communications in thesis statement

How to Write a Thesis Statement on Effective Communication

Writing a good thesis statement on effective communication involves communicating your motive in a statement of original and significant thought. The purpose you indicate in your thesis statement is the paper's main point – insight, argument or point of view – backed up by compelling research evidence. An effective communication thesis statement contains your proposed argument and support for your claim. It lets the reader know and understand the point of your paper in one or two sentences. Everything you write in your paper works toward building your thesis statement's strength. Remember that writing an effective communication thesis statement is different than writing one for most subjects; your educated readers will already know communication theory, application of techniques and personal experiences associated with effective communication.

Choose a topic for your thesis statement – if one is not assigned by your teacher – from a vast subject area with many diverse extended ideas. Examine how, what, when, where and whom in the process of gathering information for choosing the best topic. Narrow your focus if possible.

Explore a variety of research references on your topic that include journals, encyclopedias, books, newspapers and websites. Maintain notes that are detailed to help you conceptualize your thesis statement. Mark, underscore or highlight the most important data to back up your argument. Research acts as the basis for your specific, well-thought-out and defined thesis statement.

Decide whether the purpose of your composition is to inform or persuade. Formulate a thesis statement plan.

Review and analyze your notes to compose a thesis statement. An impressive thesis statement is made up of your argument proposal and claim support. Write down your thesis statement on a piece of paper. This allows you to see your thesis statement proposal in clear and logical terms.

Revise and adjust your thesis statement as you go along. Be sure it keeps the most fundamental and significant characteristics found in its original form. Pinpoint the two basics of your thesis: what your ideas relate to and what the angle of your ideas are. Make sure your thesis statement concentrates on these two basic points.

Establish individual insight in regard to your clear thesis statement. Your angle should reflect your own argument, ideas, analysis and interpretation of the effective communication topic.

Think about what might be argued against your thesis statement and refine your statement accordingly. Reflecting on possible counter-arguments allows you to consider differing opinions you will have to critique later in your essay.

• 1 Fastweb; Essay Tips: 7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay; 2009

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Communication Thesis (14 Comprehensive Guide)

• 4 month(s) ago

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

Ii. choosing a relevant communication thesis topic, iii. formulating a strong thesis statement, iv. research methodologies in communication studies, v. literature review: building a solid foundation, vi. data collection and analysis, vii. interpreting findings, viii. writing the introduction and literature review, ix. methodology section: a step-by-step guide, x. results section: presenting your findings, xi. discussion: interpreting results in a theoretical context, xii. conclusion: summarizing your communication thesis, xiii. frequently asked questions (faqs), xiv. tips for a successful thesis defense, xv. resources for communication scholars, xvi. overcoming common challenges in thesis writing, xvii. celebrating your accomplishment.

A. Overview of Communication Thesis

In the realm of academic pursuits, a Communication Thesis serves as a comprehensive exploration and analysis of the multifaceted field of communication studies. This integral component of higher education is designed to delve into the intricate dynamics of human communication, covering diverse aspects such as interpersonal relationships, media influence, and organizational communication. The overview of a Communication Thesis involves navigating through the foundational theories that shape the discipline, understanding the evolving landscape of communication research, and recognizing the paramount importance of effective communication in various contexts.

This section of the thesis sets the stage for the reader by outlining the significance of the study, its relevance in contemporary society, and the overarching goals that the research aims to achieve. As scholars embark on this intellectual journey, they engage in a meticulous exploration that not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge but also cultivates a deeper understanding of the intricate tapestry of human interaction.

A. Identifying Personal Interest and Passion

Selecting a pertinent Communication Thesis topic is a pivotal step in the academic journey, and a crucial aspect of this process involves identifying personal interest and passion. This phase encourages students to delve into areas of communication studies that resonate with their intrinsic curiosity and enthusiasm. By aligning one’s research with personal interests, scholars not only ensure a more engaging and fulfilling research experience but also contribute to the authenticity and depth of their work.

Whether it’s exploring the impact of digital communication on interpersonal relationships or investigating the role of media in shaping public opinion, the connection between personal passion and the chosen thesis topic becomes a driving force behind the dedication and perseverance required for a successful academic endeavor. This alignment fosters a genuine commitment to the research process, elevating the overall quality and impact of the Communication Thesis.

B. Current Trends and Research Gaps in Communication

Choosing a relevant Communication Thesis topic involves not only personal interest but also a keen awareness of current trends and research gaps within the dynamic field of communication studies. Staying abreast of contemporary developments is essential for crafting a thesis that contributes meaningfully to the existing discourse. Scholars must identify the latest trends, be it the influence of social media on communication patterns or the evolving landscape of digital communication platforms.

Simultaneously, they should keenly observe research gaps—areas where the existing body of knowledge falls short or where new insights are needed. By addressing these gaps, a Communication Thesis not only becomes a scholarly contribution but also positions itself at the forefront of ongoing conversations in the field. This awareness ensures that the research is both timely and relevant, making a valuable impact on the broader understanding of communication dynamics.

C. Tips for Narrowing Down Your Thesis Topic

Narrowing down a Communication Thesis topic is a nuanced process that requires careful consideration and strategic decision-making. To navigate this crucial step effectively, scholars can employ several tips to refine their focus. Firstly, it’s beneficial to conduct a preliminary literature review to identify existing research and potential gaps. Secondly, considering personal strengths and expertise can guide the selection process, ensuring a smoother and more confident research journey. Additionally, honing in on specific contexts, such as cultural or organizational communication, provides a clearer direction for exploration.

Collaborating with advisors and peers for feedback and insights is invaluable, offering diverse perspectives that can contribute to the topic refinement. Lastly, staying flexible and open to adjustments as the research progresses allows for adaptability and ensures the chosen topic remains relevant and aligned with the evolving landscape of communication studies. These tips collectively empower scholars to not only select a compelling Communication Thesis topic but also set the stage for a successful and impactful research endeavor.

A. Crafting a Clear and Concise Thesis Statement

In formulating a strong Communication Thesis, crafting a clear and concise thesis statement is paramount. The thesis statement serves as the nucleus of the entire research, encapsulating the essence of the study in a succinct manner. It should communicate the main argument, the scope of the research, and its significance. Crafting clarity involves avoiding ambiguity and ensuring that the reader can readily grasp the central focus of the thesis.

A concise thesis statement is devoid of unnecessary details, presenting a streamlined preview of what the research endeavors to explore or prove. This precision not only aids the reader in understanding the purpose of the study but also provides a guiding beacon for the researcher throughout the entire thesis-writing process. As scholars embark on the journey of formulating their Communication Thesis, dedicating attention to the construction of a clear and concise thesis statement lays a solid foundation for a focused and impactful research endeavor.

B. Incorporating Research Questions

In formulating a robust Communication Thesis, the incorporation of well-defined research questions is a strategic element within the thesis statement. These questions serve as guiding beacons, providing a roadmap for the research endeavor. By explicitly stating the questions, the thesis gains clarity regarding the specific aspects of communication under investigation. These inquiries act as a framework, delineating the boundaries and objectives of the study.

The inclusion of research questions not only sharpens the focus of the thesis but also signals to the reader the precise areas the research aims to explore or answer. Crafting a strong thesis statement, enriched with relevant research questions, not only propels the research forward but also enhances the overall cohesion and coherence of the Communication Thesis. Scholars should ensure that these questions align seamlessly with the overarching objectives, reinforcing the purpose and significance of their academic inquiry.

C. Aligning Your Thesis with Academic Goals

In formulating a strong Communication Thesis statement, a crucial consideration is aligning the thesis with academic goals. This involves ensuring that the research objectives and the overarching theme of the thesis are in harmony with the broader academic context. By aligning the thesis with academic goals, scholars can demonstrate the relevance and contribution of their research to the field of communication studies.

Whether the aim is to address gaps in existing literature, challenge established theories, or offer practical insights, this alignment underscores the scholarly significance of the thesis. Moreover, it enables the researcher to contextualize their work within the larger academic discourse, enhancing its credibility and impact. Thus, a well-crafted thesis statement not only reflects the specific focus of the research but also positions it as a meaningful and purposeful contribution to the academic landscape. Read  more

A. Qualitative Research Approaches

1. Case Studies

Utilizing case studies in qualitative research approaches is a powerful method within the realm of research methodologies for a Communication Thesis. Case studies offer an in-depth exploration of a specific phenomenon within its real-life context, allowing researchers to gain rich insights into complex communication dynamics. In the context of communication thesis research, case studies can delve into various aspects such as interpersonal communication challenges, media effects on certain populations, or organizational communication strategies.

By employing qualitative methods like case studies, scholars can capture the nuances of communication processes, behaviors, and outcomes, providing a holistic understanding that quantitative approaches may not fully capture. The detailed narratives derived from case studies not only contribute depth to the thesis but also offer valuable real-world applications, enhancing the overall robustness of the research.

2. Interviews and Focus Groups

In the realm of research methodologies for a Communication Thesis, qualitative research approaches often leverage interviews and focus groups as indispensable tools. Interviews provide a direct and personalized means of collecting data, allowing researchers to explore participants’ perspectives, experiences, and insights on specific communication phenomena. Focus groups, on the other hand, facilitate dynamic group discussions, offering a platform for participants to interact, share opinions, and generate collective insights.

Both methodologies contribute to the richness of qualitative research in communication studies, enabling scholars to capture the diversity of perspectives and nuances in interpersonal, organizational, or mediated communication. The interactive nature of interviews and focus groups allows for a deeper understanding of social dynamics, attitudes, and behavioral patterns, enhancing the comprehensiveness and depth of a Communication Thesis.

B. Quantitative Research Methods

Surveys play a pivotal role in quantitative research methods within the realm of research methodologies for a Communication Thesis. This method involves systematically gathering data from a large sample through standardized questionnaires, allowing researchers to quantify and analyze patterns, trends, and correlations in communication-related phenomena. Surveys are particularly valuable in exploring widespread attitudes, behaviors, and preferences within diverse populations, making them instrumental in communication studies.

By employing statistical analyses, scholars can derive quantitative insights, providing a quantitative foundation for understanding the prevalence and significance of specific communication trends or issues. Surveys offer a structured and efficient means of collecting data on a scale that is often challenging with qualitative approaches, contributing to the empirical rigor of a Communication Thesis. The careful design and execution of surveys ensure that researchers can draw meaningful conclusions and contribute valuable quantitative evidence to the broader field of communication studies.

2. Content Analysis

In the realm of quantitative research methods within the methodologies for a Communication Thesis, content analysis emerges as a potent tool for systematically examining and interpreting communication artifacts. This method involves the systematic coding and categorization of textual, visual, or audio content, allowing researchers to quantify and analyze patterns, themes, and trends within a vast array of communication materials.

Content analysis is particularly valuable in studying media messages, social media content, or textual representations, enabling scholars to uncover underlying patterns and draw statistical inferences. By applying objective coding schemes, researchers can measure the frequency and prominence of specific themes, sentiments, or communication strategies. Content analysis, as a quantitative research method, adds a layer of empirical rigor to communication studies, providing numerical insights that contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the communicative landscape addressed in a Communication Thesis.

A. Reviewing Key Studies in Communication

In the critical phase of crafting a Literature Review for a Communication Thesis, reviewing key studies in communication lays the groundwork for building a solid and informed foundation. This process involves a meticulous examination of seminal works, academic articles, and influential research findings within the field of communication studies. By delving into these key studies, scholars gain a comprehensive understanding of the historical evolution, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches that have shaped the discipline.

This review not only highlights the pivotal contributions of past scholars but also identifies gaps, contradictions, and areas for further exploration. By synthesizing and critically analyzing key studies, the Literature Review establishes the context for the current research, showcasing the continuity and evolution of knowledge within the field of communication. This comprehensive foundation not only validates the significance of the chosen thesis topic but also positions the research within the broader scholarly conversation, contributing to the academic discourse in communication studies.

B. Identifying Theoretical Frameworks

In the foundational process of constructing a Literature Review for a Communication Thesis, identifying theoretical frameworks is paramount to establishing a solid intellectual foundation. This involves a meticulous exploration of the theoretical underpinnings that have shaped and defined the landscape of communication studies. By identifying and analyzing various theoretical frameworks—ranging from classic to contemporary—scholars gain insight into the diverse lenses through which communication phenomena are conceptualized.

The identification of theoretical frameworks not only provides a conceptual roadmap for understanding communication dynamics but also aids in situating the research within the broader theoretical landscape. This alignment helps scholars navigate the complexities of their chosen topic, offering a theoretical scaffold to frame research questions, guide methodological choices, and interpret findings. The integration of these theoretical perspectives enriches the Literature Review, contributing depth and theoretical coherence to the overall narrative of the Communication Thesis.

C. Analyzing Methodological Approaches

In the foundational process of constructing a Literature Review for a Communication Thesis, analyzing methodological approaches is instrumental in building a solid scholarly foundation. This phase involves a comprehensive examination of the various research methods employed in key studies within communication studies. By scrutinizing methodological approaches, scholars gain insights into the strengths, limitations, and nuances of different research methodologies such as surveys, interviews, content analysis, or experimental designs.

Understanding the methodological diversity within the field not only equips researchers with the tools to critically evaluate existing literature but also aids in shaping the research design for their own thesis. This analytical process contributes to the overall rigor of the Literature Review, allowing scholars to highlight the methodological trends, innovations, and gaps in the current body of communication research. Ultimately, a nuanced analysis of methodological approaches enhances the scholarly foundation, ensuring that the Communication Thesis is positioned at the forefront of methodological considerations within the field. For more information click  here .

A. Gathering Primary and Secondary Data

In the crucial phase of Data Collection and Analysis for a Communication Thesis, gathering both primary and secondary data is a pivotal step toward constructing a comprehensive and well-informed research framework. Primary data, collected firsthand through methods like surveys, interviews, or observations, allows researchers to directly explore their research questions within the specific context of their study.

On the other hand, secondary data, comprising existing literature, articles, and other scholarly works, serves as a valuable foundation, providing context, insights, and comparative perspectives. The integration of both primary and secondary data enhances the depth and breadth of the research, fostering a more holistic understanding of the communication phenomena under investigation. This dual approach not only validates the research findings but also contributes to the richness and credibility of the overall analysis in the Communication Thesis. The careful synthesis of primary and secondary data ensures a well-rounded exploration, ultimately strengthening the scholarly contribution of the research to the field of communication studies.

B. Utilizing Software for Data Analysis

In the contemporary landscape of Communication Thesis research, the utilization of software for data analysis is a crucial element within the broader framework of Data Collection and Analysis. As datasets in communication studies grow in complexity and volume, employing specialized software tools becomes imperative for efficient and accurate analysis. Widely used statistical packages, such as SPSS or NVivo, facilitate the organization, coding, and interpretation of both quantitative and qualitative data.

These tools not only streamline the analytical process but also enable researchers to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations that may be challenging to discern manually. The integration of software for data analysis ensures rigor, precision, and reproducibility in the research findings, contributing to the overall credibility and validity of the Communication Thesis. As technology continues to evolve, leveraging advanced software tools becomes instrumental in extracting meaningful insights from the vast array of data encountered in communication research.

C. Ensuring Data Reliability and Validity

Ensuring data reliability and validity is paramount in the phase of Data Collection and Analysis within a Communication Thesis. Reliability speaks to the consistency and stability of the data, emphasizing the need for dependable and replicable results. Validity, on the other hand, underscores the accuracy and relevance of the data in measuring what it intends to measure. To guarantee data reliability, researchers employ consistent methods, minimize biases, and conduct pilot studies.

Validation, meanwhile, demands a thorough understanding of the chosen research instruments, be it surveys, interviews, or content analysis, to ensure they effectively capture the intended communication phenomena. Rigorous attention to data reliability and validity not only fortifies the robustness of the research findings but also bolsters the overall credibility and trustworthiness of the Communication Thesis. Researchers must be vigilant in addressing potential sources of error, implementing stringent quality control measures, and transparently reporting their methodology to enhance the reliability and validity of their data.

A. Connecting Data to Thesis Objectives

In the process of interpreting findings within a Communication Thesis, a critical step involves connecting the data to the overarching thesis objectives. This connection serves as the bridge that transforms raw data into meaningful insights, aligning the empirical evidence with the initial research goals. By systematically linking the obtained results to the predefined objectives, researchers can unravel the implications, patterns, and significance of their findings in the context of the broader communication landscape.

This step is crucial for deriving meaningful conclusions, making informed recommendations, and contributing substantively to the field. The alignment between data and thesis objectives not only ensures the coherence of the research but also provides a clear narrative that guides readers through the journey from data collection to the ultimate interpretation within the Communication Thesis.

B. Addressing Unexpected Results

In the intricate process of interpreting findings within a Communication Thesis, it is essential to address unexpected results with a thoughtful and analytical approach. Unforeseen outcomes can offer valuable insights into the complexity of communication phenomena. Researchers must resist the temptation to dismiss unexpected findings and instead delve into their potential causes. This may involve revisiting the research design, scrutinizing data collection methods, or considering alternative explanations.

The acknowledgment and exploration of unexpected results contribute to the intellectual honesty of the study, showcasing the researcher’s commitment to a thorough and unbiased investigation. Addressing unexpected outcomes in the interpretation phase not only refines the understanding of the communication dynamics under scrutiny but also strengthens the overall credibility and reliability of the Communication Thesis. It is through this nuanced exploration that researchers can uncover hidden patterns, refine their theories, and make significant contributions to the evolving field of communication studies.

C. Drawing Meaningful Conclusions

Drawing meaningful conclusions is the culmination of the intricate process of interpreting findings within a Communication Thesis. As researchers navigate through the wealth of data and analysis, synthesizing the results into insightful and coherent conclusions becomes paramount. This phase involves not only summarizing key findings but also extrapolating their broader implications for the field of communication studies. By connecting the dots between data, theoretical frameworks, and research objectives, scholars can distill overarching patterns, trends, or disparities.

