When considering your thesis or those of your classmates, please keep in mind these four basic criteria:
- Is it arguable? The thesis should be plausible enough that one can make a case for it, yet open to debate so that another person might reasonably disagree.
- Is it complex enough to sustain a paper of 800 - 1,200 words, or about 3-4 pages?
- Is it coherent; that is, is it a single argument, although perhaps with multiple interrelated parts, or is it in fact two or more different ideas that don't belong together?
- Is it interesting? Does the thesis raise questions or pose ideas that a reader familiar with the book would be interested in seeing developed over the course of several pages?