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AP Thesis ThoughtsComposed and Compiled by Frank BriguglioThe AP readers want the student writers to Address the PROMPT and provide analysis, please.I. ?What is a thesis? ?What role does it serve in an analytical essay?*A thesis is an expression of opinion that is both arguable and provable.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?(The Lively Art of Writing - Lucille Vaughan Paine)It is an assertion, a central argument around which the essay revolves.It serves as the essay's guiding force.A thesis may lead to or provide an enduring understanding.II. Thesis Statements and the AP Frequently Asked Questions for Poetry, Prose, and Open ? ? ?Questions.? ? ?Most years, a free response prompt will include the phrase "in a well-organized essay." ?Organization begins with a thesis statement, the controlling idea of the essay. ?When you ask students, "Considering the prompt, what is the main point you want to make in each essay?" - the answer is - in effect - the thesis statement. Yes, AP readers want to see a thesis in each essay. ?Writing is extremely idiosyncratic. ?One size simply doesn't fit all. ?Still readers want to see students assess the components of the prompt and then frame an argument and prove it with textual evidence.? ? ?Under the time constraints of timed writing, a fully developed introductory paragraph might not be possible; however, a thesis statement should be readily identifiable by readers. ?Students acquire this skill by practicing take home essays and then timed-writing pieces that replicate the AP tests.III. ?Approaches and suggestions to generate thesis statements:For Teachers: Know your audience, grade level expectations, and students' skill level.For Students: ?Know your audience and the purpose of the essay.Below are several thesis statements: ?Lets identify the well written and the not so well written:A. Start generating a thesis with the following: This Novel is about __________.Examples: The Adventure of Huckleberry FinnTwain's The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a book about a boy rafting down the Mississippi River with Jim, an escaped slave.Twain's The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is about hypocrisy.Twain's The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a book about one person's ethical stand against hypocritical practices of antebellum Southern society.Examples: Their Eyes Were Watching GodHurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God is about Janie's three marriages.Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God is about what Janie learns about life from her three marriages.In Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie learns that a successful marriage combines love, mutual respect, and passion.Thesis SuggestionsA. Open with the Dramatic Situation connected to analysis that addresses the prompt.B. What observation is the author, playwright, or poet making about life, about humanity in the novel, play or poem?(e.g. It seems that/ I think that) through Creon's tragic downfall in Antigone, Sophocles denounces human vanity. )C. Use a complex sentence for a complex thought - subordinate clause and independent clause.Although ? | ? ?However ? | ? ?Nevertheless? ? ?Although the escalation of violence in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men eventually result in two deaths, it is through violence that compassion is revealed when George, in a violent but merciful act, saves his friend Lenny from cruel, vigilante mob justice.? ? ?Although Huckleberry may not realize it, the Mississippi River serves as a symbol of freedom between the lands of chaos, hypocrisy, and destruction in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.?? ? ?Although Jay Gatsby appears at first to have accomplished the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, his violent and tragic end becomes symbolic of the disintegration and distortion of the Dream.IV. ?A thesis should answer or imply an answer to "so what?"? ? ?In William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is far more successful at manipulating people than Lucentio. ?- SO WHAT?? ? In William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio, because of his ability to use language with precision, is far more successful at manipulating people than Lucentio, suggesting that Shakespeare views language, not money or social status, as the true source of power. (KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLOT SUMMARY AND THEME)V. TPR approach = Topic, Position Rationale (TPR Template)T is for TopicWhat is the main subject?P is for PositionWhat is my claim, my opinion, my interpretation?R is for Rationale What is my reasoning, my warrant, my evidence? Can TPR lead up to an enduring understating?In The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden and Phoebe share a special brother-sister bond that saves Holden from making a life-threatening mistake. Although Holden feels the need to protect his younger sister, Phoebe, he comes to realize that it is eventually impossible to protect children from the harsh realities of the adult world. Thus, he returns home and seeks help.In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Linda is a levelheaded woman who tries to desperately to stabilize her husband Willy’s life. Her enduring patience and undying love enable her to make a conscious decision to withhold truth from Willy; she tries to protect him from harsh reality. Ironically, Linda’s reluctance to give Willy the hard truth does not prevent Willy from committing suicide due to his false pride and delusions. Miller is suggesting that love and success require truth and struggle. Nora Helmer, in Henrick Ibsen’s “A Doll House, lives a life of entrapment, living in a home where her sole existence is simply to please others – until she realizes the absurdity of her life. Even before this realization, however, Nora senses an inner conflict. Throughout her married life, she has “preformed” as a doll in a doll’s house, which seems to cause her repressed anxiety. Only when Nora becomes aware of her niche in the world does the awkward conflict develop, which becomes the impetus for the remainder of the play. Clearly, individual integrity entails sacrifice. VI. Generate an analytical essay opening paragraph complete with a thesis based on the following prompt:In great Literature, no scene of violence exists for it’s own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scene s of violence. In a well-organized commentary, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.Suggestions: Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, Crime and Punishment, Invisible Man, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Kite Runner, Their Eyes Are Watching God, Macbeth, OthelloVII. Discuss and Evaluate the following Thesis Statements:1. In All the Pretty Horses, John Grady’s brutal knife fight with the cuchillero in prison demonstrates that violence is not only an inevitable and natural process in life, but when it is used to uphold honor and nobility, violence van be beautiful and noble. 2. Although the Invisible Man longs to please the white leader despite the obvious malevolent intent those present at the Battle Royal, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man attempts to show the deceptive nature of a whit society’s ideological stronghold on blacks through violence and aggression. 3. While the scene in which Sethe murders her baby Beloved shocks and horrifies, it effectively illuminates Morrison’s view that dehumanization can be a fate worse than death. 4. The murder in Albert Camus’ The Stranger is no more than the main character’s aversion to the hot sun; by introducing this violent act as a chance occurrence, Camus demonstrates his existential version of a morally indifferent universe. ................
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