When writing an analytical essay, you will want a strong thesis, one that asserts your reasoned conclusion about a topic and that can be well supported in order to convince your readers to accept your proposition. Most likely, in thinking about your audience, you have recognized that some readers are skeptical or have some preexisting idea about your topic. Probably those readers aren't hostile, or you'd have a full-blown argument on your hands. But you do need to find some ways to state your thesis to those skeptics. Here's one of the easiest ways to write a thesis statement and to include an address to a particular audience: using an although clause.

Let's say that you want to say that the Crow contemporary beadwork designs are not traditional to the Crow, but borrowed from the Sioux. Therefore, you will claim, contemporary Crow beadwork is not a traditional craft. If you begin your thesis statement with an although clause, you can draw readers in by starting with a contrast to your position. For example, you could write: "Although collectors of Native American crafts assume that contemporary craft products are traditional to the cultures that practice them, Crow beadwork done since 1946 is not traditional." You could narrow your intended audience to those who collect beadwork, those who study the crafts, or other people who make the assumption that you consider incorrect.

Another way to emphasize your thesis is to set up a problem in your occasion and use your thesis either to tell why the problem really isn't a problem or to propose a solution to it. A problem-solution analysis is a form of argument, just like telling why one solution would work better than another. Remember, both analysis and argument require persuasive writing. What's the difference between analysis and argument? Briefly, an analysis assumes a friendly audience and needs only to explain one perspective. An argument, however, assumes a hostile audience and must address both sides of the issue: the audience holds a counterargument to your argument.

As you review and revise your analytical thesis and the introductory paragraph of your essay, keep in mind that your occasion needs to attract your intended reader and give a purpose for your thesis. Your thesis asserts your claim and establishes the controlling issue in the paper, and your projected organization tells WHY your thesis is correct. Be sure the points in your projected organization tell WHY; do not just list factors that are somehow related to the thesis.