great expectations thesis statement

Great Expectations

Charles dickens, everything you need for every book you read..

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Social Class

Great Expectations is set near the end of Industrial Revolution, a period of dramatic technological improvement in manufacturing and commerce that, among other things, created new opportunities for people who were born into "lower" or poorer classes to gain wealth and move into a "higher" and wealthier class. This new social mobility marked a distinct break from the hereditary aristocracy of the past, which enforced class consistency based solely on family lines. Great Expectations is…

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Ambition and Self-Improvement

A "pip" is a small seed, something that starts off tiny and then grows and develops into something new. Pip 's name, then, is no accident, as Great Expectations is a bildungsroman , a story of the growth and development of its main character. Dickens presents the ambition to improve oneself that drives Pip along with many of the novel's secondary characters as a force capable of generating both positive and negative results. Pip's early…

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Integrity and Reputation

In Great Expectations , Dickens explores pride as both a positive and a negative trait by presenting various types of pride ranging from Estella and Bentley Drummle 's snobbery to Joe and Biddy 's moral uprightness. The crucial distinction between these different varieties of pride is whether they rely on other people's opinions or whether they spring from a character's internal conscience and personal sense of accomplishment. Characters who espouse the former variety are concerned…

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As the novel distrusts British culture's traditional blind faith in family lines, it also looks skeptically at the traditional family unit. Great Expectations includes very few models of healthy parent-child relations. Many of the novel's characters—including Pip , Provis , and Biddy —are orphans, and those that aren't orphans come from broken or dysfunctional families like Herbert 's, Miss Havisham 's, Estella 's, Clara 's, and Joe 's. Though Wemmick 's relationship with the Aged …

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From Pip 's encounters with escaped convicts at the beginning of Great Expectations , to the grotesque courts and prisons in parts II and III, the novel casts the British legal system in a dubious light. Though Mr. Jaggers functions as an upstanding force in Pip's life by checking Pip's extravagance, it is questionable whether his law practice truly serves the law. After all, Mr. Jaggers built his reputation on successfully acquitting a murderer. Likewise…

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Dickens explores many different understandings of generosity in Great Expectations . Though Pip 's initial generosity towards Provis is mostly motivated by fear, Provis understands it as true generosity and responds by selflessly devoting his life's savings towards Pip's future. Meanwhile, Mrs. Joe and Uncle Pumblechook understand generosity as a status marker and are much more interested in being considered generous than in actually acting generously. They thus constantly take credit for Joe 's generosity…

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AP® English Literature

The ultimate guide to “great expectations” for the ap® english literature free response questions.

  • The Albert Team
  • Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

the_ultimate_guide_to_great_expectations_for_the_AP® English literature exam

The 2017 AP® English Literature Free Response Questions focus on varying themes and are each structured differently.  Here we discuss the third FRQ prompt which allows you to choose a particular work of literature as the focus of your essay.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a well-known classic novel. Herein we will discuss how to determine if the given prompt is appropriate for this particular literary work and give you an idea of what to review before your exam.

Great Expectations Themes for AP® English Literature

To choose a literary work to answer your prompt, it’s important to examine the themes which are outlined in the assigned essay. If the theme is not relevant or well established in a work, you will do well to choose another title to examine. The following are the main themes which you may discuss in your Great Expectations AP® English Lit Essay. Ambition and Self Improvement are the main themes of this classic story. Dickens teaches Pip lessons about the importance of loyalty, affection and social conscience by allowing his pursuit of the opposite. Throughout the story, his pursuit of wealth and a higher social class is punctuated by failures and a greater understanding of life’s most important factors. Social Classes are another prevalent theme explored throughout the book. The characters and story are based in the post-Industrial Revolution Victorian England. This chosen backdrop influences Dickens’ portrayal of everyone from the lowest caste to the wealthiest of families. He connects wealth with work and improvement of one’s self. This is why even the richest characters portrayed have achieved station based on success in business. Innocence and Guilt are intertwined themes represented throughout the book by convicts and lawyers alike. Dickens allows Pip to learn that often we must trust our instincts about people and not judge them based on society’s standards.

How to use Great Expectations for the 2017 AP® English Literature Free Response Questions

Great Expectations is a well-known literary work, with which you should be familiar. It may well be a viable choice for the AP® English Lit free response question. However, that is dependent on the question. Each year the 3rd FRQ is different, and the CollegeBoard supplies a list of suggested books to reference for your essay. The absence of a book from the list does not disqualify it from use, that being said; it’s important to know how to choose which book to use for the given analysis.

