How to Write a Strong Analytical Thesis Statement in High School and IB English

When it comes to analytical writing, the thesis statement is everything. Whether you’re writing a literary paragraph for 9th grade English or crafting a full essay for your IB Literature Paper 1, your ability to make a clear, compelling claim determines the strength of your argument.

In this post, we’ll explore how sentence frames can help beginner writers develop thesis statements—and how those same structures can limit more advanced thinkers if used rigidly. With examples from The House on Mango Street, Of Mice and Men, Interior Chinatown, and even Jia Tolentino’s nonfiction writing in Trick Mirror, you’ll see how thesis statements evolve from structured practice into nuanced argumentation.

Why Thesis Statements Matter in Analytical Writing

A strong thesis does more than summarize—it argues. In literary analysis, your thesis should tell us what you're claiming about a text and why that claim matters.

For example, if you’re analyzing a character, your thesis shouldn't just state their traits—it should explore what those traits suggest about a broader theme, social issue, or human experience. This is the “so what” of your analysis, and it’s a core expectation of IB, AP, and college-level writing.

Start With Structure: The Value of Sentence Frames

The Freshman-Friendly Sentence Frame

Many students struggle to know where to start when writing about literature. This is where structured sentence frames can help. Here’s a basic version I use with freshmen just beginning to write analytical paragraphs:

In [text title] by [author], [character/device] is [trait] and [trait], suggesting [universal theme or idea].

This gives students a scaffold to ensure all critical elements are present: the text, the subject of analysis, key traits or techniques, and an interpretive “so what.”

Let’s try it out:

In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is hopeful and observant, suggesting the contemporary Latina coming-of-age journey.

Not bad for a first try. This would score around a B. But here’s where we can push further.

From Frame to Fluid Argument: Pushing Beyond the Template

The issue with stopping at the sentence frame is that the “so what” is often too vague or descriptive. What exactly does it mean to say Esperanza is “hopeful and observant”? How does that illustrate anything unique about her coming-of-age journey compared to, say, Alicia, Marin, or Rachel?

Let’s dig deeper.

Esperanza’s observant nature and hopeful attitude drive her to dream of a life better than what she has on Mango Street. But by the end of her story, she isn’t escaping like the women before her—she’s building confidence and claiming a space within her community.

Now we’re onto something. We’ve moved beyond the frame to make a richer, more specific argument.

Here’s how that might look revised into a stronger thesis:

In The House on Mango Street, through Esperanza’s hopeful and observant nature, Sandra Cisneros illustrates the complex tensions between struggle and compassion within Latina girlhood and the Barrio.

Thesis Flexibility: Matching Your Claim to Your Evidence

Let’s look at Of Mice and Men for another example. If I say:

In Of Mice and Men, Crooks is lonely and intelligent, suggesting the dehumanization of Black Americans during the Great Depression.

That’s close—but there’s a contradiction. If Steinbeck is showing Crooks’ intelligence and inner life, he’s actually humanizing him. So what’s my thesis really about?

Steinbeck's complex characters illustrate the universal suffering during the Dust Bowl.

Steinbeck illustrates Crooks' isolation, while also revealing his intelligence, illustrating the burden of understanding one's circumstances...

Now I'm starting to think a bit more generally about Crooks and George, two of the more intelligent characters in the novella. On the one hand I might be doing this because I know I'm going to wind up in a confusing circular argument about Crooks being Black and the treatment of Black folks post Civil War. On the other hand, I can already feel that an essay about Crooks and George and what it feels like to be aware of your dire circumstances but powerless to change them is a more compelling exploration.

This is where my thesis for an analytical paragraph will shift based on the evidence I choose to focus on. If I focus on the illustration of Crooks' bunk in the stables, I might note more of the fulfilling details that could suggest that although Crooks is isolated, his intelligence gives him opportunity to make the best of his situation. If I focus on how Crooks' is put into a position where he's treated like one of the animals by the other ranchers, then my thesis would be more about how intelligence doesn't matter when it comes to changing your situation.