Meaningful conclusions provide closure to the research narrative, offering a comprehensive understanding of the communication phenomena under investigation. It is through this synthesis that researchers contribute to the advancement of knowledge, offering fresh insights, suggesting avenues for future research, and ultimately enriching the academic discourse within the realm of communication studies through their thesis. For more details read  here .

Crafting the introduction and literature review is a foundational aspect of developing a Communication Thesis. The introduction serves as the gateway to the research, providing a concise overview of the study’s purpose, significance, and objectives. It sets the stage for the reader, offering context for the communication phenomena under investigation and outlining the research’s broader implications.

Concurrently, the literature review delves into existing scholarly works, synthesizing key studies, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches within the field of communication studies. This section not only establishes the researcher’s familiarity with the existing body of knowledge but also identifies gaps and research questions that the current study seeks to address. By strategically combining the introduction and literature review, scholars construct a cohesive and compelling narrative, providing readers with a clear understanding of the research’s context, relevance, and the unique contributions it aims to make within the dynamic landscape of communication studies.

A. Detailing Research Design

In the Methodology section of a Communication Thesis, detailing the research design is a pivotal step, offering readers a step-by-step guide into the systematic framework guiding the study. This segment outlines the blueprint that shapes the entire research process, encompassing the overall structure, sampling techniques, and data collection methods. By meticulously detailing the research design, scholars elucidate the rationale behind their methodological choices, addressing questions of feasibility, relevance, and ethical considerations.

Whether employing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches, this section provides a transparent roadmap for how the research questions will be addressed. A well-crafted methodology not only enhances the internal validity of the study but also equips readers with the insights needed to assess the rigor and reliability of the research findings. Through this methodical exposition, researchers ensure that their communication thesis stands on a robust and credible methodological foundation.

B. Describing Sampling Techniques

In the Methodology section of a Communication Thesis, describing sampling techniques is a crucial step that illuminates the systematic approach taken to select participants or sources for the study. Whether employing probability or non-probability sampling methods, this detailed exposition provides transparency into the researcher’s decisions, ensuring readers understand the rationale behind the chosen sampling strategy. The discussion typically includes considerations such as population characteristics, sample size, and the methods used to recruit or select participants.

A clear depiction of sampling techniques is essential not only for ensuring the representativeness of the study but also for allowing readers to assess the generalizability of the findings. Through this methodological guide, scholars navigate the intricacies of participant selection in communication studies, contributing to the overall reliability and validity of the research conducted within the framework of the communication thesis.

C. Explaining Data Collection Procedures

In the Methodology section of a Communication Thesis, explaining data collection procedures serves as a vital component, providing a comprehensive and transparent guide for readers. This segment delineates the systematic steps taken to gather the necessary information for the study. Whether employing surveys, interviews, content analysis, or other data collection methods, researchers elucidate the intricacies of their approach, detailing protocols, instruments used, and ethical considerations.

This step-by-step guide ensures that the research process is reproducible, enhancing the study’s credibility. By transparently describing data collection procedures, scholars not only empower readers to evaluate the validity and reliability of the study but also contribute to the broader methodological discourse within communication studies. This methodological clarity is pivotal for fellow researchers, academics, and practitioners seeking to understand, replicate, or build upon the insights derived from the communication thesis.

A. Visual Representation of Data

In the Results Section of a Communication Thesis, the visual representation of data is a powerful and integral component for presenting findings in a clear and accessible manner. Visual elements such as charts, graphs, and tables serve as visual aids that succinctly convey complex information, making it more comprehensible for the reader. Through visual representation, researchers can effectively illustrate patterns, trends, and relationships identified in the data, enhancing the overall impact and interpretability of their findings.

Well-crafted visuals not only facilitate a more engaging presentation but also enable readers to quickly grasp key insights, fostering a deeper understanding of the communication dynamics under investigation. This strategic use of visual representation in the Results Section contributes to the overall effectiveness of the Communication Thesis by offering a visually compelling narrative that complements the textual presentation of research outcomes.

B. Comparative Analysis

In the Results Section of a Communication Thesis, a comparative analysis is a crucial method for presenting findings and extracting meaningful insights. This approach involves systematically comparing different sets of data, variables, or groups to discern patterns, differences, or similarities. Through comparative analysis, researchers can provide a nuanced understanding of how various factors may influence communication phenomena.

Whether contrasting different communication strategies, audience responses, or media effects, this method offers a structured means of highlighting key distinctions and drawing connections within the data. The careful application of comparative analysis not only contributes to the depth of the presented findings but also supports the development of well-grounded interpretations. By employing this method in the Results Section, scholars enhance the overall clarity and richness of their communication thesis, enabling readers to discern the nuances inherent in the research outcomes.

C. Incorporating Tables and Figures

In the Results Section of a Communication Thesis, the strategic incorporation of tables and figures plays a pivotal role in presenting findings with clarity and precision. These visual elements serve as invaluable tools for organizing complex data, providing a concise and accessible representation of key results. Tables are effective for presenting numerical data, allowing for easy comparison and reference, while figures, such as charts or graphs, enhance the visualization of trends and relationships within the data.

By thoughtfully integrating tables and figures, researchers not only streamline the communication of intricate information but also offer readers an enhanced understanding of the patterns and insights derived from the study. This visual supplementation in the Results Section of the communication thesis facilitates a more engaging and comprehensible presentation of research outcomes, fostering a deeper appreciation of the empirical contributions made within the study.

A. Relating Findings to Literature

In the Discussion section of a Communication Thesis, relating findings to the existing literature is a critical step that places the empirical results within a broader theoretical context. This process involves examining how the research outcomes align with, challenge, or contribute to the theories and concepts discussed in the literature review. By establishing these connections, researchers provide a theoretical framework for interpreting their findings, offering insights into the implications of the study within the established body of knowledge.

This integration of empirical evidence and theoretical constructs not only validates the study’s relevance but also enhances the scholarly discourse within the field of communication studies. Through the artful synthesis of findings and literature, scholars pave the way for a more profound understanding of the communication phenomena under investigation, contributing to the ongoing evolution of theoretical perspectives within the communication thesis.

B. Addressing Limitations

Within the Discussion section of a Communication Thesis, addressing limitations is a crucial element of transparent and scholarly interpretation of results within a theoretical context. It involves a candid acknowledgment and exploration of the constraints, challenges, or potential biases inherent in the research design or execution. By openly discussing these limitations, researchers demonstrate a commitment to intellectual rigor and honesty, allowing readers to contextualize the findings appropriately.

Addressing limitations also provides an opportunity for scholars to suggest avenues for future research or propose refinements to existing methodologies. This reflective approach within the Discussion section not only underscores the researcher’s awareness of the study’s constraints but also enriches the scholarly dialogue within the field of communication studies, encouraging a more nuanced and self-aware interpretation of the empirical results presented in the thesis.

C. Proposing Future Research Avenues

In the Discussion section of a Communication Thesis, proposing future research avenues is a crucial step that extends the scholarly discourse beyond the current study. This forward-looking aspect involves identifying gaps in the existing literature, considering unexplored dimensions of the research topic, or suggesting novel methodologies for future investigations. By outlining these potential research directions, scholars not only contribute to the ongoing development of knowledge within the field of communication studies but also inspire and guide future researchers.

This proactive engagement with the future not only showcases the depth of the researcher’s understanding of the subject matter but also positions the study within a broader context of academic inquiry. Proposing future research avenues within the theoretical context of the Communication Thesis enhances the study’s impact and invites a continual and dynamic exploration of the complex and evolving landscape of communication phenomena. Read  more

In the concluding section of a Communication Thesis, the task is to synthesize the key insights, contributions, and implications derived from the study. The conclusion serves as a succinct summary, providing closure to the research narrative while highlighting the significance of the findings within the broader context of communication studies. This section often revisits the research questions, emphasizing how they have been addressed through the empirical investigation.

Scholars use this opportunity to underscore the theoretical and practical implications of their work, reinforcing the importance of the study in advancing understanding within the field. The conclusion is not merely a recapitulation but a strategic encapsulation of the research journey, offering a final perspective that resonates with the overarching goals of the Communication Thesis and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

A. What makes a compelling communication thesis topic?

B. How do I choose the right research methodology for my thesis?

C. What are common challenges in data analysis for communication studies?

D. How can I ensure ethical considerations in my communication research?

E. Tips for effectively structuring the literature review in a thesis.

A. Preparing a Strong Presentation

Preparing a strong presentation is a crucial component of ensuring a successful thesis defense in the realm of Communication Studies. As scholars approach this pivotal moment, the ability to distill complex research into a clear, engaging, and well-organized presentation is paramount. Tips for a successful defense include a strategic structuring of the presentation to cover key components such as introduction, research objectives, methodology, results, and conclusion.

It’s essential to articulate the significance of the study within the broader field of communication and effectively communicate findings with clarity. Utilizing visual aids, such as slides or graphics, can enhance comprehension and engagement. Additionally, anticipating potential questions and preparing thoughtful responses demonstrates a deep understanding of the research. A successful presentation not only showcases the researcher’s expertise but also allows for a dynamic and confident defense, fostering a meaningful exchange between the scholar and the thesis committee.

B. Confidence and Professionalism in Defense

Confidence and professionalism are indispensable elements for a successful thesis defense in the field of Communication Studies. As researchers present their work to the thesis committee, exuding confidence in both the content and delivery of the presentation instills trust in the validity and rigor of the research. Maintaining professionalism involves engaging with committee members respectfully, being receptive to feedback, and navigating questions with poise.

Confidence is not just about delivering a well-prepared presentation but also about demonstrating a thorough understanding of the subject matter. Presenting oneself as a knowledgeable and composed scholar contributes significantly to the overall success of the defense, creating an atmosphere of credibility and assurance. Researchers who convey confidence and professionalism not only showcase their preparedness but also leave a lasting positive impression on the committee, elevating the overall quality of the Communication Thesis defense.

For communication scholars engaged in the development of a thesis, a diverse array of resources serves as indispensable aids throughout the research journey. Academic databases such as PubMed, JSTOR, and ProQuest offer access to a wealth of scholarly articles, journals, and publications relevant to various communication topics. Libraries, both physical and digital, provide access to an extensive collection of books and reference materials, enriching the theoretical foundations of the thesis.

Additionally, online forums and academic communities offer opportunities for networking, sharing insights, and seeking guidance from fellow scholars. Methodological guides and handbooks on research design, data analysis, and writing are invaluable resources to enhance the rigor and quality of the thesis. Utilizing citation management tools like EndNote or Zotero aids in organizing references efficiently. Overall, the availability of these resources empowers communication scholars to navigate the complexities of thesis development, fostering a robust and well-informed academic exploration.

Communication thesis writing, like any scholarly endeavor, comes with its share of challenges. One common hurdle is the potential for information overload, as the expansive nature of communication studies may lead to an overwhelming amount of literature to sift through. Additionally, maintaining a clear and focused research question amidst the complexity of the field can be challenging. Another common challenge lies in balancing theoretical frameworks with empirical findings, ensuring a cohesive narrative that bridges the theoretical and practical aspects of the research.

Time management is often a universal struggle, given the meticulous nature of research and the need for extensive literature review. Lastly, maintaining consistency in writing style, adhering to academic standards, and navigating the intricacies of proper citation can pose challenges. Overcoming these hurdles requires strategic planning, effective organization, and perhaps most importantly, seeking guidance from mentors and peers throughout the communication thesis writing process.

Celebrating the accomplishment of completing a communication thesis is a moment of well-deserved recognition and pride. This academic journey is a culmination of dedication, rigorous research, and intellectual growth. It signifies the mastery of complex communication theories, research methodologies, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to the academic discourse. Taking a moment to acknowledge the effort, resilience, and intellectual curiosity that went into the thesis writing process is crucial.

Whether through personal reflection, sharing achievements with mentors and peers, or even a small personal celebration, recognizing the accomplishment serves not only as a form of self-validation but also as a testament to the scholarly commitment and expertise developed throughout the research journey. It marks not only the end of a rigorous academic endeavor but also the beginning of a new chapter as a seasoned and accomplished communication scholar.

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Thesis Statements

This guide offers essential tips on thesis statements, but it’s important to note that thesis statement content, structure, and placement can vary widely depending on the discipline, level, and genre. One good way to get a sense of how thesis statements might be constructed in your field is to read some related scholarly articles.

A thesis statement articulates a writer’s main argument, point, or message in a piece of writing. Strong thesis statements will tell your audience what your topic is and what your position on that topic is. Also, they will often provide an overview of key supporting arguments that you will explore throughout your paper. A well-written thesis statement demonstrates that you have explored the topic thoroughly and can defend your claims. 

For short, undergraduate-level papers, a thesis statement will usually be one to three sentences in length, often occurring at the end of the first paragraph. Its main function is to tie all of your ideas and arguments together. As you continue to present your evidence and argue your stance, your thesis will connect throughout your essay like a puzzle. 

e.g., Closing the border between Greece and Macedonia has led to unnecessary suffering among refugees by preventing humanitarian aid from getting to those camps that need it most 1. Resolving this human rights problem will ultimately require cooperative effort from local, regional, and international agencies 2. 

Statement of topic and main argument 

Further details about topic that give your reader a sense of how the paper will be structured

Building Effective Thesis Statements

A strong thesis statement should be clear, concise, focused, and supportable. Unless your essay is simply explanatory, it should also be debatable (i.e., if your position on a topic is one that almost nobody would dispute, it may not be the best choice for an argumentative paper). 

The following steps will help you throughout the process of developing your thesis statement:: 

Read the assignment thoroughly. Make sure you are clear about the expectations. 

Do preliminary, general research: collect and organize information about your topic. 

Form a tentative thesis. The following questions may help you focus your research into a tentative thesis: 

What’s new about this topic? 

What important about this topic? 

What’s interesting about this topic? 

What have others missed in their discussions about this topic? 

What about this topic is worth writing about? 

Do additional research. Once you have narrowed your focus, you can perform targeted research to find evidence to support your thesis. As you research, your understanding of the topic will change. This is normal and even desirable. 

Refine your thesis statement. After doing extensive research and evaluating many sources, rewrite your thesis so it expresses your angle or position on your topic more clearly.

Sample Thesis Statements

This guide offers essential tips on the thesis statements, but it's important to note that thesis statement content, structure, and placement can vary widely depending on the discipline, level, and genre. One good way to get a sense of how thesis statements might be constructed in your field is to read some related scholarly articles.

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Crafting a Thesis Statement and Preview

Crafting a thesis statement.

A  thesis statement  is a short,  declarative sentence  that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. A strong, clear thesis statement is very valuable within an introduction because it lays out the basic goal of the entire speech. We strongly believe that it is worthwhile to invest some time in framing and writing a good thesis statement. You may even want to write your thesis statement before you even begin conducting research for your speech. While you may end up rewriting your thesis statement later, having a clear idea of your purpose, intent, or main idea before you start searching for research will help you focus on the most appropriate material. To help us understand thesis statements, we will first explore their basic functions and then discuss how to write a thesis statement.

Basic Functions of a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement helps your audience by letting them know, clearly and concisely, what you are going to talk about. A strong thesis statement will allow your reader to understand the central message of your speech. You will want to be as specific as possible. A thesis statement for informative speaking should be a declarative statement that is clear and concise; it will tell the audience what to expect in your speech. For persuasive speaking, a thesis statement should have a narrow focus and should be arguable, there must be an argument to explore within the speech. The exploration piece will come with research, but we will discuss that in the main points. For now, you will need to consider your specific purpose and how this relates directly to what you want to tell this audience. Remember, no matter if your general purpose is to inform or persuade, your thesis will be a declarative statement that reflects your purpose.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Now that we’ve looked at why a thesis statement is crucial in a speech, let’s switch gears and talk about how we go about writing a solid thesis statement. A thesis statement is related to the general and specific purposes of a speech.

Once you have chosen your topic and determined your purpose, you will need to make sure your topic is narrow. One of the hardest parts of writing a thesis statement is narrowing a speech from a broad topic to one that can be easily covered during a five- to seven-minute speech. While five to seven minutes may sound like a long time for new public speakers, the time flies by very quickly when you are speaking. You can easily run out of time if your topic is too broad. To ascertain if your topic is narrow enough for a specific time frame, ask yourself three questions.

Is your speech topic a broad overgeneralization of a topic?

Overgeneralization occurs when we classify everyone in a specific group as having a specific characteristic. For example, a speaker’s thesis statement that “all members of the National Council of La Raza are militant” is an overgeneralization of all members of the organization. Furthermore, a speaker would have to correctly demonstrate that all members of the organization are militant for the thesis statement to be proven, which is a very difficult task since the National Council of La Raza consists of millions of Hispanic Americans. A more appropriate thesis related to this topic could be, “Since the creation of the National Council of La Raza [NCLR] in 1968, the NCLR has become increasingly militant in addressing the causes of Hispanics in the United States.”

Is your speech’s topic one clear topic or multiple topics?

A strong thesis statement consists of only a single topic. The following is an example of a thesis statement that contains too many topics: “Medical marijuana, prostitution, and Women’s Equal Rights Amendment should all be legalized in the United States.” Not only are all three fairly broad, but you also have three completely unrelated topics thrown into a single thesis statement. Instead of a thesis statement that has multiple topics, limit yourself to only one topic. Here’s an example of a thesis statement examining only one topic:  Ratifying the Women’s Equal Rights Amendment as equal citizens under the United States law would protect women by requiring state and federal law to engage in equitable freedoms among the sexes.

Does the topic have direction?

If your basic topic is too broad, you will never have a solid thesis statement or a coherent speech. For example, if you start off with the topic “Barack Obama is a role model for everyone,” what do you mean by this statement? Do you think President Obama is a role model because of his dedication to civic service? Do you think he’s a role model because he’s a good basketball player? Do you think he’s a good role model because he’s an excellent public speaker? When your topic is too broad, almost anything can become part of the topic. This ultimately leads to a lack of direction and coherence within the speech itself. To make a cleaner topic, a speaker needs to narrow her or his topic to one specific area. For example, you may want to examine why President Obama is a good public speaker.

Put Your Topic into a Declarative Sentence

You wrote your general and specific purpose. Use this information to guide your thesis statement. If you wrote a clear purpose, it will be easy to turn this into a declarative statement.