In preparation for your exam, it’s a good idea to read previous years’ free response questions posted on CollegeBoard. The following review is for the 2016 FRQ prompt.

2016 FRQ 3: Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended to either help or hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime.

Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

While Great Expectations is not on the suggested list for this prompt, you may choose to use it. The theme of deception is represented by various characters in the story. However, the most prevalent one is probably Abel Magwitch, the convict. A thesis for this essay may look something like the following . In Great Expectations, the character of Abel Magwitch used deliberate anonymity to perpetrate deception on Pip to help him improve his station in life.

To support this thesis, you may point out that Magwitch is the only character who uses his earnings in what seems to be a selfless way. He is also the only truly self-made man, written by Dickens, in this story. Both of these characteristics are essential to the reasoning for his deception. Magwitch wanted Pip to become a gentleman and live a proper, wealthy life. He has to work hard to gain the money to drive this transformation while in Australia.

He could have made himself known from the start, but he thinks Pip is more likely to achieve these goals, without that knowledge. The following quote, from Chapter 2, shows that Magwitch sent all his gains for Pip.

“As I give’ you to understand just now, I’m famous for it. It was the money left me, and the gains of the first few year wot I sent home to Mr. Jaggers—all for you—when he first came after you, agreeable to my letter.”

Magwitch was born poor and could have easily used his fortune to improve his own life, as illustrated in the following quote from Chapter 42.

“I first become aware of myself, down in Essex, a thieving turnips for my living. Summun had run away from me—a man—a tinker—and he’d took the fire with him, and left me very cold.”

However, he remembered the help Pip had given him, years earlier, and dedicated himself to creating a gentleman. Later it becomes apparent that Magwitch feels he owns Pip for the support he bestowed upon him. This is outlined in the following quote from Chapter 39.

“He was a convict, a few year ago, and is an ignorant common fellow now, for all he’s lucky,’ what do I say? I say to myself, ‘If I ain’t a gentleman, nor yet ain’t got no learning, I’m the owner of such. All on you owns stock and land; which on you owns a brought-up London gentleman?”

To examine another possible use for Great Expectations on your 2017 English Lit Exam we will take a look at another prompt.

2015 FRQ 3 : In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.

Great Expectations was on the provided list for this year’s prompt, with good reason. Cruelty is an underlying theme throughout the story. A possible thesis is as follows. In Great Expectations, the theme of cruelty is represented through both physical and psychological means of individuals and society. To elaborate on this thesis and explain what it reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim, you will need to choose your examples and expand upon them.

You can choose from Pip being abused by his sister and Miss Havisham. The abuse he undergoes at the hands of Estella and conversely the abuse suffered by Estella to make her into a weapon of destruction. Further options include the cruel deception played on Miss Havisham which resulted in her sick mind and victimization of others or the way society cruelly leaves the poor to fend for themselves and then punishes them for that necessity, as is the case with Magwitch’s childhood and later life.

For example, Pip undergoes cruelty at the heavy hand of his sister and the mental turmoil supplied by Miss Havisham. The way that Pip reacts to his abuse is indicative of a boy who doesn’t think he is worthy of better treatment. He not only undergoes physical harm from Mrs. Joe but also harms himself as a punishment for his weakness. Furthermore, when faced with disdain and rejection from Estella, thanks to the plans of Miss Havisham, he reacts by loving her more. Evidence for these statements can be found in the following quotes from chapters 8, 29, 29, 39, and 44 respectively.

“ My sister’s bringing up had made me sensitive. In the little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up, there’s nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small, and its rocking-horse stands as many hands high, according to scale, as a big-boned Irish hunter.” -Pip

“The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I loved her nonetheless because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection.” -Pip

“I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing.” -Estella “Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practise on when no other practice was at hand; those were the first smarts I had.” -Pip

“It would have been cruel in Miss Havisham, horribly cruel, to practice on the susceptibility of a poor boy, and to torture me through all these years with a vain hope and an idle pursuit, if she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. But I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella.” – Pip

Classic literary works always have many themes, allowing for their use in a variety of prompt types. Let’s examine another free response question from a previous year. Again, Great Expectations was not on the suggested list. However, reading the theme and question, we can determine it is a viable choice.

