If you would like to try out your own thesis, what follows is a description of the multi-step process that you can put yourself through to make sure that you end up with a strong, defensible thesis. If you wish for a copy of this as a worksheet, you can download one HERE, or find a printable Google Drive document HERE

The Whole Writing Process (Start filling this in at whichever step you deem necessary)

Questions – What are some scenes / moments / characters that do not make sense to you?

Observations OR Questions Resolved – Some pattern you noticed, some sneaky element that you picked up on, or a possible explanation to a question you have

Brainstorm scenes/moments/pages (at least 5, and think small – be specific) that you MIGHT talk about in regards to your observation or question resolution

Thesis – With this collection of scenes, what is the argument that you are going to propose this book / this author is doing? Make sure you are analyzing and not just presenting a pattern

OUTLINE – What are your topic sentences? Make sure these BUILD UPON ONE ANOTHER

CLOSE READING: Find quotes (not scenes) and show how the language of the quote helps support your argument. Each quote ought to have at least ONE close analysis

If at any point, you are hitting a wall, have the wisdom to bail out & start over.

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