General purpose:  To inform

Specific purpose:  To inform my audience about the lyricism of former President Barack Obama’s presentation skills.

Your thesis statement needs to be a declarative statement. This means it needs to actually state something. If a speaker says, “I am going to talk to you about the effects of social media,” this tells you nothing about the speech content. Are the effects positive? Are they negative? Are they both? We don’t know. This sentence is an announcement, not a thesis statement. A declarative statement clearly states the message of your speech.

For example, you could turn the topic of President Obama’s public speaking skills into the following sentence: “Because of his unique sense of lyricism and his well-developed presentational skills, President Barack Obama is a modern symbol of the power of public speaking.” Or you could state, “Socal media has both positive and negative effects on users.”

Adding your Argument, Viewpoint, or Opinion

If your topic is informative, your job is to make sure that the thesis statement is nonargumentative and focuses on facts. For example, in the preceding thesis statement, we have a couple of opinion-oriented terms that should be avoided for informative speeches: “unique sense,” “well-developed,” and “power.” All three of these terms are laced with an individual’s opinion, which is fine for a persuasive speech but not for an informative speech. For informative speeches, the goal of a thesis statement is to explain what the speech will be informing the audience about, not attempting to add the speaker’s opinion about the speech’s topic. For an informative speech, you could rewrite the thesis statement to read,  “Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his speech, ‘A World That Stands as One,’ delivered July 2008 in Berlin demonstrates exceptional use of rhetorical strategies. 

On the other hand, if your topic is persuasive, you want to make sure that your argument, viewpoint, or opinion is clearly indicated within the thesis statement. If you are going to argue that Barack Obama is a great speaker, then you should set up this argument within your thesis statement.

For example, you could turn the topic of President Obama’s public speaking skills into the following sentence: “Because of his unique sense of lyricism and his well-developed presentational skills, President Barack Obama is a modern symbol of the power of public speaking.” Once you have a clear topic sentence, you can start tweaking the thesis statement to help set up the purpose of your speech.

Thesis Checklist

Once you have written a first draft of your thesis statement, you’re probably going to end up revising your thesis statement a number of times prior to delivering your actual speech. A thesis statement is something that is constantly tweaked until the speech is given. As your speech develops, often your thesis will need to be rewritten to whatever direction the speech itself has taken. We often start with a speech going in one direction, and find out through our research that we should have gone in a different direction. When you think you finally have a thesis statement that is good to go for your speech, take a second and make sure it adheres to the criteria shown below.

Preview of Speech

The preview, as stated in the introduction portion of our readings, reminds us that we will need to let the audience know what the main points in our speech will be. You will want to follow the thesis with the preview of your speech. Your preview will allow the audience to follow your main points in a sequential manner. Spoiler alert: The preview when stated out loud will remind you of main point 1, main point 2, and main point 3 (etc. if you have more or less main points). It is a built in memory card!

For Future Reference |  How to organize this in an outline |

Introduction

Attention Getter: Credibility: Thesis: Preview:

Key Takeaways

Introductions are foundational to an effective public speech.

• A thesis statement is instrumental to a speech that is well-developed and supported.
• Be sure that you are spending enough time brainstorming strong attention getters and considering your audience’s goal(s) for the introduction.
• A strong thesis will allow you to follow a roadmap throughout the rest of your speech: it is worth spending the extra time to ensure you have a strong thesis statement

Communication Competence: Developing Skills for Your Personal and Professional Life Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Communication Studies

The #1 resource for the communication field, how to write a thesis statement.

Academic writing can be intimidating, especially for an individual who is new to this type of composition. One important aspect of many academic papers is a solid thesis statement.

What is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement consists of one or two sentences that provide the reader with a brief summary of the direction of the paper. Rather than simply stating the topic, a thesis statement should indicate what argument is being made about that topic. A thesis is intended to answer a question, so a good thesis statement should briefly explain the basic premise of the argument.

How to Generate a Thesis Statement

When it is time to write a thesis statement, the author should already be deeply familiar with the material and the question being answered. One of the first steps in creating a thesis statement is isolating the primary question being answered by the paper. The rest of the thesis statement should be a concise answer to that question.

It is important to be specific because a vague answer does not give the reader a reasonable idea of what to expect. Additionally, the argument presented should be a claim that readers or experts could reasonably dispute. A statement that cannot be proven false is not a good thesis. Finally, the thesis statement and the paper should be fully connected. A paper that strays greatly or frequently from the thesis will lose readers.

Qualities of a Good Thesis Statement

• The thesis should answer the question
• It should be specific and avoid cramming too many ideas into one or two sentences. Vague statements should also be avoided
• The thesis statement should describe a disputable argument. If the statement cannot be proven false, it is not a good thesis statement
• A good thesis statement should use reader-friendly and accessible language. The potential audience should be considered

Example Thesis Statements

Male participants outperform females in spatial navigation tasks. This relatively short statement answers a question of male versus female performance on a particular task. The statement is a specific answer to that question. A fellow researcher could easily attempt to dispute those findings.

The downward shift in the economy promotes the election of polarizing political extremists. This statement should precede a paper that discusses how a troubled economy could contribute to the election of extreme politicians. Readers and researchers can dispute such a claim.

The convenience and accessibility of social media marketing makes traditional advertisement methods obsolete. This specific and disputable statement narrows the focus to how more modern technologies are making older methods of advertisement outdated.

Practice will eventually make generating thesis statements an automatic step in the writing process. By following the appropriate steps and examining the aspects of a good thesis statement, this step of academic writing can be mastered.

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Communication Studies

What this handout is about.

This handout describes some steps for planning and writing papers in communication studies courses.

Courses in communication studies combine material from the humanities, fine arts, and social sciences in order to explain how and why people interact in the ways that they do. Within communication studies, there are four different approaches to understanding these interactions. Your course probably falls into one of these four areas of emphasis:

• Interpersonal and organizational communication: Interpersonal communication concerns one-on-one conversations as well as small group behaviors. Organizational communication focuses on large group dynamics.
• Rhetoric: Rhetoric examines persuasion and argumentation in political settings and within social movements.
• Performance studies: Performance studies analyze the relationships among literature, theater, and everyday life.
• Media/film studies: Media and film studies explore the cultural influences and practical techniques of television and film, as well as new technologies.

Understanding your assignment

The content and purpose of your assignments will vary according to what kind of course you are in, so pay close attention to the course description, syllabus, and assignment sheet when you begin to write. If you’d like to learn more about deciphering writing assignments or developing your academic writing, see our Writing Center handouts on these topics. For now, let’s see how a general topic, same-sex friendships, might be treated in each of the different areas. These illustrations are only examples, but you can use them as springboards to help you identify how your course might approach discussing a broad topic.

Interpersonal communication

An interpersonal communication perspective could focus on the verbal and nonverbal differences and similarities between how women communicate with other women and how men communicate with other men. This topic would allow you to explore the ways in which gender affects our behaviors in close relationships.

Organizational communication

Organizational communication would take a less personal approach, perhaps by addressing same-sex friendships in the form of workplace mentoring programs that pair employees of the same sex. This would require you to discuss and analyze group dynamics and effectiveness in the work environment.

A rhetorical analysis could involve comparing and contrasting references to friendship in the speeches of two well-known figures. For instance, you could compare Aristotle’s comments about Plato to Plato’s comments about Aristotle in order to discover more about the relationship between these two men and how each defined their friendship and/or same-sex friendship in general.

Performance studies

A performance approach might involve describing how a literary work uses dramatic conventions to portray same-sex friendships, as well as critiquing how believable those portrayals are. An analysis of the play Waiting for Godot could unpack the lifelong friendship between the two main characters by identifying what binds the men together, how these ties are effectively or ineffectively conveyed to the audience, and what the play teaches us about same-sex friendships in our own lives.

Media and film studies

Finally, a media and film studies analysis might explain the evolution of a same-sex friendship by examining a cinematic text. For example, you could trace the development of the main friendship in the movie Thelma and Louise to discover how certain events or gender stereotypes affect the relationship between the two female characters.

General writing tips

Writing papers in communication studies often requires you to do three tasks common to academic writing: analyze material, read and critique others’ analyses of material, and develop your own argument around that material. You will need to build an original argument (sometimes called a “theory” or “plausible explanation”) about how a communication phenomenon can be better understood. The word phenomenon can refer to a particular communication event, text, act, or conversation. To develop an argument for this kind of paper, you need to follow several steps and include several kinds of information in your paper. (For more information about developing an argument, see our handout on arguments ). First, you must demonstrate your knowledge of the phenomenon and what others have said about it. This usually involves synthesizing previous research or ideas. Second, you must develop your own original perspective, reading, or “take” on the phenomenon and give evidence to support your way of thinking about it. Your “take” on the topic will constitute your “argument,” “theory,” or “explanation.” You will need to write a thesis statement that encapsulates your argument and guides you and the reader to the main point of your paper. Third, you should critically analyze the arguments of others in order to show how your argument contributes to our general understanding of the phenomenon. In other words, you should identify the shortcomings of previous research or ideas and explain how your paper corrects some or all of those deficits. Assume that your audience for your paper includes your classmates as well as your instructor, unless otherwise indicated in the assignment.

Choosing a topic to write about

Your topic might be as specific as the effects of a single word in conversation (such as how the use of the word “well” creates tentativeness in dialogue) or as broad as how the notion of individuality affects our relationships in public and private spheres of human activity. In deciding the scope of your topic, look again at the purpose of the course and the aim of the assignment. Check with your instructor to gauge the appropriateness of your topic before you go too far in the writing process.

Try to choose a topic in which you have some interest or investment. Your writing for communications will not only be about the topic, but also about yourself—why you care about the topic, how it affects you, etc. It is common in the field of communication studies not only to consider why the topic intrigues you, but also to write about the experiences and/or cognitive processes you went through before choosing your topic. Including this kind of introspection helps readers understand your position and how that position affects both your selection of the topic and your analysis within the paper. You can make your argument more persuasive by knowing what is at stake, including both objective research and personal knowledge in what you write.

Using evidence to support your ideas

Your argument should be supported with evidence, which may include, but is not limited to, related studies or articles, films or television programs, interview materials, statistics, and critical analysis of your own making. Relevant studies or articles can be found in such journals as Journal of Communication , Quarterly Journal of Speech , Communication Education , and Communication Monographs . Databases, such as Infotrac and ERIC, may also be helpful for finding articles and books on your topic (connecting to these databases via NC Live requires a UNC IP address or UNC PID). As always, be careful when using Internet materials—check your sources to make sure they are reputable.

Refrain from using evidence, especially quotations, without explicitly and concretely explaining what the evidence shows in your own words. Jumping from quote to quote does not demonstrate your knowledge of the material or help the reader recognize the development of your thesis statement. A good paper will link the evidence to the overall argument by explaining how the two correspond to one another and how that relationship extends our understanding of the communication phenomenon. In other words, each example and quote should be explained, and each paragraph should relate to the topic.

As mentioned above, your evidence and analysis should not only support the thesis statement but should also develop it in ways that complement your paper’s argument. Do not just repeat the thesis statement after each section of your paper; instead, try to tell what that section adds to the argument and what is special about that section when the thesis statement is taken into consideration. You may also include a discussion of the paper’s limitations. Describing what cannot be known or discussed at this time—perhaps because of the limited scope of your project, lack of new research, etc.—keeps you honest and realistic about what you have accomplished and shows your awareness of the topic’s complexity.

Communication studies idiosyncrasies

• Using the first person (I/me) is welcomed in nearly all areas of communication studies. It is probably best to ask your professor to be sure, but do not be surprised if you are required to talk about yourself within the paper as a researcher, writer, and/or subject. Some assignments may require you to write from a personal perspective and expect you to use “I” to express your ideas.
• Always include a Works Cited (MLA) or References list (APA) unless you are told not to. Not giving appropriate credit to those whom you quote or whose ideas inform your argument is plagiarism. More and more communication studies courses are requiring bibliographies and in-text citations with each writing assignment. Ask your professor which citation format (MLA/APA) to use and see the corresponding handbook for citation rules.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

Informative Speaking

The topic, purpose, and thesis.

Before any work can be done on crafting the body of your speech or presentation, you must first do some prep work—selecting a topic, formulating a purpose statement, and crafting a thesis statement. In doing so, you lay the foundation for your speech by making important decisions about what you will speak about and for what purpose you will speak. These decisions will influence and guide the entire speechwriting process, so it is wise to think carefully and critically during these beginning stages.

I think reading is important in any form. I think a person who’s trying to learn to like reading should start off reading about a topic they are interested in, or a person they are interested in. – Ice Cube

Questions for Selecting a Topic

• What important events are occurring locally, nationally and internationally?
• What do I care about most?
• Is there someone or something I can advocate for?
• What makes me angry/happy?
• What beliefs/attitudes do I want to share?
• Is there some information the audience needs to know?

Selecting a Topic

“The Reader” by Shakespearesmonkey. CC-BY-NC .

Generally, speakers focus on one or more interrelated topics—relatively broad concepts, ideas, or problems that are relevant for particular audiences. The most common way that speakers discover topics is by simply observing what is happening around them—at their school, in their local government, or around the world. This is because all speeches are brought into existence as a result of circumstances, the multiplicity of activities going on at any one given moment in a particular place. For instance, presidential candidates craft short policy speeches that can be employed during debates, interviews, or town hall meetings during campaign seasons. When one of the candidates realizes he or she will not be successful, the particular circumstances change and the person must craft different kinds of speeches—a concession speech, for example. In other words, their campaign for presidency, and its many related events, necessitates the creation of various speeches. Rhetorical theorist Lloyd Bitzer [1] describes this as the rhetorical situation. Put simply, the rhetorical situation is the combination of factors that make speeches and other discourse meaningful and a useful way to change the way something is. Student government leaders, for example, speak or write to other students when their campus is facing tuition or fee increases, or when students have achieved something spectacular, like lobbying campus administrators for lower student fees and succeeding. In either case, it is the situation that makes their speeches appropriate and useful for their audience of students and university employees. More importantly, they speak when there is an opportunity to change a university policy or to alter the way students think or behave in relation to a particular event on campus.

But you need not run for president or student government in order to give a meaningful speech. On the contrary, opportunities abound for those interested in engaging speech as a tool for change. Perhaps the simplest way to find a topic is to ask yourself a few questions. See the textbox entitled “Questions for Selecting a Topic” for a few questions that will help you choose a topic.

There are other questions you might ask yourself, too, but these should lead you to at least a few topical choices. The most important work that these questions do is to locate topics within your pre-existing sphere of knowledge and interest. David Zarefsky [2] also identifies brainstorming as a way to develop speech topics, a strategy that can be helpful if the questions listed in the textbox did not yield an appropriate or interesting topic.

Starting with a topic you are already interested in will likely make writing and presenting your speech a more enjoyable and meaningful experience. It means that your entire speechwriting process will focus on something you find important and that you can present this information to people who stand to benefit from your speech.

Once you have answered these questions and narrowed your responses, you are still not done selecting your topic. For instance, you might have decided that you really care about conserving habitat for bog turtles. This is a very broad topic and could easily lead to a dozen different speeches. To resolve this problem, speakers must also consider the audience to whom they will speak, the scope of their presentation, and the outcome they wish to achieve. If the bog turtle enthusiast knows that she will be talking to a local zoning board and that she hopes to stop them from allowing businesses to locate on important bog turtle habitat, her topic can easily morph into something more specific. Now, her speech topic is two-pronged: bog turtle habitat and zoning rules.

Formulating the Purpose Statements

“Bog turtle sunning” by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

By honing in on a very specific topic, you begin the work of formulating your purpose statement . In short, a purpose statement clearly states what it is you would like to achieve. Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to celebrate, to mourn, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement “expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve.” [3] For instance, the bog turtle habitat activist might write the following specific purpose statement: At the end of my speech, the Clarke County Zoning Commission will understand that locating businesses in bog turtle habitat is a poor choice with a range of negative consequences. In short, the general purpose statement lays out the broader goal of the speech while the specific purpose statement describes precisely what the speech is intended to do.

Success demands singleness of purpose. – Vince Lombardi

Writing the Thesis Statement

The specific purpose statement is a tool that you will use as you write your talk, but it is unlikely that it will appear verbatim in your speech. Instead, you will want to convert the specific purpose statement into a thesis statement that you will share with your audience. A thesis statement encapsulates the main points of a speech in just a sentence or two, and it is designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement for a speech, like the thesis of a research- based essay, should be easily identifiable and ought to very succinctly sum up the main points you will present. Moreover, the thesis statement should reflect the general purpose of your speech; if your purpose is to persuade or educate, for instance, the thesis should alert audience members to this goal. The bog turtle enthusiast might prepare the following thesis statement based on her specific purpose statement: Bog turtle habitats are sensitive to a variety of activities, but land development is particularly harmful to unstable habitats. The Clarke County Zoning Commission should protect bog turtle habitats by choosing to prohibit business from locating in these habitats. In this example, the thesis statement outlines the main points and implies that the speaker will be arguing for certain zoning practices.

• Bitzer, L. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric , 1 (1), 1 – 14. ↵
• Zarefsky, D. (2010). Public speaking: Strategies for success (6th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ↵
• O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., Rubenstein, H. (2004). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (2nd edition). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. ↵
• Chapter 8 The Topic, Purpose, and Thesis. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• The Reader. Authored by : Shakespearesmonkey. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/shakespearesmonkey/4939289974/ . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Image of a bog turtle . Authored by : R. G. Tucker, Jr.. Provided by : United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bog_turtle_sunning.jpg . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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II. Getting Started

2.5 Writing Thesis Statements

Kathryn Crowther; Lauren Curtright; Nancy Gilbert; Barbara Hall; Tracienne Ravita; and Kirk Swenson

To be effective, all support in an essay must work together to convey a central point; otherwise, an essay can fall into the trap of being out of order and confusing. Just as a topic sentence focuses and unifies a single paragraph, the thesis statement focuses and unifies an entire essay. This statement is like a signpost that signals the essay’s destination; it tells the reader the point you want to make in your essay, while the essay itself supports that point.

