Introduction and Thesis

1. Introduction and Thesis By Joseph Cheatle Adapted from the OWL at Purdue

2. Introduction • 1. What is this? • 2. Why am I reading it? • 3. What do you want me to do?

3. Those questions can be answered by the following: 1. Set the context – provide general information about the main idea, explaining the situation so the reader can make sense of the topic and the claims you make and support 2. State why the main idea is important – tell the reader why s/he should care and keep people reading. Your goal is to create a compelling, clear, and convincing essay people will want to read and act upon. 3. State your thesis/claim – compose a sentence or two stating the position you will support with logos, pathos, and ethos

4. Thesis • Two types: 1. Conventional (argumentative) 2. Organized around a question

5. 1. Convnetional Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs Dalloway, depicts the preparations for a party at the upper class British home of Clarissa Dalloway. However, what interests me is not Clarissa herself, but the fascination with death in the novel. Death is the primary focus, and connection between, three of the main characters: Clarissa Dalloway, Septimus Smith, and Peter Walsh. While Septimus commits suicide, Clarissa ultimately accepts her own mortality. But Peter Walsh has the most complicated relationship with death as he never resolves his feelings concerning his own mortality. A close reading of the novel emphasizes the importance of death in the novel and suggests that Woolf sees a person’s relationship with death needs to be dealt with in order to live a fulfilled life. In what follows, I show that Woolf’s novel suggests that there are multiple ways of dealing with death (Clarissa, Septimus, and Peter), ultimately demonstrating that it is only Clarissa who successfully comes to terms with her own mortality.

6. 2. Question Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs Dalloway, depicts the preparations for a party at upper class Clarissa Dalloway’s home. Told from multiple narrative points of view in a stream of consciousness mode, the novel stresses the juxtaposition of Clarissa Dalloway and World War I veteran Septimus Smith. Septimus, a shell-shocked war hero, eventually commits suicide as he is unable to come to terms with his experiences during the war. Meanwhile, Clarissa initially appears blissfully happy but expresses her belief that she is trapped by patriarchal English society. Although the novel ends without Clarissa ever meeting Septimus, Woolf leaves the reader to wonder about the effect that these two characters have on each other. In pointing out the similarities between Septimus and Clarissa, is Woolf placing the effects of a woman living in a patriarchal society on the same level as that of shell-shock? Or, is there a difference in the experiences of the two characters? In the following pages, I will explore these difficult questions. In order to do so, it is crucial to examine the sources of discontent for each character. What makes Clarissa, a successful and seemingly happy woman married to a lower cabinet minister, so unhappy in the first place? Her trouble appears to stem from….

7. Mapping Statement • A mapping statement will support your thesis by outlining the structure of your paper, the sources you will consider, and the opposition to your position.

8. Thesis Guidelines • A good thesis is unified • A good thesis is specific • Tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion • Is a road map for your paper • Directly asks the question asked of you • Makes a claim that others might dispute • Usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader (the rest of your paper gather and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation)

9. How do you know if you have a strong thesis? • Do I answer the question? • Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? • Is my thesis statement specific enough? • Is my thesis statement too vague? • Does my thesis pass the “so what?” test? • Does my thesis pass the “how?” and “why?” test?

10. Thesis Statement Exercise • 1. Universal Health Care • 2. Taxes • 3. Sports funding in higher education • 4. Guns in school