2014 FRQ 3 : It has often been said that what we value can be determined by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from a novel or play. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.

A thesis which could be supported for this prompt is as follows. In Great Expectations, the sacrifice of Joe to stay with Mrs. Joe, for the good of Pip, shows that he values the well-being of the boy above his own and informs the development of Pip’s own values.

To support this thesis, you could expound on the abuse Joe underwent from Mrs. Joe and the fact that he was always there for Pip, even when Pip was not appreciative. Furthermore, Joe’s love for Pip is intertwined with Dickens’ message to not judge people by social class or appearance, rather by who they are. The following quote, from Chapter 7, illustrates that Joe wanted to take Pip in after the death of his parents.

“I said to her, ‘And bring the poor little child. God bless the poor little child,’ I said to your sister, ‘there’s room for him at the forge!'” -Joe

In chapter 57, we see Joe again comes to rescue Pip.

“ I opened my eyes in the night, and I saw, in the great chair at the bedside, Joe. I opened my eyes in the day, and, sitting on the window-seat, smoking his pipe in the shaded open window, still I saw Joe. I asked for cooling drink, and the dear hand that gave it me was Joe’s. I sank back on my pillow after drinking, and the face that looked so hopefully and tenderly upon me was the face of Joe.”

“For the tenderness of Joe was so beautifully proportioned to my need, that I was like a child in his hands. He would sit and talk to me in the old confidence, and with the old simplicity, and in the old unassertive protecting way, so that I would half believe that all my life since the days of the old kitchen was one of the mental troubles of the fever that was gone.”

In conclusion, Great Expectations has many themes you may find helpful for the last Free Response Question on the AP® English Literature Exam. When reading the prompt and deciding on what literary work to use for your essay, remember to choose a subject where the theme outlined in the given instructions is prevalent.

In the case of Great Expectations ambition, self-improvement, social classes, innocence, and guilt are a few of the more prominent themes discussed. However, as we saw with the 2016 prompt example, this story has many underlying themes which you may examine for your Great Expectations AP® English Lit Essay.

For more help preparing for your AP® English Literature exam we suggest you read   The Ultimate Guide to 2015 AP® English Literature FRQs . And, for writing advice for the AP® English Lit free response questions, Albert.io’s AP® English Literature section has practice free response sections with sample responses and rubrics.

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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Thesis Statement

Type of paper: Thesis

Topic: Charles Dickens , Public Relations , Love , Wellness , World , Expectations , Great Expectations , Dickens

Published: 12/23/2019

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Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the tale of an orphan coming of age and falling into his role as a gentlemen, has many different layers of commentary regarding class distinctions in Victorian England. The characters of this book all strive to either gain or keep their largesse, no matter what it takes to achieve it. As a result, these characters constantly sacrifice parts of themselves and their personalities to become cold and lifeless, but rich. Dickens meant to show the audience a tale of love mixed with political and economic intrigue, as the relationship and conflict between rich and poor is made clear through both Pip and Estella's star-crossed love.

Great Expectations shows the audience, through the stories of the various main characters, the pitfalls and emotional damage that upper-class society causes people. Miss Havisham, because of her heart breaking at her fiancee jilting her at the altar, maintains a fantasy world where she is still rich and still kept, and dares not allow anyone else to have happiness. Meanwhile, Pip, as well as Herbert Pocket, both go from rags to riches as Pip's mysterious benefactor seeks to teach him the ways of the upper class. However, their own lower-class tendencies, and naivete about the way the world of the rich works, leads them to considerable trouble. Estella, ruined for love by Miss Havisham, demonstrates the fundamental unhappiness that occurs as a result of being a kept woman. The Convict, Pip's real benefactor, allows him to be rich, but his history as a criminal forbids him from being rich on his own, despite having earned that money legitimately.

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Chapman & Hall, 1861. Print.

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Subversion of Gender Identity in Great Expectations

Alexa van brunt '04, english 156 , brown university, 2004.