Because writing is not a linear process, you may find that the best thesis statement develops near the end of your first draft. However, creating a draft or working thesis early in the writing project helps give the drafting process clear direction. You should form your thesis before you begin to organize an essay, but you may find that it needs revision as the essay develops.

A thesis is not just a topic, but rather the writer’s comment or interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic you select (for example, school uniforms, social networking), you must ask yourself, “What do I want to say about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful, and confident.

In the majority of essays, a thesis is one sentence long and appears toward the end of the introductory paragraph. It is specific and focuses on one to three points of a single idea—points that are able to be demonstrated in the body paragraphs. It forecasts the content of the essay and suggests how you will organize your information. Remember that a thesis statement does not summarize an issue but rather dissects it.

Working Thesis Statements

A strong thesis statement must have the following qualities:

• It must be arguable.  A thesis statement must state a point of view or judgment about a topic. An established fact is not considered arguable.
• It must be supportable.  The thesis statement must contain a point of view that can be supported with evidence (reasons, facts, examples).
• It must be specific. A thesis statement must be precise enough to allow for a coherent argument and remain focused on the topic.

Examples of Appropriate Thesis Statements

• Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration.
• Compared to an absolute divorce, no-fault divorce is less expensive, promotes fairer settlements, and reflects a more realistic view of the causes for marital breakdown.
• Exposing children from an early age to the dangers of drug abuse is a sure method of preventing future drug addicts.
• In today’s crumbling job market, a high school diploma is not significant enough education to land a stable, lucrative job.
• The societal and personal struggles of Troy Maxson in the play Fences symbolize the challenges of black males who lived through segregation and integration in the United States.

Pitfalls to Avoid

A thesis is weak when it is simply a declaration of your subject or a description of what you will discuss in your essay.

Weak Thesis Statement Example

My paper will explain why imagination is more important than knowledge.

A thesis is weak when it makes an unreasonable or outrageous claim or insults the opposing side.

Religious radicals across America are trying to legislate their Puritanical beliefs by banning required high school books.

A thesis is weak when it contains an obvious fact or something that no one can disagree with or provides a dead end.

Advertising companies use sex to sell their products.

A thesis is weak when the statement is too broad.

The life of Abraham Lincoln was long and challenging.

Ways to Revise Your Thesis

Your thesis statement begins as a working thesis statement, an indefinite statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process for the purpose of planning and guiding your writing. Working thesis statements often become stronger as you gather information and develop new ideas and reasons for those ideas. Revision helps you strengthen your thesis so that it matches what you have expressed in the body of the paper.

You can cut down on irrelevant aspects and revise your thesis by taking the following steps:

• Pinpoint and replace all non specific words, such as people, everything, society, or life, with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.

Pinpoint and Replace Example

Working thesis:  Young people have to work hard to succeed in life.

Revised thesis:  Recent college graduates must have discipline and persistence in order to find and maintain a stable job in which they can use, and be appreciated for, their talents.

Explanation:  The original includes too broad a range of people and does not define exactly what success entails. By replacing those general words like people and work hard , the writer can better focus their research and gain more direction in their writing. The revised thesis makes a more specific statement about success and what it means to work hard.

• Clarify ideas that need explanation by asking yourself questions that narrow your thesis.

Clarify Example

Working thesis:  The welfare system is a joke.

Revised thesis:  The welfare system keeps a socioeconomic class from gaining employment by alluring members of that class with unearned income, instead of programs to improve their education and skill sets.

Explanation:  A joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience. By asking questions, the writer can devise a more precise and appropriate explanation for joke and more accurately defines their stance, which will better guide the writing of the essay.

• Replace any linking verbs with action verbs. Linking verbs are forms of the verb to be , a verb that simply states that a situation exists.

Replace with Action Verbs Example

Working thesis:  Kansas City school teachers are not paid enough.

Revised thesis:  The Kansas City legislature cannot afford to pay its educators, resulting in job cuts and resignations in a district that sorely needs highly qualified and dedicated teachers.

Explanation:  The linking verb in this working thesis statement is the word are . Linking verbs often make thesis statements weak because they do not express action. Rather, they connect words and phrases to the second half of the sentence. Readers might wonder, “Why are they not paid enough?” But this statement does not compel them to ask many more questions.

• Who is not paying the teachers enough?
• How much is considered “enough”?
• What is the problem?
• What are the results?
• Omit any general claims that are hard to support.

Omit General Claims Example

Working thesis:  Today’s teenage girls are too sexualized.

Revised thesis: Teenage girls who are captivated by the sexual images on the internet and social media are conditioned to believe that a woman’s worth depends on her sensuality, a feeling that harms their self-esteem and behavior.

Explanation:  It is true that some young women in today’s society are more sexualized than in the past, but that is not true for all girls. Many girls have strict parents, dress appropriately, and do not engage in sexual activity while in middle school and high school. The writer of this thesis should ask the following questions:

• Which teenage girls?
• What constitutes “too” sexualized?
• Why are they behaving that way?
• Where does this behavior show up?
• What are the repercussions?

This section contains material from:

Crowther, Kathryn, Lauren Curtright, Nancy Gilbert, Barbara Hall, Tracienne Ravita, and Kirk Swenson. Successful College Composition . 2nd ed. Book 8. Georgia: English Open Textbooks, 2016. http://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/8 . Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

Relating to lines; a way of explaining information logically and/or sequentially; can refer to the chronological relaying of information.

A brief and concise statement or series of statements that outlines the main point(s) of a longer work. To summarize is to create a brief and concise statement or series of statements that outlines the main point(s) of a longer work.

To analyze closely or minutely; to scrutinize every aspect. Unlike the fields of biology, anatomy, or medicine, in rhetoric and writing, dissect does not refer to the cutting apart of a physical body but to the taking apart the body of an argument or idea piece by piece to understand it better.

A logical, rational, lucid, or understandable expression of an idea, concept, or notion; consistent and harmonious explanation.

Assertion or announcement of belief, understanding, or knowledge; a formal statement or proclamation.

Without a defined number or limit; unlimited, infinite, or undetermined.

An altered version of  a written work. Revising means to rewrite in order to improve and make corrections. Unlike editing, which involves minor changes, revisions include major and noticeable changes to a written work.

Not relevant; unimportant; beside the point; not relating to the matter at hand.

Attractive, tempting, or seductive; to have an appealing and charismatic quality.

To influence or convince; to produce a certain or specific result through the use of force.

2.5 Writing Thesis Statements Copyright © 2022 by Kathryn Crowther; Lauren Curtright; Nancy Gilbert; Barbara Hall; Tracienne Ravita; and Kirk Swenson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing a Paper: Thesis Statements

Basics of thesis statements.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a shorter paper. Specific means the thesis deals with a narrow and focused topic, appropriate to the paper's length. Arguable means that a scholar in your field could disagree (or perhaps already has!).

Strong thesis statements address specific intellectual questions, have clear positions, and use a structure that reflects the overall structure of the paper. Read on to learn more about constructing a strong thesis statement.

Being Specific

This thesis statement has no specific argument:

Needs Improvement: In this essay, I will examine two scholarly articles to find similarities and differences.

This statement is concise, but it is neither specific nor arguable—a reader might wonder, "Which scholarly articles? What is the topic of this paper? What field is the author writing in?" Additionally, the purpose of the paper—to "examine…to find similarities and differences" is not of a scholarly level. Identifying similarities and differences is a good first step, but strong academic argument goes further, analyzing what those similarities and differences might mean or imply.

Better: In this essay, I will argue that Bowler's (2003) autocratic management style, when coupled with Smith's (2007) theory of social cognition, can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover.

The new revision here is still concise, as well as specific and arguable.  We can see that it is specific because the writer is mentioning (a) concrete ideas and (b) exact authors.  We can also gather the field (business) and the topic (management and employee turnover). The statement is arguable because the student goes beyond merely comparing; he or she draws conclusions from that comparison ("can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover").

Making a Unique Argument

This thesis draft repeats the language of the writing prompt without making a unique argument:

Needs Improvement: The purpose of this essay is to monitor, assess, and evaluate an educational program for its strengths and weaknesses. Then, I will provide suggestions for improvement.

You can see here that the student has simply stated the paper's assignment, without articulating specifically how he or she will address it. The student can correct this error simply by phrasing the thesis statement as a specific answer to the assignment prompt.

Better: Through a series of student interviews, I found that Kennedy High School's antibullying program was ineffective. In order to address issues of conflict between students, I argue that Kennedy High School should embrace policies outlined by the California Department of Education (2010).

Words like "ineffective" and "argue" show here that the student has clearly thought through the assignment and analyzed the material; he or she is putting forth a specific and debatable position. The concrete information ("student interviews," "antibullying") further prepares the reader for the body of the paper and demonstrates how the student has addressed the assignment prompt without just restating that language.

Creating a Debate

This thesis statement includes only obvious fact or plot summary instead of argument:

Needs Improvement: Leadership is an important quality in nurse educators.

A good strategy to determine if your thesis statement is too broad (and therefore, not arguable) is to ask yourself, "Would a scholar in my field disagree with this point?" Here, we can see easily that no scholar is likely to argue that leadership is an unimportant quality in nurse educators.  The student needs to come up with a more arguable claim, and probably a narrower one; remember that a short paper needs a more focused topic than a dissertation.

Better: Roderick's (2009) theory of participatory leadership  is particularly appropriate to nurse educators working within the emergency medicine field, where students benefit most from collegial and kinesthetic learning.

Here, the student has identified a particular type of leadership ("participatory leadership"), narrowing the topic, and has made an arguable claim (this type of leadership is "appropriate" to a specific type of nurse educator). Conceivably, a scholar in the nursing field might disagree with this approach. The student's paper can now proceed, providing specific pieces of evidence to support the arguable central claim.

Choosing the Right Words

This thesis statement uses large or scholarly-sounding words that have no real substance:

Needs Improvement: Scholars should work to seize metacognitive outcomes by harnessing discipline-based networks to empower collaborative infrastructures.

There are many words in this sentence that may be buzzwords in the student's field or key terms taken from other texts, but together they do not communicate a clear, specific meaning. Sometimes students think scholarly writing means constructing complex sentences using special language, but actually it's usually a stronger choice to write clear, simple sentences. When in doubt, remember that your ideas should be complex, not your sentence structure.

Better: Ecologists should work to educate the U.S. public on conservation methods by making use of local and national green organizations to create a widespread communication plan.

Notice in the revision that the field is now clear (ecology), and the language has been made much more field-specific ("conservation methods," "green organizations"), so the reader is able to see concretely the ideas the student is communicating.

Leaving Room for Discussion

This thesis statement is not capable of development or advancement in the paper:

Needs Improvement: There are always alternatives to illegal drug use.

This sample thesis statement makes a claim, but it is not a claim that will sustain extended discussion. This claim is the type of claim that might be appropriate for the conclusion of a paper, but in the beginning of the paper, the student is left with nowhere to go. What further points can be made? If there are "always alternatives" to the problem the student is identifying, then why bother developing a paper around that claim? Ideally, a thesis statement should be complex enough to explore over the length of the entire paper.

Better: The most effective treatment plan for methamphetamine addiction may be a combination of pharmacological and cognitive therapy, as argued by Baker (2008), Smith (2009), and Xavier (2011).

In the revised thesis, you can see the student make a specific, debatable claim that has the potential to generate several pages' worth of discussion. When drafting a thesis statement, think about the questions your thesis statement will generate: What follow-up inquiries might a reader have? In the first example, there are almost no additional questions implied, but the revised example allows for a good deal more exploration.

Thesis Mad Libs

If you are having trouble getting started, try using the models below to generate a rough model of a thesis statement! These models are intended for drafting purposes only and should not appear in your final work.

• In this essay, I argue ____, using ______ to assert _____.
• While scholars have often argued ______, I argue______, because_______.
• Through an analysis of ______, I argue ______, which is important because_______.

Words to Avoid and to Embrace

When drafting your thesis statement, avoid words like explore, investigate, learn, compile, summarize , and explain to describe the main purpose of your paper. These words imply a paper that summarizes or "reports," rather than synthesizing and analyzing.

Instead of the terms above, try words like argue, critique, question , and interrogate . These more analytical words may help you begin strongly, by articulating a specific, critical, scholarly position.

Read Kayla's blog post for tips on taking a stand in a well-crafted thesis statement.

Related Resources

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

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8.4: The Topic and Thesis

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• Keith Green, Ruth Fairchild, Bev Knudsen, & Darcy Lease-Gubrud
• Ridgewater College via Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Learning Objectives

After completing this section, students should be able to:

• explain how creating a speech is a holistic process.
• develop a speech in the proper order .
• create a speech using the appropriate lengths for sections.
• apply topic selection criteria to the selection of a topic for an audience.
• develop a specific speech purpose .
• translate a specific speech purpose into a properly worded thesis statement .

Although there are "steps" to preparing a speech, a more appropriate way of thinking of speech preparation is as a dynamic process. Instead of seeing speech development as a linear process, it is better to see it as a holistic process of creating all components of the speech so they fit together as an effective whole. A puzzle metaphor demonstrates this approach.

As the model illustrates, the core of this dynamic process is the audience analysis, and the speech is built around our understanding of our audience. We then develop the content (selecting the topic, finding the content, and organizing the speech), and prepare the content for presentation (practice the delivery).

Although there is a sense of a linear process, sticking to some sort of artificial step process is not as important as making sure that all the pieces fit together as an effective, unified whole. Although we may have developed one area, as we prepare the whole speech, we may need to revisit earlier parts of the process and alter those to achieve a unified whole.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Figure 1

While there are a variety of ways to organize a speech, the most common structure breaks the speech into four parts:

• Introduction
• Thesis/preview
• Body of the speech

Portions of the Speech

The introduction, ending with the thesis/preview, comprises approximately 10% of the speech. The body of the speech is about 85% of the speech, and the remaining 5% is the conclusion. The percentages should be used as guidelines for the speaker, not as absolutes. The majority of the speaker’s efforts should be focused on relating the core information or arguments the speaker needs to share and the audience is there to hear. Since the body of the speech contains this core information, most of the time should be spent in that area.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Figure 2

• Order of development

In developing the speech, novice speakers often make the mistake of starting with the introduction. Since the introduction comes first, it seems logical to start there; however, this is wrong. Creating the thesis is the first step in good speech development. Until we know what the speech is about, we cannot effectively determine an introduction. Just as we cannot introduce a person we do not know, we cannot introduce a topic not yet developed. The most effective order of preparation is:

• Thesis. Since the thesis defines what the speech is about and what it is not about, developing it first helps guide the speaker in developing the body, doing research, and staying properly focused.
• Body. The body of the speech is the key content the audience is there to hear, so the speaker should spend a substantive amount of time researching, organizing, and fine-tuning this core content.
• Introduction. A speech introduction is the most creative part of the process. Since it is intended to pull the audience into the thesis and prepare them for the body, by waiting until after developing the body, the speaker will have a clear sense of what the introduction should do. During research for the body, it is common to come across a quotation, example, or some other idea for the attention getting device of the introduction.
• Conclusion. While it is the shortest part of a speech, it is very important as it is the last thing the audience will hear, leaving the audience with their final impression of the speech. This is developed last as there are ways to conclude a speech that are built on how the speaker begins the speech.

While this order of development is important, always remember the “puzzle” metaphor: we have to work to make all the parts fit together, so there can be a lot of revisiting parts to alter or fine tune them. Speech development is a dynamic process in which changing one part of the speech may have a ripple effect, affecting other parts. In the end, a good speaker makes sure that the speech is consistent, coherent, organized, and flows well for the audience.

One of the most challenging steps classroom students face when given the classic speech assignment is to select and narrow a topic to fit the time limits of the assignment.

Coming up with a topic “out of the blue” is quite difficult. Realistically, finding a topic for a classroom speech is far more difficult than finding one for a speech in a work or community setting.

The vast majority of presentations outside the classroom will be on topics in which the speaker is well versed and comfortable. If asked to speak, it will typically be to share knowledge within their field of expertise. If a business hires a Communication Studies instructor to present at a training session, they are clearly hiring them for expertise in communication. Even then, the speaker still has a responsibility to narrow to a specific topic, to adapt it to their audience and the occasion, and to fit the time limits. So outside of the initial step, determining the overall subject, speakers still have to go through the topic development process.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Figure 3

Topic Selection Criteria

In selecting a topic, one of the most common mistakes novice speakers make to take a sender-based approach. This is assuming the audience has a strong interest in the same things the speaker feels passionate about. Just because a speaker may be deeply into video gaming does not inherently mean the audience shares that interest. To select a good topic, the speaker needs to be receiver-based and objectively consider what is most likely to be successful. While the speaker’s interest can certainly serve as a good starting point to identify a general topic, the specific topic and approach to the topic must be carefully considered.

There are four criteria to determine the appropriateness of a topic:

• Audience Interest We need to select a topic we think will appeal to the specific audience. This may be a topic we know the audience will have an immediate interest in, or one in which the audience will have an interest once we develop the topic to some degree. Being receiver-based, the speaker must be honest in their assessment of the topic and the audience, careful not to project their own interests on the audience.
• Speaker Interest Although audience interest is certainly key, the speaker must also have an interest in the topic. A lack of speaker interest can be deadly. If the speaker is unmotivated to develop and present the speech, the speech usually sounds as if the speaker is bored and does not care. The speaker loses their own sense of desire to do a good job. A good topic is one that has a healthy balance of audience interest and speaker interest.
• Occasion Appropriateness We need to consider why the audience is gathered and select a topic that fits the occasion. If the audience is gathered at a business conference, learning new ways of interacting with clients, an informative topic on some aspect of communication skill may be appropriate. For a commencement address, talking about the dire state of the economy may not fit the celebratory nature of the event; the topic should invoke growth, opportunity, and an optimistic future. We want our topic to complement the reason the audience is gathered.
• Time Limits The speaker must fit the speech into the given time limits. The speech needs to fill the allotted time, and yet it cannot exceed that given time. It is a core speaker responsibility to treat the audience with respect and to fill those time limits appropriately. Exceeding time limits is simply not an option. If a topic cannot be covered within a given time, the speaker has two options: limit the topic, or get a new topic. As we know from looking at culture, Americans are quite monochronic. We see time as a resource, like money, to be budgeted and spent wisely. When speeches end on time, we have gotten what we have paid for. If they run a little short, we may feel we got a deal, but if they run quite short, we feel we got cheated. The audience is spending their time on the speaker; give them their money’s worth. On the other end, if the speech runs overtime, the speaker is "stealing" time from the audience, taking our time resource without our permission. Time limits are very important in a monochronic culture.

