Tailor your thesis to the type of paper you’re writing
Not all essays persuade, and not all essays teach. The goals of your paper will help you find the best thesis.
Analytical: Breaks down something to better examine and understand it.
- Ex. “This dynamic between different generations sparks much of the play’s tension, as age becomes a motive for the violence and unrest that rocks King Lear.”
Expository: Teaches or illuminates a point.
- Ex. “The explosion of 1800’s philosophies like Positivism, Marxism, and Darwinism undermined and refuted Christianity to instead focus on the real, tangible world.”
Argumentative: Makes a claim, or backs up an opinion, to change other peoples’ minds.
- Ex. “Without the steady hand and specific decisions of Barack Obama, America would never have recovered from the hole it entered in the early 2000’s.”
