Thesis Statement

Parts of a Thesis Statement

Claim

Evidence

Evidence

Topic

Position

INDEX

Thesis Statements for Literary Analysis and Persuasive Essays

Overview

Part 1: Claim

Part 2: Evidence

Thesis Statement = Claim + Evidence

Claim =Topic + Position

The thesis statement is undoubtedly the MOST important sentence of your entire essay! It serves as the blueprint, or road map, for your essay, so it is crucial that your thesis statement is clear and logical before beginning the body of the essay. A fully developed thesis statement has two basic parts. These two parts in order to construct a clear outline for the direction of the essay.

"What" is being argued?

Part 1: Claim (Topic + Position)

This is the part of the thesis statement that contains your opinion, which for the essay, is your interpretation of the piece of literature. This interpretation should come in the form of a theme statement and should be universal.

Examples of WHAT

Part 2: Evidence

"Why" is the claim being argued?

This is the part of the thesis statement in which you mention the specific pieces of evidence you will discuss to PROVE your CLAIM. For a persuasive/argumentative essay, the evidence should be a DETAILED and SPECIFIC example of ethos, pathos, and/or logos. For a literary analysis essay, the evidence should include 2-3 literary elements or literary techniques. These include devices such as characterization, symbolism, allegories, writing style, use of metaphor, diction, imagery, conflict, etc.

Examples of why