Narrowing a Topic

Since the speaker needs to fit the speech into the allotted time, we need to move from a broader topic to a narrower, much more specific topic. Finding a specific topic is a process of analysis, selection, and narrowing. The goal of the process is to find a specific topic that fits the same criteria as discussed above: audience interest; speaker interest; occasion appropriateness; and time limits.

A good way to narrow the topic is to start with a broader topic and brainstorm a large list of sub-topics. Using the previous four criteria, narrow the topic to the best fit. If the topic is still too large, repeat the process as often as needed to reach a manageable size topic.

After finding that specific topic, develop the specific speech purpose . The specific speech purpose is the narrow, focused direction the speech will be taking . The function of the specific speech purpose is twofold: to identify what goes in the speech, and to identify what does not go in the speech. The specific speech purpose establishes the parameters of the speech. We use the parameters as guidance as to what to include in the speech and what to keep out of the speech. This is an important consideration. Unless the speaker keeps a tight rein on the development of the speech, the speech can get out of control, suddenly diverting into a different area or expanding beyond the time limit.

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Figure 4

For example:

• After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of how to write an effective resume.
• After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of alternative forms of financial aid.
• After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of creative ways of using macaroni and cheese.

For persuasion, the specific speech purposes would be slightly different, reflecting the idea of changing an audience's belief, attitude, or action:

• After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to donate blood.
• After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to vote for the school referendum.
• After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to use a designated driver.

Once the specific speech purpose has been developed, we can easily create the thesis . The thesis is the specific, concise statement of intent for the speech . It is the one, single sentence clearly stating exactly what the speech will be addressing. Converting the specific speech purpose to the thesis is simple:

• "After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of how to write an effective resume." becomes "Today I'll take you through the steps of writing an effective resume."
• "After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of alternative forms of financial aid." becomes "There are several alternate forms of financial aid for you to consider."
• "After listening to my speech, the audience will be informed of creative ways of using macaroni and cheese." becomes "I'll show you several creative ways of using macaroni and cheese."
• "After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to donate blood." becomes "Today I'll show you why it is important that you donate blood."
• "After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to vote for the school referendum." becomes "Voting for the upcoming school referendum is important for the success of our schools."
• " After listening to my speech, the audience will be persuaded to use a designated driver." becomes "When you go out partying, you should use a designated driver."

There are several traits of a good speech thesis:

• Concise . The thesis is a simple, straightforward sentence clearly telling the audience what the speech is going to be about.
• Grammatically simple . There is one subject and one predicate; it is not a compound sentence, nor a compound-complex sentence. The thesis is not a question.
• Blatant . A speech thesis is more blunt and obvious than what we might use in writing.
• Identifies the parameters of the speech . It tells the audience what the speaker will be doing; which, by definition, also tells the audience what the speaker is not doing.
• Consistent with the speaker's overall speech purpose . The wording reflects the proper informative or persuasive tone.

The terms and concepts students should be familiar with from this section include:

Speech Development

Parts of the Speech

• Portions of the speech
• Audience interest
• Speaker interest
• Occasion appropriateness
• Time limits

Specific Speech Purpose The Thesis

• Grammatically simple
• Identifies parameters
• Consistent with purpose

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11.2 Persuasive Speaking

Learning objectives.

• Explain how claims, evidence, and warrants function to create an argument.
• Identify strategies for choosing a persuasive speech topic.
• Identify strategies for adapting a persuasive speech based on an audience’s orientation to the proposition.
• Distinguish among propositions of fact, value, and policy.
• Choose an organizational pattern that is fitting for a persuasive speech topic.

We produce and receive persuasive messages daily, but we don’t often stop to think about how we make the arguments we do or the quality of the arguments that we receive. In this section, we’ll learn the components of an argument, how to choose a good persuasive speech topic, and how to adapt and organize a persuasive message.

Foundation of Persuasion

Persuasive speaking seeks to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, or behaviors of audience members. In order to persuade, a speaker has to construct arguments that appeal to audience members. Arguments form around three components: claim, evidence, and warrant. The claim is the statement that will be supported by evidence. Your thesis statement is the overarching claim for your speech, but you will make other claims within the speech to support the larger thesis. Evidence , also called grounds, supports the claim. The main points of your persuasive speech and the supporting material you include serve as evidence. For example, a speaker may make the following claim: “There should be a national law against texting while driving.” The speaker could then support the claim by providing the following evidence: “Research from the US Department of Transportation has found that texting while driving creates a crash risk that is twenty-three times worse than driving while not distracted.” The warrant is the underlying justification that connects the claim and the evidence. One warrant for the claim and evidence cited in this example is that the US Department of Transportation is an institution that funds research conducted by credible experts. An additional and more implicit warrant is that people shouldn’t do things they know are unsafe.

Figure 11.2 Components of an Argument

The quality of your evidence often impacts the strength of your warrant, and some warrants are stronger than others. A speaker could also provide evidence to support their claim advocating for a national ban on texting and driving by saying, “I have personally seen people almost wreck while trying to text.” While this type of evidence can also be persuasive, it provides a different type and strength of warrant since it is based on personal experience. In general, the anecdotal evidence from personal experience would be given a weaker warrant than the evidence from the national research report. The same process works in our legal system when a judge evaluates the connection between a claim and evidence. If someone steals my car, I could say to the police, “I’m pretty sure Mario did it because when I said hi to him on campus the other day, he didn’t say hi back, which proves he’s mad at me.” A judge faced with that evidence is unlikely to issue a warrant for Mario’s arrest. Fingerprint evidence from the steering wheel that has been matched with a suspect is much more likely to warrant arrest.

As you put together a persuasive argument, you act as the judge. You can evaluate arguments that you come across in your research by analyzing the connection (the warrant) between the claim and the evidence. If the warrant is strong, you may want to highlight that argument in your speech. You may also be able to point out a weak warrant in an argument that goes against your position, which you could then include in your speech. Every argument starts by putting together a claim and evidence, but arguments grow to include many interrelated units.

Choosing a Persuasive Speech Topic

As with any speech, topic selection is important and is influenced by many factors. Good persuasive speech topics are current, controversial, and have important implications for society. If your topic is currently being discussed on television, in newspapers, in the lounges in your dorm, or around your family’s dinner table, then it’s a current topic. A persuasive speech aimed at getting audience members to wear seat belts in cars wouldn’t have much current relevance, given that statistics consistently show that most people wear seat belts. Giving the same speech would have been much more timely in the 1970s when there was a huge movement to increase seat-belt use.

Many topics that are current are also controversial, which is what gets them attention by the media and citizens. Current and controversial topics will be more engaging for your audience. A persuasive speech to encourage audience members to donate blood or recycle wouldn’t be very controversial, since the benefits of both practices are widely agreed on. However, arguing that the restrictions on blood donation by men who have had sexual relations with men be lifted would be controversial. I must caution here that controversial is not the same as inflammatory. An inflammatory topic is one that evokes strong reactions from an audience for the sake of provoking a reaction. Being provocative for no good reason or choosing a topic that is extremist will damage your credibility and prevent you from achieving your speech goals.

You should also choose a topic that is important to you and to society as a whole. As we have already discussed in this book, our voices are powerful, as it is through communication that we participate and make change in society. Therefore we should take seriously opportunities to use our voices to speak publicly. Choosing a speech topic that has implications for society is probably a better application of your public speaking skills than choosing to persuade the audience that Lebron James is the best basketball player in the world or that Superman is a better hero than Spiderman. Although those topics may be very important to you, they don’t carry the same social weight as many other topics you could choose to discuss. Remember that speakers have ethical obligations to the audience and should take the opportunity to speak seriously.

You will also want to choose a topic that connects to your own interests and passions. If you are an education major, it might make more sense to do a persuasive speech about funding for public education than the death penalty. If there are hot-button issues for you that make you get fired up and veins bulge out in your neck, then it may be a good idea to avoid those when speaking in an academic or professional context.

Choose a persuasive speech topic that you’re passionate about but still able to approach and deliver in an ethical manner.

Michael Vadon – Nigel Farage – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Choosing such topics may interfere with your ability to deliver a speech in a competent and ethical manner. You want to care about your topic, but you also want to be able to approach it in a way that’s going to make people want to listen to you. Most people tune out speakers they perceive to be too ideologically entrenched and write them off as extremists or zealots.

You also want to ensure that your topic is actually persuasive. Draft your thesis statement as an “I believe” statement so your stance on an issue is clear. Also, think of your main points as reasons to support your thesis. Students end up with speeches that aren’t very persuasive in nature if they don’t think of their main points as reasons. Identifying arguments that counter your thesis is also a good exercise to help ensure your topic is persuasive. If you can clearly and easily identify a competing thesis statement and supporting reasons, then your topic and approach are arguable.

Review of Tips for Choosing a Persuasive Speech Topic

• Not current. People should use seat belts.
• Current. People should not text while driving.
• Not controversial. People should recycle.
• Controversial. Recycling should be mandatory by law.
• Not as impactful. Superman is the best superhero.
• Impactful. Colleges and universities should adopt zero-tolerance bullying policies.
• Unclear thesis. Homeschooling is common in the United States.
• Clear, argumentative thesis with stance. Homeschooling does not provide the same benefits of traditional education and should be strictly monitored and limited.

Adapting Persuasive Messages

Competent speakers should consider their audience throughout the speech-making process. Given that persuasive messages seek to directly influence the audience in some way, audience adaptation becomes even more important. If possible, poll your audience to find out their orientation toward your thesis. I read my students’ thesis statements aloud and have the class indicate whether they agree with, disagree with, or are neutral in regards to the proposition. It is unlikely that you will have a homogenous audience, meaning that there will probably be some who agree, some who disagree, and some who are neutral. So you may employ all of the following strategies, in varying degrees, in your persuasive speech.

When you have audience members who already agree with your proposition, you should focus on intensifying their agreement. You can also assume that they have foundational background knowledge of the topic, which means you can take the time to inform them about lesser-known aspects of a topic or cause to further reinforce their agreement. Rather than move these audience members from disagreement to agreement, you can focus on moving them from agreement to action. Remember, calls to action should be as specific as possible to help you capitalize on audience members’ motivation in the moment so they are more likely to follow through on the action.

There are two main reasons audience members may be neutral in regards to your topic: (1) they are uninformed about the topic or (2) they do not think the topic affects them. In this case, you should focus on instilling a concern for the topic. Uninformed audiences may need background information before they can decide if they agree or disagree with your proposition. If the issue is familiar but audience members are neutral because they don’t see how the topic affects them, focus on getting the audience’s attention and demonstrating relevance. Remember that concrete and proxemic supporting materials will help an audience find relevance in a topic. Students who pick narrow or unfamiliar topics will have to work harder to persuade their audience, but neutral audiences often provide the most chance of achieving your speech goal since even a small change may move them into agreement.

When audience members disagree with your proposition, you should focus on changing their minds. To effectively persuade, you must be seen as a credible speaker. When an audience is hostile to your proposition, establishing credibility is even more important, as audience members may be quick to discount or discredit someone who doesn’t appear prepared or doesn’t present well-researched and supported information. Don’t give an audience a chance to write you off before you even get to share your best evidence. When facing a disagreeable audience, the goal should also be small change. You may not be able to switch someone’s position completely, but influencing him or her is still a success. Aside from establishing your credibility, you should also establish common ground with an audience.

Build common ground with disagreeable audiences and acknowledge areas of disagreement.

Chris-Havard Berge – Shaking Hands – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Acknowledging areas of disagreement and logically refuting counterarguments in your speech is also a way to approach persuading an audience in disagreement, as it shows that you are open-minded enough to engage with other perspectives.

Determining Your Proposition

The proposition of your speech is the overall direction of the content and how that relates to the speech goal. A persuasive speech will fall primarily into one of three categories: propositions of fact, value, or policy. A speech may have elements of any of the three propositions, but you can usually determine the overall proposition of a speech from the specific purpose and thesis statements.

Propositions of fact focus on beliefs and try to establish that something “is or isn’t.” Propositions of value focus on persuading audience members that something is “good or bad,” “right or wrong,” or “desirable or undesirable.” Propositions of policy advocate that something “should or shouldn’t” be done. Since most persuasive speech topics can be approached as propositions of fact, value, or policy, it is a good idea to start thinking about what kind of proposition you want to make, as it will influence how you go about your research and writing. As you can see in the following example using the topic of global warming, the type of proposition changes the types of supporting materials you would need:

• Proposition of fact. Global warming is caused by increased greenhouse gases related to human activity.
• Proposition of value. America’s disproportionately large amount of pollution relative to other countries is wrong .
• Proposition of policy. There should be stricter emission restrictions on individual cars.

To support propositions of fact, you would want to present a logical argument based on objective facts that can then be used to build persuasive arguments. Propositions of value may require you to appeal more to your audience’s emotions and cite expert and lay testimony. Persuasive speeches about policy usually require you to research existing and previous laws or procedures and determine if any relevant legislation or propositions are currently being considered.

“Getting Critical”

Persuasion and Masculinity

The traditional view of rhetoric that started in ancient Greece and still informs much of our views on persuasion today has been critiqued for containing Western and masculine biases. Traditional persuasion has been linked to Western and masculine values of domination, competition, and change, which have been critiqued as coercive and violent (Gearhart, 1979).

Communication scholars proposed an alternative to traditional persuasive rhetoric in the form of invitational rhetoric. Invitational rhetoric differs from a traditional view of persuasive rhetoric that “attempts to win over an opponent, or to advocate the correctness of a single position in a very complex issue” (Bone et al., 2008). Instead, invitational rhetoric proposes a model of reaching consensus through dialogue. The goal is to create a climate in which growth and change can occur but isn’t required for one person to “win” an argument over another. Each person in a communication situation is acknowledged to have a standpoint that is valid but can still be influenced through the offering of alternative perspectives and the invitation to engage with and discuss these standpoints (Ryan & Natalle, 2001). Safety, value, and freedom are three important parts of invitational rhetoric. Safety involves a feeling of security in which audience members and speakers feel like their ideas and contributions will not be denigrated. Value refers to the notion that each person in a communication encounter is worthy of recognition and that people are willing to step outside their own perspectives to better understand others. Last, freedom is present in communication when communicators do not limit the thinking or decisions of others, allowing all participants to speak up (Bone et al., 2008).

Invitational rhetoric doesn’t claim that all persuasive rhetoric is violent. Instead, it acknowledges that some persuasion is violent and that the connection between persuasion and violence is worth exploring. Invitational rhetoric has the potential to contribute to the civility of communication in our society. When we are civil, we are capable of engaging with and appreciating different perspectives while still understanding our own. People aren’t attacked or reviled because their views diverge from ours. Rather than reducing the world to “us against them, black or white, and right or wrong,” invitational rhetoric encourages us to acknowledge human perspectives in all their complexity (Bone et al., 2008).

• What is your reaction to the claim that persuasion includes Western and masculine biases?
• What are some strengths and weaknesses of the proposed alternatives to traditional persuasion?
• In what situations might an invitational approach to persuasion be useful? In what situations might you want to rely on traditional models of persuasion?

Organizing a Persuasive Speech

We have already discussed several patterns for organizing your speech, but some organization strategies are specific to persuasive speaking. Some persuasive speech topics lend themselves to a topical organization pattern, which breaks the larger topic up into logical divisions. Earlier, in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , we discussed recency and primacy, and in this chapter we discussed adapting a persuasive speech based on the audience’s orientation toward the proposition. These concepts can be connected when organizing a persuasive speech topically. Primacy means putting your strongest information first and is based on the idea that audience members put more weight on what they hear first. This strategy can be especially useful when addressing an audience that disagrees with your proposition, as you can try to win them over early. Recency means putting your strongest information last to leave a powerful impression. This can be useful when you are building to a climax in your speech, specifically if you include a call to action.

Putting your strongest argument last can help motivate an audience to action.

Celestine Chua – The Change – CC BY 2.0.

The problem-solution pattern is an organizational pattern that advocates for a particular approach to solve a problem. You would provide evidence to show that a problem exists and then propose a solution with additional evidence or reasoning to justify the course of action. One main point addressing the problem and one main point addressing the solution may be sufficient, but you are not limited to two. You could add a main point between the problem and solution that outlines other solutions that have failed. You can also combine the problem-solution pattern with the cause-effect pattern or expand the speech to fit with Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.

As was mentioned in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , the cause-effect pattern can be used for informative speaking when the relationship between the cause and effect is not contested. The pattern is more fitting for persuasive speeches when the relationship between the cause and effect is controversial or unclear. There are several ways to use causes and effects to structure a speech. You could have a two-point speech that argues from cause to effect or from effect to cause. You could also have more than one cause that lead to the same effect or a single cause that leads to multiple effects. The following are some examples of thesis statements that correspond to various organizational patterns. As you can see, the same general topic area, prison overcrowding, is used for each example. This illustrates the importance of considering your organizational options early in the speech-making process, since the pattern you choose will influence your researching and writing.

