Preparing to Write a Thesis

Your paper must not state the obvious! It needs to prove to your reader that you offer extraordinary insight into Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre in terms of the selected lens. See notes below to begin crafting a thesis statement, the driving force/backbone of your research/analysis work.

Some points to consider as you create a thesis:

Biographical Criticism: What should the reader know and understand about the author to deeply know and understand her work/ What does the literary work tell us about its author?

Historical Criticism: What historical information (context) is necessary for the reader to fully understand the literary work? What insights does the literary work give us into history - of the author's times, the history of an era, or of current history?

Psychological Criticism: What can this literary work teach us about the workings of the mind and behavior? What is the psychological appeal to readers? What psychological issues does the text explore? What can the text reveal about the psychology of its author, her society, or our society?

Feminist Criticism: Are women fairly and fully represented in this work? Does gender stereotyping or silencing affect the overall effectiveness of the work? How does the work's treatment of sexual roles/relationships and ideas of masculinity and femininity affirm or contend with our notions? society's notions?

Marxist Criticism: How do class struggles contribute to the meaning and effectiveness of the text? How do the author's representations of social class, material wealth, money, possessions, status, power, politics, labor roles, etc. represent the historical time period or our own time period? How do social, cultural, and historical conditions contribute to the overall meaning of the text?

Formalist Criticism: What are the strengths of the text's craft? How do literary structures and devices such as diction, syntax, symbolism, tone, point-of-view, motifs, irony, allusion, atmosphere, etc. support the text's meaning and effectiveness?
(Gillespie)

Thesis Checklist:

A thesis GUIDES YOUR ANALYSIS and FOCUSES and ORGANIZES your paper.

A strong thesis is:

• Clearly written (does not mean basic!)
• Specific
• Limited in scope
• Offers a distinct perspective or interpretation on a subject/text/author (UNC Writing Center)

Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning. (Syracuse City Schools)