Writing Thesis Statements A thesis is the proposition, argument, or main point of any piece of writing. In university writing, the thesis statement is a one-to two-sentence statement of your main idea or argument. To make sure that your thesis is really a thesis, check that it meets the following criteria. An effective thesis is • debatable (it is not a statement of fact; it's interpretive; others see it differently; it can be argued); not obvious (it goes beyond the apparent); specific (it does more than make general or vague claims; it uses precise terms and criteria); and of appropriate scope (it is neither too broad to be effectively argued, nor too narrow). • Examine these possible thesis statements about sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"). INEFFECTIVE Thesis Statements: 1. "Shakespeare wrote sonnet 130 because he hated Queen Elizabeth." This is not a thesis statement because there is no way to prove the argument with reference to the poem. 2. "Insonnet 130, Shakespeare is playing with poetic conventions." This is not a thesis because it is too obvious. Every reasonable reader would agree with this statement. It is also not specific enough. How is he playing with conventions? 3. "Insonnet 130, Shakespeare thinks about nature's beauty and a woman's beauty in different ways." This statement is too vague. In what ways? How exactly? This thesis needs to be more specific. EFFECTIVE Thesis Statements: 1. "Although the speaker in Shakespeare's sonnet 130 critiques the conventions of poetry by refusing to associate his beloved with tired clichés, he still follows sonnet tradition by objectifying her." This statement is debatable, not obvious, and can be supported with evidence from the poem. The writer arguing this thesis might focus on the way in which the description of the beloved and the nouns used in the poem make the beloved the object of the speaker's observations. 2. "In sonnet 130, the speaker is not concerned with objectifying his beloved; rather, he is establishing a new and unconventional standard by which to value her." This thesis is also debatable and not obvious, but it argues the opposite of the previous thesis. It might focus on the conventions of Renaissance beauty that the speaker challenges in the poem, and it would analyze how the speaker calls these conventions into question. 3. "Although sonnet 130 plays with traditional descriptions of beauty, the speaker is not as concerned with describing the woman so much as he is challenging traditional poetic modes." This thesis is debatable and not obvious but it takes a different perspective on the poem altogether. For this essay, the speaker might focus on the self-conscious references in the poem to poetry and poetic convention.

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