Persuasive Speech Thesis Statements by Organizational Pattern

• Problem-solution. Prison overcrowding is a serious problem that we can solve by finding alternative rehabilitation for nonviolent offenders.
• Problem–failed solution–proposed solution. Prison overcrowding is a serious problem that shouldn’t be solved by building more prisons; instead, we should support alternative rehabilitation for nonviolent offenders.
• Cause-effect. Prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent offenders, which leads to lesser sentences for violent criminals.
• Cause-cause-effect. State budgets are being slashed and prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent offenders, which leads to lesser sentences for violent criminals.
• Cause-effect-effect. Prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent offenders, which leads to increased behavioral problems among inmates and lesser sentences for violent criminals.
• Cause-effect-solution. Prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent offenders, which leads to lesser sentences for violent criminals; therefore we need to find alternative rehabilitation for nonviolent offenders.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is an organizational pattern designed for persuasive speaking that appeals to audience members’ needs and motivates them to action. If your persuasive speaking goals include a call to action, you may want to consider this organizational pattern. We already learned about the five steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , but we will review them here with an example:

• Hook the audience by making the topic relevant to them.
• Imagine living a full life, retiring, and slipping into your golden years. As you get older you become more dependent on others and move into an assisted-living facility. Although you think life will be easier, things get worse as you experience abuse and mistreatment from the staff. You report the abuse to a nurse and wait, but nothing happens and the abuse continues. Elder abuse is a common occurrence, and unlike child abuse, there are no laws in our state that mandate complaints of elder abuse be reported or investigated.
• Cite evidence to support the fact that the issue needs to be addressed.
• According to the American Psychological Association, one to two million elderly US Americans have been abused by their caretakers. In our state, those in the medical, psychiatric, and social work field are required to report suspicion of child abuse but are not mandated to report suspicions of elder abuse.
• Offer a solution and persuade the audience that it is feasible and well thought out.
• There should be a federal law mandating that suspicion of elder abuse be reported and that all claims of elder abuse be investigated.
• Take the audience beyond your solution and help them visualize the positive results of implementing it or the negative consequences of not.
• Elderly people should not have to live in fear during their golden years. A mandatory reporting law for elderly abuse will help ensure that the voices of our elderly loved ones will be heard.
• Call your audience to action by giving them concrete steps to follow to engage in a particular action or to change a thought or behavior.
• I urge you to take action in two ways. First, raise awareness about this issue by talking to your own friends and family. Second, contact your representatives at the state and national level to let them know that elder abuse should be taken seriously and given the same level of importance as other forms of abuse. I brought cards with the contact information for our state and national representatives for this area. Please take one at the end of my speech. A short e-mail or phone call can help end the silence surrounding elder abuse.

Key Takeaways

• Arguments are formed by making claims that are supported by evidence. The underlying justification that connects the claim and evidence is the warrant. Arguments can have strong or weak warrants, which will make them more or less persuasive.
• Good persuasive speech topics are current, controversial (but not inflammatory), and important to the speaker and society.
• When audience members agree with the proposal, focus on intensifying their agreement and moving them to action.
• When audience members are neutral in regards to the proposition, provide background information to better inform them about the issue and present information that demonstrates the relevance of the topic to the audience.
• When audience members disagree with the proposal, focus on establishing your credibility, build common ground with the audience, and incorporate counterarguments and refute them.
• Propositions of fact focus on establishing that something “is or isn’t” or is “true or false.”
• Propositions of value focus on persuading an audience that something is “good or bad,” “right or wrong,” or “desirable or undesirable.”
• Propositions of policy advocate that something “should or shouldn’t” be done.
• Persuasive speeches can be organized using the following patterns: problem-solution, cause-effect, cause-effect-solution, or Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.
• Getting integrated: Give an example of persuasive messages that you might need to create in each of the following contexts: academic, professional, personal, and civic. Then do the same thing for persuasive messages you may receive.
• To help ensure that your persuasive speech topic is persuasive and not informative, identify the claims, evidence, and warrants you may use in your argument. In addition, write a thesis statement that refutes your topic idea and identify evidence and warrants that could support that counterargument.
• Determine if your speech is primarily a proposition of fact, value, or policy. How can you tell? Identify an organizational pattern that you think will work well for your speech topic, draft one sentence for each of your main points, and arrange them according to the pattern you chose.

Bone, J. E., Cindy L. Griffin, and T. M. Linda Scholz, “Beyond Traditional Conceptualizations of Rhetoric: Invitational Rhetoric and a Move toward Civility,” Western Journal of Communication 72 (2008): 436.

Gearhart, S. M., “The Womanization of Rhetoric,” Women’s Studies International Quarterly 2 (1979): 195–201.

Ryan, K. J., and Elizabeth J. Natalle, “Fusing Horizons: Standpoint Hermenutics and Invitational Rhetoric,” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 31 (2001): 69–90.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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13 Writing the Thesis and Outline

Learning objectives.

After completing the activities in this chapter, you will be able to:

• Identify three ways to organize your ideas
• Identify the components of a thesis statement
• Evaluate thesis statements
• Identify the steps needed to create an outline
• Create a thesis statement and outline

To write well, you need to understand your audience and purpose. Once you know why you are writing, and to whom, you can start to organize your ideas. One way to get organized is to create an outline before you begin to write. An outline is the blueprint to your finished product.

Research Question

It’s a good idea to start a writing project with a research question. If your instructor has provided you with a broad topic, creating a research question might help you narrow that topic down:

Now you need to do research to determine your answer to the question. Doing some preliminary research will give you a broad understanding of your narrowed topic, which will help you decide your stance and determine how you can support your stance.

Creating a Thesis Statement

You can write a draft thesis statement after you’ve done some preliminary research. You need to do this research first to ensure that you can answer your research question using credible sources. See the Researching chapter of this book for more details.

Your thesis statement is a concise one-sentence answer to your research question.

The thesis statement expresses three things:

• the specific topic of the paper
• your stance (or, “opinion” or “position”) on that topic
• the main reasons for your opinion

The table below shows how a thesis statement evolves from a broad topic.

Can you identify the three necessary components in each of the thesis statements above?  Notice that all of the thesis statements above are for papers that will have three body paragraphs; which one thesis is for an essay that will have only two body paragraphs?

Learning Check

Check your understanding of thesis statements. Consider this example thesis statement and answer the questions below:

Culture shock can negatively affect international students emotionally, physically, and academically.

Parallel Structure in Thesis Statements

Notice that the supporting reasons in each thesis above are given in parallel structure.

Thesis Statement Placement

Your thesis is the single most important sentence in your writing. In academic writing, the thesis statement is placed at the end of the introductory paragraph.

Develop a working thesis statement that states your controlling idea for the piece of writing you are doing. On a sheet of paper, write your working thesis statement.

You will make several attempts before you devise a working thesis statement that you think is effective. Each draft of the thesis statement will bring you closer to the wording that expresses your meaning exactly.

Information in this section has been adapted from Chapter 8.2: Outlining in Writing for Success by University of Minnesota Libraries [1] which is made available by Pressbooks under a CC BY-NC-SA license except where otherwise noted.

For an essay question on a test or a brief oral presentation in class, all you may need to prepare is a short, informal outline in which you jot down key ideas in the order you will present them. This kind of outline reminds you to stay focused in a stressful situation and to include all the good ideas that help you explain or prove your point.

For a longer assignment, like an essay or a research paper, many college instructors require students to submit their outline for approval before writing and submitting the paper for grading. This is a way to be sure you are on the right track and are working in an organized manner.

A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps you distinguish between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance. You build your paper based on the framework created by the outline. Instructors may also require you to submit an outline with your final draft to check the direction of the assignment and the logic of your final draft. If you must submit an outline with the final draft of a paper, remember to revise the outline to reflect any changes you made while writing the paper.

Here’s an example of a detailed outline for a standard 5-paragraph essay [2] :

Notice that there are three body paragraphs (II, III, and IV). Each body paragraph contains four main ideas (a-d) and each main idea is further supported with a few specific details (i-iii). In a research essay, those specific details should be facts from reliable sources and there should be an APA in-text citation   (Author, year, location) next to each one.

Organizing Ideas

The three common methods of organizing writing are chronological, spatial, and importance.

As you create your outline, be mindful of how you organize your supporting body paragraphs. In the example outline above, the writer has chosen to present ideas in “order of importance” with the last, and most persuasive, reason last. Putting the most important reason at the end is an effective strategy for persuasive writing.

Checklist: Writing an Effective Outline

• Do I have a controlling idea that guides the development of the entire piece of writing?
• Do I have three or more main points that I want to make in this piece of writing? Does each main point connect to my controlling idea?
• Is my outline in the best order—chronological order, spatial order, or order of importance—for me to present my main points? Will this order help me get my main point across?
• Do I have supporting details that will help me inform, explain, or prove my main points?
• Do I need to add more support? If so, where?
• Do I need to make any adjustments in my working thesis statement before I consider it the final version?
• University of Minnesota Libraries. (2015). Writing for success . Pressbooks. https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/ ↵
• Veillieux, H. (2021, April 9). 5 Paragraph Outline Example [Digital Image]. In Writing the thesis and outline . Confederation College. https://bit.ly/36aiBWn . CC BY 4.0 . ↵

a writer's position, or opinion, on their topic

Supporting points are the main reasons that explain your point of view on a topic. In a research paper, support should be facts and opinion of experts that you have located from reliable sources. In reflective writing, support might include your personal experiences.

In grammar, parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure. The application of parallelism affects readability and may make texts easier to process.

Provide an in-text citation (with author and date information) along with a reference entry (containing complete retrieval information) to tell the reader the original source of the information used.

Intercultural Business Communication Copyright © 2021 by Confederation College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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8 Preparing and Supporting a Speech

Introduction, 8.1 selecting and narrowing a topic.

Many steps go into the speech-making process. Many people do not approach speech preparation in an informed and systematic way, which results in many poorly planned or executed speeches that are not pleasant to sit through as an audience member and do not reflect well on the speaker. Good speaking skills can help you stand out from the crowd in increasingly competitive environments. While a polished delivery is important, good speaking skills must be practiced much earlier in the speech-making process (James Madison University Writing Center, 2021).

Analyze Your Audience

Audience analysis is key for a speaker to achieve his or her speech goal. One of the first questions you should ask yourself is “Who is my audience?” While there are some generalizations you can make about an audience, a competent speaker always assumes there is a diversity of opinion and background among his or her listeners. You cannot assume from looking that everyone in your audience is the same age, race, sexual orientation, religion, or many other factors. Even if you did have a homogenous audience, with only one or two people who do not match up, you should still consider those one or two people. Of course, a speaker could still unintentionally alienate certain audience members, especially in persuasive speaking situations. While this may be unavoidable, speakers can still think critically about what content they include in the speech and the effects it may have (James Madison University Communication Center, 2021).

Demographic Audience Analysis

Demographics are broad sociocultural categories, such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, education level, religion, ethnicity, and nationality used to segment a larger population. Since you are always going to have diverse demographics among your audience members, it would be unwise to focus solely on one group over another. Being aware of audience demographics is useful because you can tailor and vary examples in order to appeal to different groups of people (James Madison University Communication Center, 2021).

Psychological Audience Analysis

Psychological audience analysis considers the audience’s psychological dispositions toward the topic, the speaker, and the occasion as well as how their attitudes, beliefs, and values inform those dispositions (Dlugan, 2012). When considering your audience’s disposition toward your topic, you want to assess your audience’s knowledge of the subject. You would not include a lesson on calculus in an introductory math course. You also would not go into the intricacies of a heart transplant to an audience with no medical training.

The audience may or may not have preconceptions about you as a speaker. One way to engage positively with your audience is to make sure you establish your credibility. In terms of credibility , you want the audience to see you as competent, trustworthy, and engaging. If the audience is already familiar with you, they may already see you as a credible speaker because they have seen you speak before, have heard other people evaluate you positively, or know that you have credentials and/or experience that make you competent. If you know you have a reputation that is not as positive, you will want to work hard to overcome those perceptions. To establish your trustworthiness, you want to incorporate good supporting material into your speech, verbally cite sources, and present information and arguments in a balanced, non-coercive, and non-manipulative way. To establish yourself as engaging, you want to have a well-delivered speech, which requires you to practice, get feedback, and practice some more. Your verbal and nonverbal delivery should be fluent and appropriate to the audience and occasion.

The circumstances that led your audience to attend your speech will affect their view of the occasion (Dlugan, 2012).  A captive audience includes people who are required to attend your presentation. Mandatory meetings are common in workplace settings. Whether you are presenting for a group of your employees, coworkers, classmates, or even residents in your dorm if you are a resident advisor, you should not let the fact that the meeting is required give you license to give a half-hearted speech. In fact, you may want to build common ground with your audience to overcome any potential resentment for the required gathering. In your speech class, your classmates are captive audience members.

View having a captive classroom audience as a challenge, and use this space as a public speaking testing laboratory. You can try new things and push your boundaries more, because this audience is very forgiving and understanding since they have to go through the same things you do. In general, you may have to work harder to maintain the attention of a captive audience. Since coworkers may expect to hear the same content they hear every time at this particular meeting (and classmates have to sit through dozens and dozens of speeches), use your speech as an opportunity to stand out from the crowd or from what has been done before.

A voluntary audience includes people who have decided to come hear your speech. To help adapt to a voluntary audience, ask yourself what the audience members expect (Dlugan, 2012). Why are they here? If they have decided to come and see you, they must be interested in your topic or you as a speaker. Perhaps you have a reputation for being humorous, being able to translate complicated information into more digestible parts, or being interactive with the audience and responding to questions. Whatever the reason or reasons, it is important to make sure you deliver on those aspects. If people are voluntarily giving up their time to hear you, you want to make sure they get what they expected.

A final aspect of psychological audience analysis involves considering the audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and values, as they will influence all the perceptions mentioned previously (Dlugan, 2012). As you can see in the figure below, think of our attitudes, beliefs, and values as layers that make up our perception and knowledge.

At the outermost level, attitudes are our likes and dislikes, and they are easier to influence than beliefs or values because they are often reactionary (Dlugan, 2012). If you have ever followed the approval rating of a politician, you know that people’s likes and dislikes change frequently and can change dramatically based on recent developments. This is also true interpersonally. For those of you who have siblings, think about how you can go from liking your sisters or brothers, maybe because they did something nice for you, to disliking them because they upset you. This seesaw of attitudes can go up and down over the course of a day or even a few minutes, but it can still be useful for a speaker to consider. If there is something going on in popular culture or current events that has captured people’s attention and favor or disfavor, then you can tap into that as a speaker to better relate to your audience.

When considering beliefs, we are dealing with what we believe “is or isn’t” or “true or false.” We come to hold our beliefs based on what we are taught, experience for ourselves, or believe (Dlugan, 2012). Our beliefs change if we encounter new information or experiences that counter previous ones. As people age and experience more, their beliefs are likely to change, which is natural.

Our values deal with what we view as right or wrong, good or bad (Dlugan, 2012). Our values do change over time but usually because of a life transition or life-changing event such as a birth, death, or trauma. For example, when many people leave their parents’ control for the first time and move away from home, they have a shift in values that occurs as they make this important and challenging life transition. In summary, audiences enter a speaking situation with various psychological dispositions, and considering what those may be can help speakers adapt their messages and better meet their speech goals.

General Purpose

Your speeches will usually fall into one of three categories. In some cases, we speak to inform, meaning we attempt to teach our audience using factual objective evidence. In other cases, we speak to persuade, as we try to influence an audience’s beliefs, attitudes, values, or behaviors. Last, we may speak to entertain or amuse our audience. In summary, the general purpose of your speech will be to inform, to persuade, or to entertain.

You can see various topics that may fit into the three general purposes for speaking in the table below “General Purposes and Speech Topics”. Some of the topics listed could fall into another general purpose category depending on how the speaker approached the topic, or they could contain elements of more than one general purpose. For example, you may have to inform your audience about your topic in one main point before you can persuade them, or you may include some entertaining elements in an informative or persuasive speech to help make the content more engaging for the audience. There should not be elements of persuasion included in an informative speech, however, since persuading is contrary to the objective approach that defines an informative general purpose. In any case, while there may be some overlap between general purposes, we place most speeches into one of the categories based on the overall content of the speech.

[table id=6 /]

Choosing a Topic

Once you have determined (or been assigned) your general purpose, you can begin the process of choosing a topic (James Madison University Communication Center, 2021). In class, an instructor may give you the option of choosing any topic for your informative or persuasive speech, but in most academic, professional, and personal settings, there will be some parameters set that will help guide your topic selection. It is likely that speeches will be organized around the content covered in the class. Speeches delivered at work will usually be directed toward a specific goal, such as welcoming new employees, informing employees about changes in workplace policies, or presenting quarterly sales figures. We are also usually compelled to speak about specific things in our personal lives, like addressing a problem at our child’s school by speaking out at a school board meeting. In short, it is not often that you will be starting from scratch when you begin to choose a topic.

Whether you have received parameters that narrow your topic range or not, the first step in choosing a topic is brainstorming (James Madison University Writing Center, 2021). Brainstorming involves generating many potential topic ideas in a fast-paced and nonjudgmental manner. Brainstorming can take place multiple times, as you narrow your topic. For example, you may begin by brainstorming a list of your personal interests that you can narrow down to a speech topic. It makes sense that you will enjoy speaking about something that you care about or find interesting. The research and writing will be more interesting, and the delivery will be easier since you will not have to fake enthusiasm for your topic. Speaking about something you are familiar with and interested in can also help you manage speaking anxiety.

While it is good to start with your personal interests, some speakers may be stuck here if they do not feel like they can make their interests relevant to the audience. In that case, you can look around for ideas. If your topic is something being discussed in newspapers, on television, in the lounge of your dorm, or around your family’s dinner table, then it is likely to be of interest and be relevant, since it is current. Figure 8.3 shows how brainstorming works in stages. A list of topics that interest the speaker are on the top row. The speaker can brainstorm subtopics for each idea to see which one may work the best. In this case, the speaker could decide to focus his or her informative speech on three common ways people come to own dogs: through breeders, pet stores, or shelters.

Overall, you can follow these tips as you select and narrow your topic:

• Brainstorm topics that you are familiar with, interest you, and/or are currently topics of discussion.
• Choose a topic appropriate for the assignment/occasion.
• Choose a topic that you can make relevant to your audience.
• Choose a topic that you have the resources to research (access to information, people to interview, etc.).

