ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay
Thesis Statements for Short Stories
A literary analysis of short stories allows writers to explain the basic elements of the story and make a deeper statement about the plot, characters, symbolism or theme. Writing such an analysis allows students to learn more about the story and gain an appreciation of literature in general. One of the most significant elements of the literary analysis is the thesis statement.ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay
Definition
In any essay, the thesis statement establishes the purpose of the essay for the reader. A good thesis fits the assignment length, makes a statement about your overall point and includes the specific points you will give to support that idea about the story. The thesis must relate to a specific point about the short story such as the argumentative point you want to explain or defend. Place the thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph of the analysis.
focus
When writing your thesis statement, make sure to clearly state the purpose of your essay to the reader. Narrow your focus to aspects of the story that fits the scope of the assignment, both in terms of the depth of your discussion as well as the minimum word count. For instance, saying a character is “interesting” or that many symbols appear in the story does not give your reader a clear idea of what you will discuss. Instead, choose words that emphasize your point, such as how a character’s flaw causes his downfall or how a particular set of symbols illustrate the theme of the story.ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay
Purpose
The thesis for a literary analysis will determine the organization you will use in the body of the paper. Consider comparing or contrasting characters or situations, explaining a causal relationship between events in the plot, relating how a character fulfills a certain role or discussing how elements, such as the setting, illustrate the theme. Write your thesis with language like “differences,” “similar,” “cause,” “effects” and the element or elements you will cover such as “theme,” “character” and “setting.”
Sub points
Add sub points to your thesis to preview the specifics you will provide in support of your thesis. These may list the characters, symbols, plot elements, similarities, differences, causes or effects you will discuss. Write these sub points in the same order in your thesis that you will present them in the body of the paper and list them after your main idea in your thesis. For example, a good thesis might be, “The man in Jack London’s ‘To Build a Fire’ fails in his mission due to his overconfidence in himself, his disdain toward nature’s power and his inability to retain his composure.”ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay
To write an effective critical analysis, you must first be sure that you understand the question that has been posed, and all literary terms that you have been asked to address. Once you feel you understand the question, reread the piece of literature, making notes. Then look at the notes you’ve made, consider what connections you can make between observations, and reconsider the question. Try to formulate a rough thesis statement (your “claim”). Now try to select those pieces of evidence that you feel you can most convincingly use to support the claim you made. Next, try to formulate a good introduction, that
- names the work discussed and the author.
- provides a very brief plot summary.
- relates some aspect of that plot to the topic you have chosen to address.
- provides a thesis statement.
- indicates the way you plan to develop your argument (support your claim).
Now proceed to introduce and discuss the evidence you mentioned in your introduction, in the order in which you mentioned it. Ensure that you deal with each kind of evidence in a paragraph of its own, and that you introduce the topic of each paragraph with a carefully-focused topic sentence. Also ensure that you end each paragraph with a concluding sentence that sums up the thrust of that paragraph’s argument and possibly paves the way for the next piece of evidence to be discussed. (Alternatively, you can begin the next paragraph with a transitional phrase that links the new piece of evidence with the one you have just summarized.)ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay
Finally, write a conclusion that restates your thesis (but using different words), incorporates a brief restatement of your key evidence, and provides a sense of closure. A good closing technique is to somehow link the claim you have made about this particular piece of literature with the author’s general style or preoccupations, or to suggest some way in which the topic you have just discussed relates more generally to some aspect of human existence.
Model Essay
What follows is the sample essay analyzing the use of setting in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” Both “good” and “poor” examples of the essay’s first and second body paragraphs are included. As you read each paragraph of the essay, beginning with its introduction, clicking on the “continue” arrow at the bottom of the paragraph will permit you to see commentary on particular features of the essay-writing process. To see all the commentary, you may need to click the arrow multiple times.ENGL 2110 week 2 Assignment Essay