[ Victorian Web Home —> Authors —> Charles Dickens —> Works —> Great Expectations —> Gender Matters —> Theme and Subject ]

In Great Expectations , Charles Dickens subverts stereotypical Victorian ideals of motherhood, femininity, and masculinity while concurrently maintaining his characters within the overarching strict framework of a gendered society in nineteenth-century England. In one sense, the actors in Dicken's work do maintain their gendered identities and live within the prescribed social space appropriate to each sex. Females in the novel are indubitably confined to the domestic realm throughout the book. Ms. Havisham is an extreme example of this reality, as she has not left Satis House since the morning when she was abandoned by her callous, pilfering fiancé. Pip's sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, repetitively emphasizes her confinement to the forge, evidenced by such complaints as, “Perhaps if I warn't a blacksmith's wife, and (what's the same thing) a slave with her apron never off, I should have been to hear the Carols" (23). Biddy's persona is defined by her role as a domestic servant — her life revolves around hearth and home. And Estella, though more widely traveled than other the other women in the book, is confined between locations of a foreign school, Satis House, and Mrs. Brandley's home in Richmond. In contrast, the Dickensian menfolk are more or less free to go at will. Though Joe Gargery's movements are strongly confined by his wife's dictates, Joe still has the liberty to escape to the Three Jolly Bargemen or attend errands uptown on occasion. Pip, though also suffering the demands of his sister's will, is also free to attend night school, play upon the marshes and attend Ms. Havisham's house at Satis “for the good of the family". The males residing in London have an innate freedom to come and go as they will, as Wemmick and Jaggers are both bachelors, unconstrained by domestic demands or female counterparts. Herbert, though poor, is also at liberty to do what he pleases during his residence in Barnard's Inn.

However, though this notion of gendered space does effectively concur with Victorian modes of masculine and feminine propriety, it also contrasts sharply with more essential gender relations in the novel. Many of Dicken's female characters exist as an antithesis to Victorian ideals of fair womanhood and angelic femininity, while many of the male personages take on definitively female roles in the course of the novel. Pip himself is explicitly affected by this confusion of gender identity, and seems caught between prescriptions of masculine strength and feminine vulnerability during the course of his interactions with the strong female characters of Great Expectations .

Mrs. Joe Gargery, though adept at housekeeping at the forge, is very much the “man of the house". Pip describes his sister as a woman with “black hair and eyes" and a face with “such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square, impregnable bib in front that was stuck full of pins and needles." (13). Furthermore, Mrs. Gargery's appearance is supplemented by such unmotherly declarations as “I may truly say that I've never had this apron of mine off, since born you were. It's bad enough to be a blacksmith's wife (and him a Gargery), without being your mother" (14).

In similar fashion, Ms. Havisham inhabits the adornments of Victorian femininity, but Pip portrays this garb once again in a singularly unwomanly fashion.

It was not in the first moments that I saw all these things, though I saw more of them in the first moments than might be supposed. But, I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long a go, and had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone. [Ch 8; Place in the complete text of the novel in which this passage appears ]

Finally, Estella is neither docile nor a fragile flower of Victorian femininity. She is a “femme fatale", who is repeatedly cajoled by Ms. Havisham to wreak havoc on the hearts of the opposite sex.

And sometimes, when her moods were so many and so contradictory of one another than I was puzzled what to say or do, Miss Havisham would embrace her [Estella] with lavish fondness, murmuring something in her ear that sounded like, “Break their hearts, my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy!" [77]

How do the physical descriptions of the female characters depict such women in a masculine fashion? How do the male characters in Dicken's work provide a visible contrast to such masculine portraitures of the female characters? Ex. Joe, Herbert, Matthew Pocket, etc.

What is Dicken's purpose in subverting stereotypical notions of Victorian gender identity and relations in Great Expectations ? Do you think that the author does actually mean to oppose such stereotypes in the novel, or do you believe that they are actually upheld in the course of the novel? Is gendered space stronger than gendered disposition?

Do you feel Estella and Ms. Havisham present an antithetical example of Victorian femininity? Or are these characters actually indicative of the feminine plight in the nineteenth-century English societal setting?

How is Pip's gender identity contradicted and affirmed throughout the novel? How is he conflicted about his place in a gender-divided society, both growing up at the forge and during his life in London?

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations . Ed. Edgar Rosenberg. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999.

Last modified 16 February 2004

Last modified 8 June 2007

great expectations thesis statement

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Writing a Paper: Thesis Statements

Basics of thesis statements.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a shorter paper. Specific means the thesis deals with a narrow and focused topic, appropriate to the paper's length. Arguable means that a scholar in your field could disagree (or perhaps already has!).

