{"id":250,"date":"2025-04-17T16:35:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/analytical-thesis-statements\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T20:25:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:25:57","slug":"analytical-thesis-statements","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/analytical-thesis-statements\/","title":{"raw":"Keys to Successful Analysis: Learn It 1","rendered":"Keys to Successful Analysis: Learn It 1"},"content":{"raw":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\" aria-label=\"Learning Goals\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Identify analytical thesis statements<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Describe how to write an analytical thesis statement<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Use analytical thinking to make inferences<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<div class=\"mb-2 flex gap-3 empty:hidden -ml-2\">\r\n<div class=\"items-center justify-start rounded-xl p-1 flex\">\r\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\r\n<h2>How to Write a Good Analysis<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"flex items-center pb-0\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; orphans: 1; text-align: initial;\">In order to write an analysis, you want to first have a solid understanding of the thing you are analyzing. Remember, when you are analyzing as a writer, you are:<\/span><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Breaking down information or artifacts into component parts<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Uncovering relationships among those parts<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Determining motives, causes, and underlying assumptions<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nYou may be asked to analyze a book, an essay, a poem, a movie, or even a song. For example, let's suppose you want to analyze the lyrics to a popular song.\u00a0Pretend that a rapper called Escalade has the biggest hit of the summer with a song titled \u201cMissing You.\u201d You listen to the song and determine that it is about the pain people feel when a loved one dies. You have already done analysis at a surface level and you want to begin writing your analysis. You start with the following thesis statement:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Escalade\u2019s hit song \u201cMissing You\u201d is about grieving after a loved one dies.<\/p>\r\nThere isn\u2019t much depth <span style=\"color: #333333;\">or complexity to<\/span> such a claim because the thesis doesn't give much information. In order to write a better thesis statement, we need to dig deeper into the song. What is the importance of the lyrics? What are they really about? Why is the song about grieving? Why did he present it this way? Why is it a powerful song? Ask questions to lead you to further investigation. Doing so will help you better understand the work, but also help you develop a better thesis statement and stronger analytical essay.\r\n<h2>Formulating an Analytical Thesis Statement<\/h2>\r\nWhen formulating an analytical thesis statement in college, here are some helpful words and phrases to remember:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>What? What is the claim?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How? How is this claim supported?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>So what? In other words, \"What does this mean, what are the implications, or why is this important?\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nTelling readers what the lyrics are might be a useful way to let them see what you are analyzing and\/or to isolate specific parts where you are focusing your analysis. However, you need to move far beyond \u201cwhat.\u201d Instructors at the college level want to see your ability to break down material and demonstrate deep thinking. The claim in the thesis statement above said that Escalade's song was about loss, but what evidence do we have for that, and why does that matter?\r\n\r\nEffective analytical thesis statements require digging deeper and perhaps examining the larger context. Let\u2019s say you do some research and learn that the rapper\u2019s mother died not long ago, and when you examine the lyrics more closely, you see that a few of the lines seem to be specifically about a mother rather than a loved one in general.\r\n\r\nThen you also read a recent interview with Escalade in which he mentions that he's staying away from hardcore rap lyrics on his new album in an effort to be more mainstream and reach more potential fans. Finally, you notice that some of the lyrics in the song focus on not taking full advantage of the time we have with our loved ones.<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">\u00a0<\/span>All of these pieces give you material to write a more complex thesis statement, maybe something like this:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the hit song \"Missing You,\" Escalade draws on his experience of losing his mother and raps about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in order to connect with his audience.<\/p>\r\nSuch a thesis statement is focused while still allowing plenty of room for support in the body of your paper. It addresses the questions posed above:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>What? What is the claim?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The claim is that Escalade connects with a broader audience by rapping about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in his hit song, \"Missing You.\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How? How is this claim supported?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>This claim is supported in the lyrics of the song and through the \"experience of losing his mother.\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>So what? In other words, \"What does this mean, what are the implications, or why is this important?\"\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The implications are that we should not take the time we have with people for granted.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nCertainly, there may be many ways for you to address \u201cwhat,\u201d \u201chow,\u201d and \u201cso what,\u201d and you may want to explore other ideas, but the above example is just one way to more fully analyze the material. Note that the example above is not formulaic, but if you need help getting started, you could use this template format to help develop your thesis statement.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Through ________________(how?), we can see that __________________(what?), which is important because ___________________(so what?).[footnote]UCLA Undergraduate Writing Center. <em>\"What, How and So What?