For both Crooks and George, their intelligence can offer them richer lives, in a way, since Crooks is reading and George keeps Lennie in his life for as long as possible, which is a companionship the other characters don't have. But their intelligence might also make them more acutely aware of the pain they do suffer, too.

So – what if I take my original thesis statement and I broaden the lens?

Steinbeck’s portrayal of both Crooks and George shows that intelligence offers no escape from suffering—but instead sharpens the pain of understanding one’s limited options.

Now that’s a real thesis. It’s flexible enough to match different forms of evidence (Crooks’ personalized bunk space, George’s loyalty to Lennie) and offers something interpretive and compelling.

So, Do You Need a Sentence Frame?

Yes—and no.

If you're a beginner or still building confidence in your writing, sentence frames are your training wheels. They help ensure your writing includes the core pieces: text, technique, traits, and theme.

But if you're a practiced critical thinker, you'll outgrow the frame. You'll begin to shape the sentence to your own thinking—not just fit your ideas into a mold.

Strong analytical writing begins with structure—but gains power through curiosity, engagement, and risk.

Practice Time: Can You Level Up a Thesis?

Try this:

“In Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu uses screenplay formatting to satirize representation in Hollywood.”

Now level it up:

• What does the screenplay structure say about identity? Asian American identity?
• How does it affect the narrator’s self-perception?
• What’s at stake?

A stronger revision might be:

In Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu’s use of screenplay formatting critiques the erasure of individuality in Hollywood, revealing how performance and stereotype constrain the Asian American search for identity.

When it comes to academic writing, filling in the sentence frame provided by your teacher ensures that you pass the state exams in the United States, and it ensures you have the necessary pieces in your writing for IB and other composition exams.

When it comes to good writing, the sentence frames are a starting point. With rules and structure, we can more easily begin. But if we simply fill in the structure and follow the rules, if we don't engage beyond that, our writing reflects our lackluster thinking. If we engage with the ideas we're trying to explore, notice how the structure of the sentence frame is quite limiting and falls away as my sentences develop into their own argumentative statements.

Case Study: Thesis Craft in Real-World Writing

Let's take a look at some more real world writing. In Jia Tolentino's book, Trick Mirror, her first essay, "The I in Internet," explores the evolution of the internet from the 1990s to the 2010s. The first sentence of her essay is a more broad thesis statement: "In the beginning, the internet seemed good" (3).

Her use of the word "seemed" suggests that she's going to first illustrate the good of the internet, but by the end of her essay, I'll assume she will illustrate the bad of the internet.

"In the beginning, the internet seemed good" (3).

This seems like a very simple statement, and in fact, it's a simple sentence with a prepositional phrase at the front of it. But within this simple sentence is the structure of the essay and the argument: the internet seemed good, but it's bad.

In the early paragraphs of Tolentino's essay, she goes on to write, "In 1999, it felt different to spend all day on the internet" (4), and "Because there were so few search engines and no centralized social platforms, discovery on the early internet took place mainly in private, and pleasure existed as its own solitary reward" (5). With each subsequent paragraph, Tolentino gets more specific about the "good" of the internet. The "good" was privacy, the solitary journey. Spending all day on the internet on your own felt like a "solitary reward," all of which, again, is keying us up to unpack the modern day all day doom scroll that is life with social media and instagram – the bad side of the internet.

So? Why bother with the structure statement? The sentence starter? If a simple sentence like this works?

If you're not a practiced critical thinker or writer, the sentence starter ensures you have all the pieces you need in your thesis statement (argument, loose sense of a structural roadmap).

If you ARE a practiced deep thinker and writer, then the sentence starter might be a fun tool to use in the beginning, but you probably don't need it.

Final Thoughts + Free Download

Sentence frames are powerful tools—but they’re just the beginning. When you engage deeply with your text and think critically about your evidence, your writing transforms from competent to compelling.

Want free practice working with a literary text, analyzing rich passages, and crafting analytical paragraphs? I'm currently running a beta test for my Unlocking Literary Analysis with The House on Mango Street course. You can apply to complete the beta test of the course for free by June 30, 2025 if you're interested!

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