EXERCISE 7–1Thesis statements in literature papers
Example:

Dorothy Sayers, author of the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novels, puts Lord Peter on the sidelines in Gaudy Night while a mystery writer named Harriet Vane solves the mystery.

Dorothy Sayers’s novel Gaudy Night appears to be a traditional mystery story, but Sayers uses Harriet Vane’s investigation at a women’s college to make an in-depth exploration of women’s roles in higher education.

The second sentence states an interpretation that the writer can develop in a paper; the first sentence merely states facts.

For more help, see section 7c.