\" Approaching the Thesis as a Process.<\/em> https:\/\/wp.ucla.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/UWC_handouts_What-How-So-What-Thesis-revised-5-4-15-RZ.pdf[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\nJust remember to think about these questions (what? how? and so what?) as you try to determine why something is what it is or why something means what it means. Asking these questions can help you analyze a song, story, or work of art, and can also help you construct meaningful thesis sentences when you write an analytical paper.\r\n\r\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\r\n<h3>tips for analytical theses<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Don\u2019t be afraid to let your claim evolve organically<\/strong>. If you find that your thinking and writing don't stick exactly to the thesis statement you have constructed, your options are to scrap the writing and start again to make it fit your claim (which might not always be possible) or to modify your thesis statement. The latter option can be much easier if you are okay with the changes. As with many projects in life, writing doesn\u2019t always go in the direction we plan, and strong analysis may mean thinking about and making changes as you look more closely at your topic. Be flexible.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Use analysis to get you to the main claim.<\/strong> You may have heard the simile that analysis is like peeling an onion because you have to go through layers to complete your work. You can start the process of breaking down an idea or an artifact without knowing where it will lead you or without a main claim or idea to guide you. Often, careful assessment of the pieces will bring you to an interesting interpretation of the whole. In their text <em>Writing Analytically<\/em>, authors David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen posit that being analytical doesn\u2019t mean just breaking something down. It also means constructing understandings. Don\u2019t assume you need to have deeper interpretations all figured out as you start your work.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>When you decide upon the main claim, make sure it is reasoned<\/strong>. In other words, if it is very unlikely anyone else would reach the same interpretation you are making, it might be off base. Not everyone needs to see an idea the same way you do, but a reasonable person should be able to understand, if not agree, with your analysis.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section><section class=\"textbox interact\" aria-label=\"Interact\">Look for analytical thesis statements in the following activity.[embed]https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290920118213584118[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/section>","rendered":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\" aria-label=\"Learning Goals\">\n<ul>\n<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Identify analytical thesis statements<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Describe how to write an analytical thesis statement<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Use analytical thinking to make inferences<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mb-2 flex gap-3 empty:hidden -ml-2\">\n<div class=\"items-center justify-start rounded-xl p-1 flex\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<h2>How to Write a Good Analysis<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flex items-center pb-0\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; orphans: 1; text-align: initial;\">In order to write an analysis, you want to first have a solid understanding of the thing you are analyzing. Remember, when you are analyzing as a writer, you are:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ol>\n<li>Breaking down information or artifacts into component parts<\/li>\n<li>Uncovering relationships among those parts<\/li>\n<li>Determining motives, causes, and underlying assumptions<\/li>\n<li>Making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You may be asked to analyze a book, an essay, a poem, a movie, or even a song. For example, let&#8217;s suppose you want to analyze the lyrics to a popular song.\u00a0Pretend that a rapper called Escalade has the biggest hit of the summer with a song titled \u201cMissing You.\u201d You listen to the song and determine that it is about the pain people feel when a loved one dies. You have already done analysis at a surface level and you want to begin writing your analysis. You start with the following thesis statement:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Escalade\u2019s hit song \u201cMissing You\u201d is about grieving after a loved one dies.<\/p>\n<p>There isn\u2019t much depth <span style=\"color: #333333;\">or complexity to<\/span> such a claim because the thesis doesn&#8217;t give much information. In order to write a better thesis statement, we need to dig deeper into the song. What is the importance of the lyrics? What are they really about? Why is the song about grieving? Why did he present it this way? Why is it a powerful song? Ask questions to lead you to further investigation. Doing so will help you better understand the work, but also help you develop a better thesis statement and stronger analytical essay.<\/p>\n<h2>Formulating an Analytical Thesis Statement<\/h2>\n<p>When formulating an analytical thesis statement in college, here are some helpful words and phrases to remember:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What? What is the claim?<\/li>\n<li>How? How is this claim supported?<\/li>\n<li>So what? In other words, &#8220;What does this mean, what are the implications, or why is this important?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Telling readers what the lyrics are might be a useful way to let them see what you are analyzing and\/or to isolate specific parts where you are focusing your analysis. However, you need to move far beyond \u201cwhat.\u201d Instructors at the college level want to see your ability to break down material and demonstrate deep thinking. The claim in the thesis statement above said that Escalade&#8217;s song was about loss, but what evidence do we have for that, and why does that matter?<\/p>\n<p>Effective analytical thesis statements require digging deeper and perhaps examining the larger context. Let\u2019s say you do some research and learn that the rapper\u2019s mother died not long ago, and when you examine the lyrics more closely, you see that a few of the lines seem to be specifically about a mother rather than a loved one in general.