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Finding a Thesis
The about-ness puts an argumentative edge on the subject. When you have something to say about your topic, you have found your underlying idea. You have something to defend, something to fight about: you have a thesis. The most dynamic thesis is a kind of affront to somebody; it does not state merely the obvious. The more unpopular the viewpoint is and the stronger the push against convention, the stronger the thesis and the more energetic the essay. Probably the most energetic thesis of all, the greatest inner organizer, is some tired old truth that you cause to spurt with new life, making the old ground green again. To find a thesis and to put it into one sentence is to narrow and define your subject to a workable size. Put an argumentative edge on your subject, and you will have found your thesis. Literary subjects take an argumentative edge almost by nature. You simply assert what the essential point of a story, poem, or play seems to be: "Hamlet is essentially about a world that has lost its values"; "King Lear is about the corruption of spiritual values by material ones." You assume that your readers are in search of clarity, that you have a loyal opposition consisting of the interested but uninformed. You have given your subject its edge; you have limited and organized it at a single stroke. Pick an argument, then, and you will automatically be defining and narrowing your subject. Instead of dealing with things, subjects, pieces of subjects, or plot summary, you will be dealing with an idea and its consequences. Come out with your subject pointed. Take a stand, make a judgment of value, make a thesis. Be reasonable, but don't be timid. It is helpful to think of your thesis, your main idea, as a debating question--"Resolved: Welfare payments must go"--taking out the "Resolved" when you actually write your thesis down. But your resolution will be even stronger, your essay clearer and tighter, if you can sharpen your thesis even further--"Resolved: Welfare payments must go because--." Fill in that blank, and your worries are practically over. The main idea is to put your whole argument into one sentence. Write that sentence down on and keep it in front of you while you write to help keep you from drifting from your subject. You should look for a thesis that you believe in, something you can even get enthusiastic about. You can hardly persuade anyone if you can't persuade yourself. So begin with what you believe, and explore its validities. Conversely, you must test your belief with all the objections you can think of. A natural uncertainty and feeling of ignorance, and a misunderstanding of what truth is, can well inhibit you from finding a thesis. But no one knows everything. No one would write anything if he waited until he did. To a great extent, the writing of a thing is the learning of it--the discovery of truth. So, first, make a desperate thesis and get into the arena. Once you believe in your proposition, you will discover that proving it is really a venture in persuasion. Rhetoric is, in fact, the art of persuasion, of moving the reader to your belief. You have made a thesis, an opinion as to what the truth seems to be from where you stand, with the information that you have. Belief has an unfolding energy; write what you believe. You may be wrong, of course, but you will probably discover this as you probe for reasons. The truth remains true, and you must at least glimpse it before you can begin to persuade others to see it. So follow your convictions and find reasons to convince your readers. Give them enough evidence to persuade them that what you say is probably true. You must find public reasons for your private convictions. (These comments, many taken verbatim, are from Sheridan
Baker, The Complete Stylistic and Handbook, 2nd edition, pp. 6-12.) Other sources: http://faculty.valpo.edu/bflak/e200fall98/analysis.html http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_lit.html Mechanics: 1. type paper and give it a title |