Specific Purpose

Once you have brainstormed, narrowed, and chosen your topic, you can begin to draft your specific purpose statement (James Madison University Communication Center, 2021). Your specific purpose is a one-sentence statement that includes the objective you want to accomplish in your speech. You do not speak aloud your specific purpose during your speech; you use it to guide your researching, organizing, and writing. A good specific purpose statement is audience centered, agrees with the general purpose, addresses one main idea, and is realistic.

An audience-centered specific purpose statement usually contains an explicit reference to the audience—for example, “my audience” or “the audience.” Since a speaker may want to see if he or she effectively met his or her specific purpose, write the objective so that it could be measured or assessed. Moreover, since a speaker actually wants to achieve his or her speech goal, the specific purpose should also be realistic. You will not be able to teach the audience a foreign language or persuade an atheist to Christianity in a six- to nine-minute speech. The following is a good example of a good specific purpose statement for an informative speech: “By the end of my speech, the audience will be better informed about the effects the green movement has had on schools.” The statement is audience-centered and matches with the general purpose by stating, “The audience will be better informed.” The speaker could also test this specific purpose by asking the audience to write down, at the end of the speech, three effects the green movement has had on schools.

Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is a one-sentence summary of the central idea of your speech that you either explain or defend (James Madison University Communication Center, 2021). You would explain the thesis statement for an informative speech, since these speeches are based on factual, objective material. You would defend your thesis statement for a persuasive speech, because these speeches are argumentative and your thesis should clearly indicate a stance on a particular issue. In order to make sure your thesis is argumentative and your stance clear, it is helpful to start your thesis with the words “I believe.” When starting to work on a persuasive speech, it can also be beneficial to write out a counterargument to your thesis to ensure that it is arguable.

The thesis statement is different from the specific purpose in two main ways. First, the thesis statement is content centered, while the specific purpose statement is audience centered. Second, the thesis statement is incorporated into the spoken portion of your speech, while the specific purpose serves as a guide for your research and writing and an objective that you can measure (Goodwin, 2017). A good thesis statement is declarative, agrees with the general and specific purposes, and focuses and narrows your topic. Although you will likely end up revising and refining your thesis as you research and write, it is good to draft a thesis statement soon after drafting a specific purpose to help guide your progress. As with the specific purpose statement, your thesis helps ensure that your research, organizing, and writing are focused so you don’t end up wasting time with irrelevant materials. Keep your specific purpose and thesis statement handy (drafting them at the top of your working outline is a good idea) so you can reference them often. The following examples show how a general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis statement match up with a topic area:

Topic: My Craziest Adventure

General purpose: To Entertain

Specific purpose: By the end of my speech, the audience will appreciate the lasting memories that result from an eighteen-year-old visiting New Orleans for the first time.

Thesis statement: New Orleans offers young tourists many opportunities for fun and excitement.

Topic: Renewable Energy

General purpose: To Inform

Specific purpose: By the end of my speech, the audience will be able to explain the basics of using biomass as fuel.

Thesis statement: Biomass is a renewable resource that releases gases that can be used for fuel.

Topic: Privacy Rights

General purpose: To Persuade

Specific purpose : By the end of my speech, my audience will believe that parents should not be able to use tracking devices to monitor their teenage child’s activities.

Thesis statement: I believe that it is a violation of a child’s privacy to be electronically monitored by his or her parents.

8.2 Researching and Supporting Your Speech

We live in an age where access to information is more convenient than ever before. The days of photocopying journal articles in the stacks of the library or looking up newspaper articles on microfilm are over for most. Yet, even though we have all this information readily available, research skills are more important than ever. Our challenge now is not accessing information but discerning what information is credible and relevant. Even though it may sound inconvenient to have to go physically to the library, students who did research before the digital revolution did not have to worry as much about discerning. If you found a source in the library, you could be assured of its credibility because a librarian had subscribed to or purchased that content. When you use Internet resources like Google or Wikipedia, you have no guarantees about some of the content that comes up.

Finding Supporting Material

As was noted earlier, it is good to speak about something with which you are already familiar. So existing knowledge forms the first step of your research process. Depending on how familiar you are with a topic, you will need to do more or less background research before you actually start incorporating sources to support your speech. Background research is just a review of summaries available for your topic that helps refresh or create your knowledge about the subject. It is not the more focused and academic research that you will actually use to support and verbally cite in your speech.

Your first step for research in college should be library resources, not Google, Bing, or other general search engines. In most cases, you can still do your library research from the comfort of a computer, which makes it as accessible as Google but gives you much better results. Excellent and underutilized resources at college and university libraries are reference librarians. Reference librarians are not like the people who likely staffed your high school library. They are information-retrieval experts. At most colleges and universities, you can find a reference librarian who has at least a master’s degree in library and information sciences, and at some larger or specialized schools, reference librarians have doctoral degrees. Research can seem like a maze, and reference librarians can help you navigate the maze. There may be dead ends, but there is always another way around to reach the end goal.

Unfortunately, many students hit their first dead end and give up or assume that there is not enough research out there to support their speech. If you have thought of a topic to do your speech on, someone else has thought of it, too, and people have written and published about it. Reference librarians can help you find that information (Matook, 2020). Meet with a reference librarian face-to-face and take your assignment sheet and topic idea with you. In most cases, students report that they came away with more information than they needed, which is good because you can then narrow that down to the best information. If you cannot meet with a reference librarian face-to-face, many schools now offer the option to do a live chat with a reference librarian, and you can contact them by e-mail or phone.

Aside from the human resources available in the library, you can also use electronic resources such as library databases . Library databases help you access more credible and scholarly information than what you will find using general Internet searches. These databases are quite expensive, and you cannot access them as a regular citizen without paying for them. Luckily, some of your student fee dollars go to pay for subscriptions to these databases so that you can access them as a student. Through these databases, you can access newspapers, magazines, journals, and books from around the world. Of course, libraries also house stores of physical resources like DVDs, books, academic journals, newspapers, and popular magazines (James Madison University Libraries, 2021). You can usually browse your library’s physical collection through an online catalog search. A trip to the library to browse is especially useful for books. Since most university libraries use the Library of Congress classification system, books are organized by topic. That means if you find a good book using the online catalog and go to the library to get it, you should take a moment to look around that book, because the other books in that area will be topically related. On many occasions, I have used this tip and gone to the library for one book but left with several.

Although Google is not usually the best first stop for conducting college-level research, Google Scholar is a separate search engine that narrows results down to scholarly materials. This version of Google has improved much over the past few years and has served as a good resource for my research, even for this book. A strength of Google Scholar is that you can easily search for and find articles not confined to a particular library database. The pool of resources you are searching in is much larger than what you would find by using a library database. The challenge is that you have no way of knowing if the articles that come up are available to you in full-text format. As noted earlier, you will find most academic journal articles in databases that require users to pay subscription fees. Therefore, you are often only able to access the abstracts of articles or excerpts from books that come up in a Google Scholar search. You can use that information to check your library to see if the article is available in full-text format, but if it is not, you have to go back to the search results. When you access Google Scholar on a campus network that subscribes to academic databases, however, you can sometimes click through directly to full-text articles. Although this resource is still being improved, it may be a useful alternative or backup when other search strategies are leading to dead end.

Types of Sources

Periodicals.

Periodicals include magazines and journals that are published periodically. Many library databases can access periodicals from around the world and from years past. A common database is Academic Search Premiere (a similar version is Academic Search Complete). Many databases, like this one, allow you to narrow your search terms, which can be very helpful as you try to find good sources that are relevant to your topic. You may start by typing a key word into the first box and searching. Sometimes a general search like this can yield thousands of results, which you obviously would not have time to look through. In this case, you may limit your search to results that have your keyword in the abstract , which is the author-supplied summary of the source. If there are still too many results, you may limit your search to results that have your keyword in the title. At this point, you may have reduced those ten thousand results down to a handful, which is much more manageable.

Within your search results, you will need to distinguish between magazines and academic journals. In general, academic journals are considered more scholarly and credible than magazines because most of the content in them is peer reviewed. The peer-review process is the most rigorous form of review, which takes several months to years and ensures that the information that is published has been vetted and approved by numerous experts on the subject. Academic journals are often affiliated with professional organizations rather than for-profit corporations, and neither authors nor editors are paid for their contributions.

Newspapers and Books

Newspapers and books can be excellent sources but must still be evaluated for relevance and credibility. Newspapers are good for topics that are developing quickly, as they are updated daily. While there are well-known newspapers of record like the New York Times , smaller local papers can also be credible and relevant if your speech topic does not have national or international reach. You can access local, national, and international newspapers through electronic databases like LexisNexis.

To evaluate the credibility of a book, you will want to know some things about the author. You can usually find this information at the front or back of the book. If an author is a credentialed and recognized expert in his or her area, the book will be more credible. However, just because someone wrote a book on a subject does not mean he or she is the most credible source. The publisher of a book can also be an indicator of credibility. Books published by university/academic presses (University of Chicago Press, Duke University Press) are considered more credible than books published by trade presses (Penguin, Random House), because they are often peer reviewed and they are not primarily profit driven.

Reference Tools

The transition to college-level research means turning more toward primary sources and away from general reference materials. Primary sources are written by people with firsthand experiences or by researchers/scholars who conducted original research (National WW II Museum, n.d.). Unfortunately, many college students are reluctant to give up their reliance on reference tools like dictionaries and encyclopedias. While reference tools like dictionaries and encyclopedias are excellent for providing a speaker with a background on a topic, they should not be the foundation of your research unless they are academic and/or specialized.

Dictionaries are handy tools when we are not familiar with a particular word. However, citing a dictionary like Merriam-Webster ’s as a source in your speech is often unnecessary. A dictionary is useful when you need to challenge a Scrabble word, but it is not the best source for college-level research.

Many students have relied on encyclopedias for research in high school, but most encyclopedias, like World Book , Encarta , or Britannica , are not primary sources. Instead, they are examples of secondary sources that aggregate, or compile, research done by others in a condensed summary (James Madison University Libraries, 2019). Reference sources like encyclopedias are excellent resources to get you informed about the basics of a topic, but at the college level, primary sources are expected. Many encyclopedias are internet-based, which makes them convenient, but they are still not primary sources, and their credibility should be even more scrutinized.

Wikipedia revolutionized how many people retrieve information and pioneered an open-publishing format that allowed a community of people to post, edit, and debate content. While this is an important contribution to society, Wikipedia is not considered a scholarly or credible source. Like other encyclopedias, Wikipedia should not be used in college-level research, because it is not a primary source. In addition, since its content can be posted and edited by anyone, we cannot be sure of the credibility of the content. Even though there are self-appointed “experts” who monitor and edit some of the information on Wikipedia, we cannot verify their credentials or the review process that information goes through before it is posted.

When conducting an interview for a speech, you should access a person who has expertise in or direct experience with your speech topic. If you follow the suggestions for choosing a topic that mentioned earlier, you may already know something about your speech topic and may have connections to people who would be good interview subjects. Previous employers, internship supervisors, teachers, community leaders, or even relatives may be appropriate interviewees, given your topic. If you do not have a connection to someone you can interview, you can often find someone via the Internet who would be willing to answer some questions. Many informative and persuasive speech topics relate to current issues, and most current issues have organizations that represent their needs.

Open-ended questions cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” but they can provide descriptions and details that will add to your speech. Quotes and paraphrases from your interview can add a personal side to a topic or at least convey potentially complicated information in a more conversational and interpersonal way. Closed questions can be answered with one or two words and can provide a starting point to get to information that is more detailed. However, the interviewer must have prepared follow-up questions. Unless the guidelines or occasion for your speech suggest otherwise, you should balance your interview data with the other sources in your speech. Do not let your references to the interview take over your speech.

We already know that utilizing library resources can help you automatically filter out content that may not be scholarly or credible, since the content in research databases is selected and restricted. However, some information may be better retrieved from websites. Even though research databases and websites are electronic sources, two key differences between them may affect their credibility (Brigham Young University Library, 2021).

First, most of the content in research databases is or was printed but was converted to digital formats for easier and broader access. In contrast, most of the content on websites has not been printed. Second, most of the content on research databases has gone through editorial review, which means a professional editor or a peer editor has reviewed the material to make sure it is credible and worthy of publication. Most content on websites is not subjected to the same review process, as just about anyone with internet access can self-publish information on a personal website, blog, wiki, or social media page. Therefore, what sort of information may be better retrieved from websites, and how can we evaluate the credibility of a website?

A key way to evaluate the credibility of a website is to determine the site’s accountability (Brigham Young University Library, 2021). Accountability means determining who is ultimately responsible for the content put out and whose interests the content meets. The more information that is included on a website, the better able you will be to determine its accountability. Ideally all or most of the following information would be included: organization/agency name, author’s name and contact information, date the information was posted or published, name and contact information for person in charge of web content (i.e., web editor or webmaster), and a link to information about the organization/agency/ business mission. While not all this information has to be present to warrant the use of the material, the less accountability information is available, the more you should scrutinize the information.

You can also begin to judge the credibility of a website by its domain name. Some common domain names are .com , .net , .org , .edu , .mil , and .gov . For each type of domain, there are questions you may ask that will help you evaluate the site’s credibility. You can see a summary of these questions in table 8.2.

[table id=7 /]

Types of Supporting Material  

There are several types of supporting material you can add to your speech. They include examples, explanations, statistics, analogies, testimony, and visual aids. You will want to have a balance of information, and you will want to include the material that is most relevant to your audience and is most likely to engage them.

An example is a cited case that is representative of a larger whole. Examples are especially beneficial when presenting information that may be unfamiliar to an audience. They are also useful for repackaging or reviewing information that has been presented previously. Examples are used in many different ways, so you should let your audience, purpose and thesis, and research materials guide your use. You may pull examples directly from your research materials, making sure to cite the source. The following is an example used in a speech about the negative effects of standardized testing: “Standardized testing makes many students anxious, and even ill. On March 14, 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported that some standardized tests now come with instructions indicating what teachers should do with a test booklet if a student throws up on it.” You may also cite examples from your personal experience, if appropriate: “I remember being sick to my stomach while waiting for my SAT to begin.”

You may also use hypothetical examples, which can be useful when you need to provide an example that is extraordinary or goes beyond most people’s direct experience (Beare, 2020). Capitalize on this opportunity by incorporating vivid description into the example that appeals to the audience’s senses. Always make sure to indicate when you are using a hypothetical example, as it would be unethical to present an example as real when it is not. Including the word imagine or something similar in the first sentence of the example can easily do this.

Explanations

Explanations clarify ideas by providing information about what something is, why something is the way it is, or how something works or came to be. One of the most common types of explanation is a definition. Definitions do not have to come from the dictionary. Many times, authors will define concepts as they use them in their writing, which is a good alternative to a dictionary definition. As you do your research, think about how much your audience likely knows about a given subject. You do not need to provide definitions when information is common knowledge. Anticipate audience confusion and define legal, medical, or other forms of jargon as well as slang and foreign words.

Statistics are numerical representations of information (Barnard, 2017). They are very credible in our society, as evidenced by their frequent use by news agencies, government offices, politicians, and academics. As a speaker, you can capitalize on the power of statistics if you use them appropriately. Unfortunately, speakers often intentionally or unintentionally misuse statistics and misconstrue the numbers to support their argument. They do so without examining the context from which the statistic emerged. All statistics are contextual, so plucking a number out of a news article or a research study and including it in your speech without taking the time to understand the statistic is unethical.

Although statistics are popular as supporting evidence, they can also be boring. There will inevitably be people in your audience who are not good at processing numbers. Even people who are good with numbers have difficulty processing through a series of statistics presented orally. Remember that we have to adapt our information to listeners who do not have the luxury of pressing a pause or rewind button. For these reasons, it is a good idea to avoid using too many statistics and to use startling examples when you do use them (Barnard, 2017). Startling statistics should defy our expectations. When you give the audience a large number that they would expect to be smaller, or vice versa, you will be more likely to engage them, as the following example shows: “Did you know that 1.3 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity? That’s about 20 percent of the world’s population according to a 2009 study on the International Energy Agency’s official website.”

Analogies involve a comparison of ideas, items, or circumstances (Segar, 2016). When you compare two things that actually exist, you are using a literal analogy—for example, “Germany and Sweden are both European countries that have had nationalized health care for decades.” Another type of literal comparison is a historical analogy. In Mary Fisher’s now famous 1992 speech to the Republican National Convention, she compared the silence of many U.S. political leaders regarding the HIV/AIDS crisis to that of many European leaders in the years before the Holocaust.

A figurative analogy compares things not normally related, often relying on metaphor, simile, or other figurative language devices. In the following example, wind and revolution are compared: “Just as the wind brings changes in the weather, so does revolution bring change to countries.”

When you compare differences, you are highlighting contrast—for example, “Although the United States is often thought of as the most medically advanced country in the world, other Western countries with nationalized health care have lower infant mortality rates and higher life expectancies.” To use analogies effectively and ethically, you must choose ideas, items, or circumstances to compare that are similar enough to warrant the analogy.

Testimonies

Testimonies are quoted information from people with direct knowledge about a subject or situation. Expert testimony is from people who are credentialed or recognized experts in a given subject (Davis, 2020). Lay testimony is often a recounting of a person’s experiences, which is more subjective. Both types of testimony are valuable as supporting material. We can see this in the testimonies of people in courtrooms and other types of hearings. Lawyers know that juries want to hear testimony from experts, eyewitnesses, and friends and family. Congressional hearings are similar.

When using testimony, make sure you indicate whether it is expert or lay by sharing with the audience the context of the quote. Share the credentials of experts (education background, job title, years of experience, etc.) to add to your credibility or give some personal context for the lay testimony (eyewitness, personal knowledge, etc.).

Visual Aids

Visual aids help a speaker reinforce speech content visually, which helps amplify the speaker’s message (Beqiri, 2018). They can be used to present any of the types of supporting materials discussed previously. Speakers rely heavily on an audience’s ability to learn by listening, which may not always be successful if audience members are visual or experiential learners. Even if audience members are good listeners, information overload or external or internal noise can be barriers to a speaker achieving his or her speech goals. Therefore, skillfully incorporating visual aids into a speech has many potential benefits.