<\/p>\n<p>Then you also read a recent interview with Escalade in which he mentions that he&#8217;s staying away from hardcore rap lyrics on his new album in an effort to be more mainstream and reach more potential fans. Finally, you notice that some of the lyrics in the song focus on not taking full advantage of the time we have with our loved ones.<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">\u00a0<\/span>All of these pieces give you material to write a more complex thesis statement, maybe something like this:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the hit song &#8220;Missing You,&#8221; Escalade draws on his experience of losing his mother and raps about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in order to connect with his audience.<\/p>\n<p>Such a thesis statement is focused while still allowing plenty of room for support in the body of your paper. It addresses the questions posed above:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What? What is the claim?\n<ul>\n<li>The claim is that Escalade connects with a broader audience by rapping about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in his hit song, &#8220;Missing You.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>How? How is this claim supported?\n<ul>\n<li>This claim is supported in the lyrics of the song and through the &#8220;experience of losing his mother.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>So what? In other words, &#8220;What does this mean, what are the implications, or why is this important?&#8221;\n<ul>\n<li>The implications are that we should not take the time we have with people for granted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Certainly, there may be many ways for you to address \u201cwhat,\u201d \u201chow,\u201d and \u201cso what,\u201d and you may want to explore other ideas, but the above example is just one way to more fully analyze the material. Note that the example above is not formulaic, but if you need help getting started, you could use this template format to help develop your thesis statement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Through ________________(how?), we can see that __________________(what?), which is important because ___________________(so what?).<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"UCLA Undergraduate Writing Center. &quot;What, How and So What?&quot; Approaching the Thesis as a Process. https:\/\/wp.ucla.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/UWC_handouts_What-How-So-What-Thesis-revised-5-4-15-RZ.pdf\" id=\"return-footnote-250-1\" href=\"#footnote-250-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just remember to think about these questions (what? how? and so what?) as you try to determine why something is what it is or why something means what it means. Asking these questions can help you analyze a song, story, or work of art, and can also help you construct meaningful thesis sentences when you write an analytical paper.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\n<h3>tips for analytical theses<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t be afraid to let your claim evolve organically<\/strong>. If you find that your thinking and writing don&#8217;t stick exactly to the thesis statement you have constructed, your options are to scrap the writing and start again to make it fit your claim (which might not always be possible) or to modify your thesis statement. The latter option can be much easier if you are okay with the changes. As with many projects in life, writing doesn\u2019t always go in the direction we plan, and strong analysis may mean thinking about and making changes as you look more closely at your topic. Be flexible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use analysis to get you to the main claim.<\/strong> You may have heard the simile that analysis is like peeling an onion because you have to go through layers to complete your work. You can start the process of breaking down an idea or an artifact without knowing where it will lead you or without a main claim or idea to guide you. Often, careful assessment of the pieces will bring you to an interesting interpretation of the whole. In their text <em>Writing Analytically<\/em>, authors David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen posit that being analytical doesn\u2019t mean just breaking something down. It also means constructing understandings. Don\u2019t assume you need to have deeper interpretations all figured out as you start your work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>When you decide upon the main claim, make sure it is reasoned<\/strong>. In other words, if it is very unlikely anyone else would reach the same interpretation you are making, it might be off base. Not everyone needs to see an idea the same way you do, but a reasonable person should be able to understand, if not agree, with your analysis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"textbox interact\" aria-label=\"Interact\">Look for analytical thesis statements in the following activity.<iframe id=\"oembed-1\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" title=\"OWL: Thesis Statement Activity\" src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290920118213584118\/embed?feature=oembed#?secret=PKY9dHx2gt\" data-secret=\"PKY9dHx2gt\" width=\"500\" height=\"320\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-250-1\">UCLA Undergraduate Writing Center. <em>\"What, How and So What?\" Approaching the Thesis as a Process.<\/em> https:\/\/wp.ucla.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/UWC_handouts_What-How-So-What-Thesis-revised-5-4-15-RZ.pdf <a href=\"#return-footnote-250-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Keys to Successful Analysis\",\"author\":\"Guy Krueger\",\"organization\":\"University of Mississippi\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Thesis Statement Activity\",\"author\":\"Excelsior OWL\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/research\/thesis-or-focus\/thesis-or-focus-thesis-statement-activity\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"How to Analyze Literature\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"HACC, Central Pennsylvania\\'s Community College\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pr4BjZkQ5Nc\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"other\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"What is Analysis?\",\"author\":\"Karen Forgette\",\"organization\":\"University of Mississippi\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":243,"module-header":"learn_it","content_attributions":null,"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3136,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/250\/revisions\/3136"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/243"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/250\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}