Thesis Statements

Thesis Statements are due TODAY!



Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement directs all of the ideas, quote selection, and commentary in your essay. Therefore, a muddled or imprecise thesis statement will lead to an unclear or meaningless essay.

A thesis statement is NOT:

1. An abstract concept. For example, “Greed” is not a thesis statement.

2. A general “universal” truth. For example, the following sentence is not a thesis statement: “For thousands of years, man has been greedy.”

A thesis statement IS a statement that provides direction for the analysis of a theme or idea presented by a particular text. Therefore, in order to construct an effective thesis statement, you must first determine what a text is suggesting about an abstract concept (like greed, for example).
Your thesis statement will address an abstract concept PLUS the evaluation of that concept through a particular text.

A thesis statement for “The Pardoner’s Tale” might address the abstract concept of greed as it is handled in the story. The first two examples are NOT thesis statements. The third one is a complete thesis statement:

a. Greed is something that man has struggled with for centuries, as demonstrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Chaucer. (Abstract Concept Only)

b. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, is a story about how three men kill one another while looking for Death. (Plot Summary)

c. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, suggests that the “deadly” sin of greed is stronger than any oath of friendship, and will ultimately lead those who give into its allure to their own destruction.