Thesis Workshop

1 – What’s the object?

• Is there a specific object (about which the statement makes a claim)?
• Is the object a textual element?
• Is it clear and discrete?
• Is it appropriately focused?

2 What’s the claim?

• Is there a claim?
• Is the claim about the object?
• Is the claim clear and cogent?
• Is the scope of the claim feasible?

3 What are the stakes?

• Does the statement pose the stakes of this claim? (stakes = “so what?”)
• Have the stakes been clearly articulated?
• Are the stakes text-based? (Meaning: Do the stakes, as articulated, communicate how the claim affects the way we understand some part of this text?)
• Is the articulated stake(s) deducible from the stated claim?

4 What’s the roadmap?

• Is there a roadmap?
• Is the roadmap clear and concise?
• Does the roadmap give you a sense of the argument structure?
• Does the roadmap give you a sense of the scope and order of the text (evidence) you will discuss?