Writing an essay about a literary work should require us to think critically about the topic we choose. To express those thoughts to a reader, we need to create a clear statement of what we think that the writer is saying about a topic, not what we think about the topic; this statement of our interpretation of what the writer is saying is called a thesis. Therefore, the thesis is a statement that expresses our interpretation of what the writer is saying about the topic we have chosen. Because it provides this all-important direction for further thoughts, the thesis statement is often the most important sentence in the essay. Before we go any further, we need to clarify the difference between a statement that conveys a fact and a statement that conveys an opinion. A fact is any statement that can be objectively verified:

"Sebastian Faulks wrote the novel Birdsong, which dramatizes events during World War I."

With the above statement, there is no argument. Either Sebastian Faulks wrote the novel or he didn't. Either it is about the events of World War I or it isn't. The statement is either factual or false. An essay that uses this kind of sentence as its thesis is going nowhere.

An opinion is a statement that expresses our judgment, derived from facts.

"Through the character of Stephen Wraysford, Sebastian Faulks' novel Birdsong dramatizes the meaninglessness of war."

The above statement--an opinion about the topic--should engage readers. It may leave readers thinking, "Oh, how are you going to convince me that Faulks thinks this way?" And naturally, the statement forces the writer of the essay to provide support for his or her opinion. To do this, the writer has to possess knowledge about the specifics of Sebastian Faulks' novel. In addition, the writer has to show connections and analyses between the events in the novel and the opinion expressed in the thesis statement before reasonable readers will even consider agreeing. This kind of writing demands analysis, interpretation, and other critical thinking skills. This is what college professors are usually looking for in student writing about literature.

To summarize then--a thesis for a college essay about literature

• should be an statement, not a question.
• should express an opinion about the topic. However, we don't want your opinion about free will, fate, or friendship. We want what you think the writer is saying about these topics. By the way, you'll know if a statement is an opinion if the answer is "yes" to the following question: "Could someone knowledgeable about the topic logically disagree with my interpretation?
• should appear at the beginning of the essay, where it announces the direction of the ideas that then need to be supported throughout the paper.
• should occupy a prominent position in the introduction, usually the last sentence of the introductory paragraph or the first sentence of the second paragraph. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being overlooked. And if it is the most important sentence of the essay, you don't want it to be buried in the middle of a paragraph.

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