Strong thesis statements address specific intellectual questions, have clear positions, and use a structure that reflects the overall structure of the paper. Read on to learn more about constructing a strong thesis statement.

Being Specific

This thesis statement has no specific argument:

Needs Improvement: In this essay, I will examine two scholarly articles to find similarities and differences.

This statement is concise, but it is neither specific nor arguable—a reader might wonder, "Which scholarly articles? What is the topic of this paper? What field is the author writing in?" Additionally, the purpose of the paper—to "examine…to find similarities and differences" is not of a scholarly level. Identifying similarities and differences is a good first step, but strong academic argument goes further, analyzing what those similarities and differences might mean or imply.

Better: In this essay, I will argue that Bowler's (2003) autocratic management style, when coupled with Smith's (2007) theory of social cognition, can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover.

The new revision here is still concise, as well as specific and arguable.  We can see that it is specific because the writer is mentioning (a) concrete ideas and (b) exact authors.  We can also gather the field (business) and the topic (management and employee turnover). The statement is arguable because the student goes beyond merely comparing; he or she draws conclusions from that comparison ("can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover").

Making a Unique Argument

This thesis draft repeats the language of the writing prompt without making a unique argument:

Needs Improvement: The purpose of this essay is to monitor, assess, and evaluate an educational program for its strengths and weaknesses. Then, I will provide suggestions for improvement.

You can see here that the student has simply stated the paper's assignment, without articulating specifically how he or she will address it. The student can correct this error simply by phrasing the thesis statement as a specific answer to the assignment prompt.

Better: Through a series of student interviews, I found that Kennedy High School's antibullying program was ineffective. In order to address issues of conflict between students, I argue that Kennedy High School should embrace policies outlined by the California Department of Education (2010).

Words like "ineffective" and "argue" show here that the student has clearly thought through the assignment and analyzed the material; he or she is putting forth a specific and debatable position. The concrete information ("student interviews," "antibullying") further prepares the reader for the body of the paper and demonstrates how the student has addressed the assignment prompt without just restating that language.

Creating a Debate

This thesis statement includes only obvious fact or plot summary instead of argument:

Needs Improvement: Leadership is an important quality in nurse educators.

A good strategy to determine if your thesis statement is too broad (and therefore, not arguable) is to ask yourself, "Would a scholar in my field disagree with this point?" Here, we can see easily that no scholar is likely to argue that leadership is an unimportant quality in nurse educators.  The student needs to come up with a more arguable claim, and probably a narrower one; remember that a short paper needs a more focused topic than a dissertation.

Better: Roderick's (2009) theory of participatory leadership  is particularly appropriate to nurse educators working within the emergency medicine field, where students benefit most from collegial and kinesthetic learning.

Here, the student has identified a particular type of leadership ("participatory leadership"), narrowing the topic, and has made an arguable claim (this type of leadership is "appropriate" to a specific type of nurse educator). Conceivably, a scholar in the nursing field might disagree with this approach. The student's paper can now proceed, providing specific pieces of evidence to support the arguable central claim.

Choosing the Right Words

This thesis statement uses large or scholarly-sounding words that have no real substance:

Needs Improvement: Scholars should work to seize metacognitive outcomes by harnessing discipline-based networks to empower collaborative infrastructures.

There are many words in this sentence that may be buzzwords in the student's field or key terms taken from other texts, but together they do not communicate a clear, specific meaning. Sometimes students think scholarly writing means constructing complex sentences using special language, but actually it's usually a stronger choice to write clear, simple sentences. When in doubt, remember that your ideas should be complex, not your sentence structure.

Better: Ecologists should work to educate the U.S. public on conservation methods by making use of local and national green organizations to create a widespread communication plan.

Notice in the revision that the field is now clear (ecology), and the language has been made much more field-specific ("conservation methods," "green organizations"), so the reader is able to see concretely the ideas the student is communicating.

Leaving Room for Discussion

This thesis statement is not capable of development or advancement in the paper:

Needs Improvement: There are always alternatives to illegal drug use.

This sample thesis statement makes a claim, but it is not a claim that will sustain extended discussion. This claim is the type of claim that might be appropriate for the conclusion of a paper, but in the beginning of the paper, the student is left with nowhere to go. What further points can be made? If there are "always alternatives" to the problem the student is identifying, then why bother developing a paper around that claim? Ideally, a thesis statement should be complex enough to explore over the length of the entire paper.

