~ Handbook: Thesis-Conclusion-Evidence ~

However complex your idea becomes in the course of the essays your write for this course, you should be able to state its basic premise; and in most cases it's best to state it in the first paragraph. But you needn't end your essay by repeating the thesis-statement: your conclusion will be incremental, and therefore include matters that couldn't have been present in the initial statement of the thesis.

A thesis needs to be supported by evidence. Your best--and in this course your only necessary--evidence is the Shakespearean text: its words, characters, actions, settings, scenes. A brief quotation from the play (three lines or less) can be run into your own sentence. Often a quotation is not in itself sufficient to make your point. Analyze and explain, paying close attention to the precise linguistic values of Shakespeare's language, including its imagery and metaphors: tell the reader how and why the quotation supports your argument. If you've ended a paragraph with a quotation, check whether you've forgotten to draw out the significance of the quotation through appropriate analysis.