- Pick a short story from those that we reviewed over the past few weeks: “Girl”by Jamaica Kincaid
- Think about the deeper meaning of the piece of literature you selected.
- Reflect over the theme, symbolism, characters, metaphors, audience, repetition, and any other literary devices within your selected text.
- Define your thesis. This is the BIG step. This is where your topic is formed, and you must remember that your thesis statement must be arguable; it cannot be a statement.
Example Thesis Statements (Effective):
- In The Open Boat, although all four characters had an important role in the story, it was the oiler who tried to fight against nature, not understanding what the other three did.
- Eleven focused on the use of repetition, metaphors, and symbols to create an impressionable story that made readers think about how age is more than a number.
Note that both of the above thesis statements could be argued; you could decide that the oiler didn’t fight against nature or that Eleven didn’t make readers think deeper about age through use of literary devices.
BAD Example Thesis Statements:
X The Lottery is about traditions.
X The Open Boat focuses on four main characters that are stranded on a boat.
Note that both of the above thesis statements could not be argued because they are facts. You cannot develop a literary analysis around either of those statements because your essay would end up being a summary rather than an analysis.
How could we fix the above thesis statements to be effective?
- The Lottery explores the danger behind simply following traditions without understanding the consequences or knowing whether those traditions are worth embracing.
- The Open Boat explores the relationship of four men who are stranded on a small boat, desperately trying to understand natures role on their fate.
- Gather Evidence. After defining your thesis statement, you are ready to support your argument. You will need to include some direct quotes, and you will need to properly cite those with the page number and a full end of text citation for your selected piece of literature. Remember, this is NOT a summary. Therefore, your essay will not be arranged in chronological order of how the story took place; this would be a summary. Instead, you are working to support your thesis statement.
- Restate your thesis and conclude your paper. You want to remember that you do not want to literally cope/paste your thesis and stick it in your conclusion. Instead, your conclusion should explain the so what of your paper what main point do you want to relay to your readers?
Paper Facts
- Length: Three pages
- Format: MLA
- Tone: Academic
- Point of view: Avoid second person voice
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