Better: The most effective treatment plan for methamphetamine addiction may be a combination of pharmacological and cognitive therapy, as argued by Baker (2008), Smith (2009), and Xavier (2011).

In the revised thesis, you can see the student make a specific, debatable claim that has the potential to generate several pages' worth of discussion. When drafting a thesis statement, think about the questions your thesis statement will generate: What follow-up inquiries might a reader have? In the first example, there are almost no additional questions implied, but the revised example allows for a good deal more exploration.

Thesis Mad Libs

If you are having trouble getting started, try using the models below to generate a rough model of a thesis statement! These models are intended for drafting purposes only and should not appear in your final work.

  • In this essay, I argue ____, using ______ to assert _____.
  • While scholars have often argued ______, I argue______, because_______.
  • Through an analysis of ______, I argue ______, which is important because_______.

Words to Avoid and to Embrace

When drafting your thesis statement, avoid words like explore, investigate, learn, compile, summarize , and explain to describe the main purpose of your paper. These words imply a paper that summarizes or "reports," rather than synthesizing and analyzing.

Instead of the terms above, try words like argue, critique, question , and interrogate . These more analytical words may help you begin strongly, by articulating a specific, critical, scholarly position.

Read Kayla's blog post for tips on taking a stand in a well-crafted thesis statement.

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IMAGES

  1. Great Expectations Thesis Free Essay Example

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  2. 25 Thesis Statement Examples (2024)

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  3. how to identify a good thesis statement

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  4. Thesis Great Expectations

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  5. 45 Perfect Thesis Statement Templates (+ Examples) ᐅ TemplateLab

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  6. How to Write a Good Thesis Statement

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VIDEO

  1. Great Expectations! Chapter 2

  2. Great Expectations

  3. Great Expectations (Part 2)

  4. Great Expectations Chapter 7 Summary and Questions

  5. Great Writing 4

  6. Great Expectation By Charles Dickens I Mp Grade 1 I English Literature I

COMMENTS

  1. Great Expectations Sample Essay Outlines

    I. Thesis Statement: The role of Pip in Great Expectations is developed through the positive and negative influences of Joe, Abel Magwitch, and Miss Havisham. II. Influences of Joe A. Positive ...

  2. Great Expectations: Themes

    Ambition and Self-Improvement. The moral theme of Great Expectations is quite simple: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Dickens establishes the theme and shows Pip learning this lesson, largely by exploring ideas of ambition and self-improvement—ideas that quickly become both the ...

  3. PDF Great Expectations Essay Prompts

    Great Expectations Essay Prompts Carefully consider the following prompts. Develop a thesis for one of them, and then write an essay in which you present a detailed, thoughtfully reasoned, well-supported argument in defense of your thesis. 1. Discuss the process of growth that Pip undergoes in the novel. What are his values and goals

  4. Great Expectations Themes

    Great Expectations is set near the end of Industrial Revolution, a period of dramatic technological improvement in manufacturing and commerce that, among other things, created new opportunities for people who were born into "lower" or poorer classes to gain wealth and move into a "higher" and wealthier class. This new social mobility marked a distinct break from the hereditary aristocracy of ...

  5. Great Expectations: Suggested Essay Topics

    Suggested Essay Topics. Previous. 1. What significance does the novel's title, Great Expectations, have for the story? In what ways does Pip have "great expectations"? 2. For much of Great Expectations, Pip seems to believe in a stark division between good and evil, and he tends to classify people and situations as belonging to one ...

  6. Great Expectations: A+ Student Essay: The Significance of ...

    He is jovial and generous, and displays a great deal of sympathy toward his father, whom he lovingly calls the "Aged P.". Later Pip discovers that Wemmick even has a fiancé, Miss Skiffins, to whom he is deeply attached. When they leave Wemmick's house, Pip notices that the clerk's features grow more and more wooden the closer they get ...

  7. The Ultimate Guide to "Great Expectations" for the AP® English

    Cruelty is an underlying theme throughout the story. A possible thesis is as follows. In Great Expectations, the theme of cruelty is represented through both physical and psychological means of individuals and society. ... Evidence for these statements can be found in the following quotes from chapters 8, 29, 29, 39, and 44 respectively. ...

