19 Template for Supporting Your Thesis with Claims and Evidence in the Analysis Paper

After you describe your image and develop a tentative thesis about it, it’s time to develop the analysis portion of the paper. You do this by supporting your thesis with claims and evidence.

• Claims: Main ideas or generalizations that relate to your thesis.
• Evidence: Information and data that support your claim (details, examples, etc.) and make it convincing.

Here is a sample tentative thesis:

The __________ (identify the medium—ad, poster, etc.) from _______ (source if applicable) uses _____________and ___________ (identify at least two rhetorical strategies) to make a statement about _____________________________ (identify purpose/overall message/theme of the image). The image accomplishes this through the use of _____________ [point A], _______________[point B], and _________________ [point C] (identify 3 visual elements in the blanks organized from least to MOST important).

The photograph of Banksy’s street art, “God Bless Birmingham” uses pathos and ethos to make a statement about the plight of the unhoused community during the holiday season. The image accomplishes this through the use of spray-painted reindeer, the wall on which the image is painted, and the inclusion of an actual man who appears to be unhoused asleep on a bench.

Assume I am developing my point “C” of my thesis, how the photograph of Banksy’s street art uses pathos and ethos to make a statement about homelessness by incorporating an image of an unhoused man asleep on a bench.

First, I will list the information about the point I am making. If I have written a good description, I can draw from this.

• An actual man, who appears unhoused, sleeps on his back on a sidewalk bench, which is tethered to two spray-painted reindeer.
• The man has a thick white beard.
• He wears a green coat with the hood pulled up around his head.
• His hands rest on his stomach, which does not appear round, but flat.
• The man’s head rests on a large brown sack.
• Three smaller bags—one green, two black—sit on the sidewalk below him.

To make meaning out of this information, the writer needs to make a claim—an idea or generalization—that this information supports. Once the claim is stated, a meaningful paragraph springs into existence:

The image of the sleeping unhoused man appeals to our emotions and establishes credibility by suggesting that we give rather than receive during the holiday season. Initially, when we look at the image, it appears as if the man is a stand-in for Santa Claus, the magical elf renowned for giving gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The bench he reclines on is tethered to two spray-painted reindeer ascending the night sky, and at first it appears as if he’s taking a nap during his busiest night of the year. He has a white beard and rests his head on a large brown sack that resembles the one filled with toys that Santa carries in his sleigh. But rather than a red coat, the one the man wears is green, an indication that this man is, of course, not Santa. Further, the man’s hands rest on a belly that is not round like Santa’s; instead, his stomach looks flat, which may indicate the hunger the man experiences. From here, we recognize that the sack the man leans against is likely filled with his worldly belongings—not toys. This man is not merely napping; this bench is his bed for the night. He may be hungry and cold. By juxtaposing the real-life image of the man against the spray-painted magical image of reindeer, the photograph suggests that when we revel in the “magic” of the holiday season we shouldn’t forget the harsh realities of so many of our less fortunate community members, and perhaps we should consider giving to those people who need it most.

So … the paragraphs in your analysis should be structured something like this:

Topic sentence (claim): _________________________. Example (evidence): __________________ Explanation of example: ______________. Transition ___________ Example (evidence): _____ Explanation of example: ________________________. And so on …