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Writing the
Specific Purpose
Statement and
Thesis Statement
Developing Your Purpose Specific Purpose Statement
- Your specific purpose statement is a planning tool. It is — A single sentence that states precisely what you want to accomplish with your speech. Specific Purpose Statement OPENING + EFFECT DESIRED + TOPIC
- Construct your specific purpose statement using this formula—
- Your opening begins
- This helps focus your planning on what you want from your audience. Specific Purpose Statement “I want my audience to.. .”
Specific Purpose Statement Understand... Recognize... Be able to perform... Support / Oppose...
- The “effect desired” states in a verb or verb phrase what you want from your audience. You want them to — Specific Purpose Statement The positive social value of Habitat for Humanity
- The “topic” is the subject you have chosen. Specific Purpose Statement “I want my audience to understand the positive social value of Habitat for Humanity.”
- Put it all together and you have... Specific Purpose Statement “I want my audience to recognize the how to protect themselves from the SARS virus.”
- Or maybe...
Specific Purpose Statement
• The specific purpose statement is a planning tool
to help focus the speech on what the speaker wants from the audience.
• It is stated only in the outline.
• It is not delivered to the audience.
Thesis
• Ask yourself two questions —
• “What is the most important piece of
information I want my audience to know about my topic?”
• “What’s my personal point of view about
why this information is important to my audience?”
• The answer to both questions is your thesis.
Thesis
The thesis is the key concept or
core message of your speech
expressed as a point of view — an
opinion, judgment, or interpretation.
Thesis
• The thesis is a complete sentence
• Never a question,
• Never a collection of sentences,
• Never a simple statement of fact
• It takes the form of a personal point of view
regarding the information shared with the audience.
Thesis
• The Thesis is a complete sentence.
Ineffective:
Differences between the Arena Football League and the NFL What makes the Arena Football League different from the NFL?
Thesis
• The thesis is not a description of a fact.
Ineffective: “Spider-Man is a fictional hero
who fights the villains in a corrupt world.”
Thesis
Improved: Spider-Man is a fictional hero
who reminds us that great power also brings great responsibility
• The thesis is a single point of view sentence that
expresses an opinion, judgment, or interpretation:
Thesis
• Together —
The thesis and the preview prepare the
audience for the rest of the speech.
• The thesis gives them a point of view
• The preview prepares them for the main
points that will be developed.
Specific Purpose / Thesis
- The specific purpose statement is a planning tool and is not heard by the audience.
- The thesis is a single sentence delivered at the end of your introduction that tells the audience why the information they are going to hear in your speech is important.
