Thesis Statement for Reading Responses and Literary Essay

Developing a thesis is a process of thinking and rethinking, reading and rereading, writing and revising. When I write essays on texts, I find myself constantly revisiting my thesis and revising it as I deepen my understanding of the text I am writing about.

When developing your thesis, it is important that you think of your topic from different perspectives, add layers of complexity to your ideas, and explore causes, effects, reasons, and connections. Remember, your thesis should be a thought-provoking opinion or argument, not an obvious fact or summary of a text.

I. Writing about theme (ex. death, love and hate, gender, inequality, etc.):

Questions to consider:

• What is the author trying to say about _________________?
• What is your opinion about the theme in the text?
• What are the different characters' perspectives about __________________? 
• Why is ______________ important in the text? What does the text reveal about it?

Thesis templates:

• ______________ is important in the text because it shows that ___________
• The main problem with ____________ is ___________________. This shows that ________
• The text shows that in real life, ___________________
• Although some people think that ________________ is _____________, ______________ is really ____________.  

II. Writing about character:

• The character's tragic flaws are ______________________. These flaws lead to his/her downfall because ____________
• The character is too or very ______________. This is a strength/weakness because ____________
• The character changes from ____________ to ___________________. This is important because it shows _______________
• The character is important in the text because ________________-
• The character _________ is similar and different to ____________ because

III. Writing about writer's craft:

• ___________ is a symbol for ___________ and is important because ____________
• The writer uses metaphor to show _________________
• Irony is important because ___________
• This text uses certain archetypes such as _______________ to show _________________

IV. Connecting the text to another:

• The theme of _____________ in the text ____________ is similar to the text _____________ because...
• The quotation __________________ connects to this text because ______________________
• Both ______________ and ______________ demonstrate that ________________

Good examples of thesis statements adapted from student work:

In the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Isabel faces many hardships as a slave during the Revolutionary War.

In The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne Valente, the Marquees have almost complete power over her kingdom and establishes it by making all the creatures of Fairyland work for her using fear, force, and punishment.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth relates to our world by showing how justice has a different meaning for each person, depending on his or her values and beliefs.