Prompts
• As a result of the events of the story, what realization
does David Sedaris make about his own behavior?
• What’s one central theme Sedaris addresses in his
autobiographical essay “Us and Them”?
Look over the 6 ingredients of a strong thesis (on the next
slide) and revise both of your thesis sentences you wrote for
HW to make them stronger.
SIX Ingredients for a Strong Thesis
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Answer the question you were asked. Make sure you answer the
prompt directly and accurately.
Commit to a specific focus. Don’t give two or three answers.
(Although a specific thesis may also be complex and have multiple
parts)
BUT…don’t be too specific; you want to be able to write about the
whole text, not just one paragraph. Don’t include specific quotes
from the text. Save those details for support.
Take a position that could possibly be challenged or opposed. You
should not just provide facts and/or a summary. (A thesis should be
interesting for a reader!)
It must be defendable! Ask yourself: Can I prove this? Is there
enough evidence in the story to support my argument?
Help your reader. Use wording from the prompt so a reader could
guess the prompt you were given. Will a reader understand what
you mean? Include the author’s name, the work’s title, and its
genre.