  8. Great Expectations Thesis Examples That Really Inspire

    The British Literary work from the modern term that this paper chooses is the Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. This literary work was crafted at the height of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. England was facing an economic transformation from manual labor to an industrial-led economy. This new economy required men and women with the ...

  9. Great Expectations Critical Essays

    Critical Context. Great Expectations was published in weekly installments in All the Year Round, a British paper. The first installment appeared in December, 1860; the last came out in August ...

  10. PDF Dickens's Construction of the Search for Identity in Great Expectations

    The thesis is accompanied by an original piece of creative writing in the form of a fictional autobiography. The literary devices that have been identified during the close reading of the extracts of Great Expectations have been used in this piece of writing. The use of these literary devices is discussed in the exegetical statement.

  11. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Thesis Statement

    Published: 12/23/2019. Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the tale of an orphan coming of age and falling into his role as a gentlemen, has many different layers of commentary regarding class distinctions in Victorian England. The characters of this book all strive to either gain or keep their largesse, no matter what it takes to achieve it.

  12. Great Expectations

    Great Expectations, novel by Charles Dickens, first published serially in All the Year Round in 1860-61 and issued in book form in 1861. The classic novel was one of its author's greatest critical and popular successes. It chronicles the coming of age of the orphan Pip while also addressing such issues as social class and human worth.

  13. (PDF) Great Expectations: A Reflection of Victorian Society

    Abstract and Figures. Great Expectations is a time conquering master piece of Charles Dickens. In this novel, he touches on expectations in the life of diverse characters, the greatest of which ...

  14. Thesis Statement Examples for Great Expectations

    Thesis Statement Examples for Great Expectations - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free.

  15. Subversion of Gender Identity in Great Expectations

    In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens subverts stereotypical Victorian ideals of motherhood, femininity, and masculinity while concurrently maintaining his characters within the overarching strict framework of a gendered society in nineteenth-century England.In one sense, the actors in Dicken's work do maintain their gendered identities and live within the prescribed social space appropriate ...

  16. PDF Great Expectations

    I. Thesis Statement: The role of Pip in Great Expectations is developed through the positive and negative infl uences of Joe, Abel Magwitch, and Miss Havisham. II. Infl uences of Joe A. Positive infl uence 1. Exhibits honesty 2. Gives Pip's early life stability 3. Gives Pip unconditional love 4. Possesses a forgiving nature 5.

  17. ≡Great Expectations Essays

    Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Thesis Statement. Role of Social Class in Great Expectations. Learning From Difference Critical Thinking Sample. Truth Claims of Marriage, Gender, and Social Class in Middlemarch and Great Expectations. Release date January 30, 1998 (USA) Director ...

  18. Academic Guides: Writing a Paper: Thesis Statements

    The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a shorter paper.

  19. Great Expectations Thesis Statement

    Great Expectations Thesis Statement: Nursing Management Business and Economics Psychology +113. 2269 Chestnut Street, #477 San Francisco CA 94123. Nursing Management Business and Economics Economics +96. Online Essay Writing Service to Reach Academic Success.

  20. Thesis Statement Examples Great Expectations

    Thesis Statement Examples Great Expectations - 341 . Customer Reviews. Level: College, High School, University, Master's, PHD, Undergraduate. 100% Success rate REVIEWS HIRE. Earl M. Kinkade #10 in Global Rating 4.9 (2939 reviews) ...

  21. Thesis Statement For Great Expectations

    Thesis Statement For Great Expectations - 100% Success rate ID 6314. Financial Analysis. Submit. I ordered a paper with a 3-day deadline. ... Capital Market Thesis Topics, Thesis Statement Of Social Media Nursing Management Business and Economics Communications and Media +96

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    Making a thesis is a stressful process. Do yourself a favor and save your worries for later. ... Great Expectations Thesis Statement, 700 Word Personal Narrative Essay, Application Letter Sample Word Document, Lesson 19 Homework 6.4 Answer Key, Strong Cover Letter Opening Statements, World Affairs Essay Writer Websites, Legal Resume Free ...

  23. Great Expectations Thesis Statement

    Yes, this point may seem strange to you, but believe me, as a person communicates with people, he manifests himself in the texts. The best essay writer should convey the idea easily and smoothly, without overloading the text or making it messy. Extensive work experience. To start making interesting writing, you need to write a lot every day.