Three-dimensional objects that represent an idea can be useful as a visual aid for a speech (Beqiri, 2018). They offer the audience a direct, concrete way to understand what you are saying. I often have my students do an introductory speech where they bring in three objects that represent their past, present, and future. Students have brought in a drawer from a chest that they were small enough to sleep in as a baby, a package of Ramen noodles to represent their life as a college student, and a stethoscope or other object to represent their career goals, among other things. Models also fall into this category, as they are scaled versions of objects that may be too big (the International Space Station) or too small (a molecule) to actually show to your audience.

Chalkboards, Whiteboards, and Flip Charts

Chalkboards, whiteboards, and flip charts can be useful for interactive speeches (Beqiri, 2018). If you are polling the audience or brainstorming, you can write down audience responses easily for everyone to see and for later reference. They can also be helpful for unexpected clarification. You can also have audience members write things on boards or flip charts themselves, which helps get them engaged and takes some of the pressure off you as a speaker.

Posters and Handouts

Posters generally include text and graphics and often summarize an entire presentation or select main points (Beqiri, 2018). We frequently use posters to present original research, as they can be broken down into the various steps to show how a process worked. Posters can be useful if you are going to have audience members circulating around the room before or after your presentation, so they can take the time to review the poster and ask questions. Posters are not often good visual aids during a speech, because it is difficult to make the text and graphics large enough for a room full of people to see adequately. The best posters are those created using computer software and professionally printed on large laminated paper.

These professional posters come at a price. If you opt to make your own poster, take care to make it look professional. Use a computer and printer to print out your text; do not handwrite on a poster. Make sure anything you cut by hand has neat, uniform edges. You can then affix the text, photos, and any accent backing to the poster board. Double-sided tape works well for this, as it does not leave humps like those left by rolled tape or the bubbles, smearing, or sticky mess left by glue.

Handouts can be a useful alternative to posters. Think of them as mini-posters that audience members can reference and take with them. Audience members will likely appreciate a neatly laid out, one-page handout that includes the speaker’s contact information. It can be appropriate to give handouts to an audience before a long presentation where note taking is expected, complicated information is presented, or the audience will be tested on or have to respond to the information presented. In most regular speeches less than fifteen minutes long, it would not be wise to distribute handouts ahead of time, as they will distract the audience from the speaker. It is better to distribute the handouts after your speech or at the end of the program, if others speaking after you.

Photographs, paintings, drawings, and sketches fall into the pictures category of visual aids. Pictures can be useful when you need to show an exact replication about which you are speaking. Pictures can also connect to your audience on a personal level, especially if they evoke audience emotions (Beqiri, 2018). Think about the use of pictures in television commercials asking for donations or sponsorships. Organizations like Save the Children and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals successfully use pictures of malnourished children or abused animals to pull at the heartstrings of viewers. A series of well-chosen and themed pictures can have a meaningful impact on an audience.

Diagrams and Drawings

Diagrams are good for showing the inner workings of an object or pointing out the most important or relevant parts of something (Neal, 2016). Think about diagrams as blueprints that show the inside of something—for example, key bones in the human body in a speech about common skateboarding injuries. Diagrams are good alternatives to pictures when you only need to point out certain things that may be difficult to see in a photograph.

Charts and Tables

Charts and tables are useful for compiling and cross-referencing larger amounts of information (Presentation Magazine, 2011). The combination of rows and columns allows you to create headers and then divide them up into units, categories, dates, and so on. Medical information is put into charts so that periods of recorded information, such as vital signs, can be updated and scanned by doctors and nurses. Charts and tables are also good for combining text and numbers, and they are easy to make with word processing software like Microsoft Word or spreadsheet software like Excel.

Think of presenting your department’s budget and spending at the end of a business quarter. You could have headers in the columns with the various categories and itemized deductions in the rows ending with a final total for each column.

A pie chart is an alternative representation of textual and numerical data that offers audience members a visual representation of the relative proportions of a whole. In a pie chart, each piece of the pie corresponds to a percentage of the whole, and the size of the pie varies with the size of the percentage. As with other charts and tables, most office software programs can now make pie charts.

Graphs are representations that point out numerical relationships or trends and include line graphs and bar graphs (Presentation Magazine, 2011). Line graphs are useful for showing trends over time. For example, you could track the rising cost of tuition for colleges and universities in a persuasive speech about the need for more merit-based financial aid.

Bar graphs are good for comparing amounts. In the same speech, you could compare the tuition of two-year institutions to that of four-year institutions. Graphs help make numerical data more digestible for your audience and allow you to convey an important numerical trend visually and quickly without having to go into lengthy explanations. Remember to label clearly your x -axis and y -axis and to explain the basics of your graph to your audience before you go into the specific data. If you use a graph created by someone else, make sure it is large and clear enough for the audience to read and that you cite the original source.

Video clips as visual aids can be powerful and engaging for an audience, but they can also be troublesome for speakers (Gallo, 2017). Whether embedded in a PowerPoint presentation, accessed through YouTube, or played from a laptop or DVD player, video clips are notorious for tripping up speakers. They require more than one piece of electronics when they are hooked to a projector and speaker. They may also require an Internet connection. The more electronic connection points, the more chances for something to go wrong. Therefore it is very important to test your technology before your speech, have a backup method of delivery if possible, and be prepared to go on without the video if all else fails.

Although sometimes tempting, you should not let the video take over your speech (Gallo, 2017). Make sure your video is relevant and cued to where it needs to be. One useful strategy for incorporating video is to play a video without audio and speak along with the video, acting as a narrator. This allows the speaker to have more control over the visual aid and to adapt it and make it more relevant to a specific topic and audience. Additionally, video editing software like iMovie is readily available to college students and relatively easy to use. Some simple editing to cut together various clips that are meaningful or adding an introductory title or transitions can go a long way toward making your video look professional.

Presentation Software

The prevalence of computers and projectors in most schools, offices, and other presentation facilities has made using computer-generated visual aids more convenient. PowerPoint is the most commonly used presentation software and has functionality ranging from the simplest text-based slide to complicated transitions, timing features, video/sound imbedding, and even functionality with audience response systems like Turning Point that allow data to be collected live from audience members and incorporated quickly into the slideshow. Despite the fact that most college students have viewed and created numerous PowerPoint presentations, we have all seen many poorly executed slideshows that detracted from the speaker’s message. PowerPoint should be viewed as a speech amplifier. Like an amplifier for a guitar, it does not do much without a musician there to play the instrument. The speaker is the musician, the speech is the instrument, and PowerPoint is the amplifier. Just as the amplifier does not dictate what the guitar player does, neither should PowerPoint take over the speaker (Rielly, 2020).

Presentations are generally longer than speeches, at least fifteen minutes long, and are content heavy. College lectures and many professional conference presentations fall into this category. In these cases, PowerPoint generally runs along with the speaker throughout the presentation, reviewing key points and presenting visual aids such as pictures and graphs. The constant running of the slideshow also facilitates audience note taking, which is also common during presentations.

Speeches, on the other hand, are usually fifteen minutes or less, have repetition and redundancy built in (as they are adapted to a listening audience), and carry less expectation that the audience will take detailed notes. In this case, PowerPoint should be used more as a visual aid, meaning that it should be simpler and amplify particular components of the speech rather than run along with the speaker throughout the speech (Rielly, 2020).

8.3 Organizing

When organizing your speech, you want to start with the body. Even though most students want to start with the introduction, it is difficult to introduce and preview something that you have not yet developed. A well-structured speech includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Think of this structure as a human body. This type of comparison dates back to Plato, who noted, “every speech ought to be put together like a living creature” (Winans, 1917). The introduction is the head, the body is the torso and legs, and the conclusion is the feet. The information you add to this structure from your research and personal experience is the organs and muscle. The transitions you add are the connecting tissues that hold the parts together, and a well-practiced delivery is the skin and clothing that makes everything presentable.

Organizing the Body of Your Speech

Writing the body of your speech takes the most time in the speech-writing process. Your specific purpose and thesis statement should guide the initial development of the body, which will then be more informed by your research process (LibreTexts, 2021). You will determine main points that help achieve your purpose and match your thesis. You will then fill information into your main points by incorporating the various types of supporting material discussed previously. Before you move on to your introduction and conclusion, you will connect the main points together with transitions and other signposts.

Determining Your Main Points

Think of each main point as a miniature speech within your larger speech. Each main point will have a central idea, meet some part of your specific purpose, and include supporting material from your research that relates to your thesis. Reviewing the draft of your thesis and specific purpose statements can lead you to research materials.

As you review your research, take notes on and/or highlight key ideas that stick out to you as useful, effective, relevant, and interesting. It is likely that these key ideas will become the central ideas of your main points, or at least sub-points. Once you have researched your speech enough to achieve your specific purpose, support your thesis, and meet the research guidelines set forth by your instructor, boss, or project guidelines, you can distill the research down to a series of central ideas. As you draft these central ideas, use parallel wording , which is similar wording among key organizing signposts and main points that helps structure a speech. Using parallel wording in your central idea statement for each main point will also help you write parallel key signposts like the preview statement in the introduction, transitions between main points, and the review statement in the conclusion.

While writing each central idea using parallel wording is useful for organizing information at this stage in the speech-making process, you should feel free to vary the wording a little more in your actual speech delivery. You will still want some parallel key words woven throughout the speech, but sticking too close to parallel wording can make your content sound forced or artificial.

After distilling your research materials down, you may have several central idea statements. You will likely have two to five main points (depending on what your instructor prefers), time constraints, or the organizational pattern you choose. Not all of the central idea may be converted into main points; some may end up becoming sub-points and some may be discarded. Once you get your series of central ideas drafted, you will then want to consider how you might organize them, which will help you narrow your list down to what may actually end up becoming the body of your speech.

Organizing Your Main Points

There are several ways you can organize your main points. Some patterns correspond well to a particular subject area or speech type. Determining which pattern you will use helps filter through your list of central ideas generated from your research and allows you to move on to the next step of inserting supporting material into your speech. Here are some common organizational patterns.

Topical Pattern

When you use the topical pattern , you are breaking a large idea or category into smaller ideas or subcategories (Davis, 2021). In short, you are finding logical divisions to a whole. While you may break something down into smaller topics that will make two, three, or more main points, people tend to like groups of three. In a speech about the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, for example, you could break the main points down to (1) the musicians who performed, (2) the musicians who declined to perform, and (3) the audience. You could also break it down into three specific performances—(1) Santana, (2) The Grateful Dead, and (3) Creedence Clearwater Revival—or three genres of music—(1) folk, (2) funk, and (3) rock.

The topical pattern breaks a topic down into logical divisions but does not necessarily offer any guidance in ordering them. To help determine the order of topical main points, you may consider the primacy or recency effect (Morrison, Conway, & Chein, 2014). You prime an engine before you attempt to start it and prime a surface before you paint it. The primacy effect is similar in that you present your best information first in order to make a positive impression and engage your audience early in your speech. The recency effect is based on the idea that an audience will best remember the information they heard most recently. Therefore, you would include your best information last in your speech to leave a strong final impression. Both primacy and recency can be effective. Consider your topic and your audience to help determine which would work best for your speech.

Chronological Pattern

A chronological pattern helps structure your speech based on time or sequence. If you order a speech based on time, you may trace the development of an idea, product, or event (LibreTexts, 2020). A speech on Woodstock could cover the following: (1) preparing for the event, (2) what happened during the event, and (3) the aftermath of the event. Ordering a speech based on sequence is also chronological and can be useful when providing directions on how to do something or how a process works. This could work well for a speech on baking bread at home, refinishing furniture, or harvesting corn. The chronological pattern is often a good choice for speeches related to history or demonstration speeches.

Spatial Pattern

The spatial pattern arranges main points based on their layout or proximity to each other. A speech on Woodstock could focus on the layout of the venue, including (1) the camping area, (2) the stage area, and (3) the musician/crew area. A speech could also focus on the components of a typical theater stage or the layout of the new 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center site.

Problem–Solution Pattern

The problem-solution pattern entails presenting a problem and offering a solution (LibreTexts, 2020). This pattern can be useful for persuasive speaking—specifically, persuasive speeches focused on a current societal issue. This can also be coupled with a call to action, asking an audience to take specific steps to implement a solution you offered. This organizational pattern can be applied to a wide range of topics and can be organized easily into two or three main points. You can offer evidence to support your claim that a problem exists in one main point and then offer a specific solution in the second main point. To be more comprehensive, you could set up the problem, review multiple solutions that have been proposed, and then add a third main point that argues for a specific solution out of the ones reviewed in the second main point. Using this pattern, you could offer solutions to the problem of rising textbook costs or offer your audience guidance on how to solve conflicts with roommates or coworkers.

Cause–Effect Pattern

The cause-effect pattern sets up a relationship between ideas that shows a progression from origin to result (LibreTexts, 2020). You could also start with the current situation and trace back to the root causes. You can use this pattern for informative or persuasive speeches. When used for informing, the speaker is explaining an established relationship and citing evidence to support the claim—for example, accessing unsecured, untrusted websites or e-mails leads to computer viruses. When used for persuading, the speaker is arguing for a link that is not as well established and/or is controversial—for example, violent video games lead to violent thoughts and actions. In a persuasive speech, a cause-effect argument is often paired with a proposed solution or call to action, such as advocating for stricter age restrictions on who can play violent video games. When organizing an informative speech using the cause-effect pattern, be careful not to advocate for a particular course of action.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a five-step organization pattern that attempts to persuade an audience by making a topic relevant, using positive and/or negative motivation, and including a call to action. The five steps are (1) attention, (2) need, (3) satisfaction, (4) visualization, and (5) action (Monroe & Ehninger, 1964).

You accomplish the attention step in the introduction to your speech. Whether your entire speech is organized using this pattern or not, any good speaker begins by getting the attention of the audience. We will discuss several strategies in Section 9 “Getting Your Audience’s Attention” for getting an audience’s attention. The next two steps set up a problem and solution.

After getting the audience’s attention you will want to establish the need step and that there is a need for your topic to be addressed. You will want to cite credible research that points out the seriousness or prevalence of an issue. In the attention and need steps, it is helpful to use supporting material that is relevant and proxemic to the audience.

Once you have set up the need for the problem to be addressed, you move on to the satisfaction step , where you present a solution to the problem. You may propose your own solution if it is informed by your research and reasonable. You may also propose a solution that you found in your research.

The visualization step is next and incorporates positive and/or negative motivation as a way to support the relationship you have set up between the need and your proposal to satisfy the need. You may ask your audience to visualize a world where things are better because they took your advice and addressed this problem. This capitalizes on positive motivation. You may also ask your audience to visualize a world where things are worse because they did not address the issue, which is a use of negative motivation. Now that you have hopefully persuaded your audience to believe the problem is worthy of addressing, proposed a solution, and asked them to visualize potential positive or negative consequences, you move to the action step.

The action step includes a call to action where you are saying, “Now that you see the seriousness of this problem, here’s what you can do about it.” The call to action should include concrete and specific steps an audience can take. Your goal should be to facilitate the call to action, making it easy for the audience to complete. Instead of asking them to contact their elected officials, you could start an online petition and make the link available to everyone. You could also bring the contact information for officials that represent that region so the audience does not have to look them up on their own. Although this organizing pattern is more complicated than the others are, it offers a proven structure that can help you organize your supporting materials and achieve your speech goals.

Incorporating Supporting Material

So far, you have learned several key steps in the speech creation process. Now you will begin to incorporate more specific information from your supporting materials into the body of your speech. You can place the central ideas that fit your organizational pattern at the beginning of each main point and then plug supporting material in as sub-points.

This information will also make up the content of your formal and speaking outlines. Remember that you want to include a variety of supporting material (examples, analogies, statistics, explanations, etc.) within your speech. The information that you include as sub-points helps back up the central idea that started the main point. Depending on the length of your speech and the depth of your research, you may also have sub-sub-points that back up the claim you are making in the sub-point. Each piece of supporting material you include eventually links back to the specific purpose and thesis statement. This approach to supporting your speech is systematic and organized and helps ensure that your content fits together logically and that your main points are clearly supported and balanced.

One of the key elements of academic and professional public speaking is verbally citing your supporting materials so your audience can evaluate your credibility and the credibility of your sources (James Madison University Communication Center, 2010). You should include citation information in three places: verbally in your speech, on any paper or electronic information (outline, PowerPoint), and on a separate reference sheet. Since much of the supporting material you incorporate into your speech comes directly from your research, it is important that you include relevant citation information as you plug this information into your main points. Do not wait to include citation information once you have drafted the body of your speech. At that point, it may be difficult to retrace your steps to locate the source of a specific sentence or statistic. As you paraphrase or quote your supporting material, work the citation information into the sentences; do not clump the information together at the end of a sentence, or try to cite more than one source at the end of a paragraph or main point. It is important that the audience hear the citations as you use the respective information so it is clear which supporting material matches up with which source.

Writing key bibliographic information into your speech will help ensure that you remember to verbally cite your sources and that your citations will be more natural and flowing and less likely to result in fluency hiccups. At minimum, you should include the author, date, and source in a verbal citation (James Madison University Communication Center, 2010). Sometimes more information is necessary. When citing a magazine, newspaper, or journal article, it is more important to include the source name than the title of the article, since the source name—for example, Newsweek —is what the audience needs to evaluate the speaker’s credibility. For a book, make sure to cite the title and indicate that the source is a book. When verbally citing information retrieved from a website, you do not want to try to recite a long and cumbersome URL in your speech. Most people do not even make it past the “www.” before they mess up. It is more relevant to audiences for speakers to report the sponsor/author of the site and the title of the web page, or section of the website, where they obtained their information.

When getting information from a website, it is best to use “official” organization websites or government websites. When you get information from an official site, make sure you state that in your citation to add to your credibility. For an interview, state when it took place, the name of the interviewee, their credentials. Advice for verbally citing sources and examples from specific types of sources follow:

Signposts on highways help drivers and passengers navigate places they are not familiar with and give us reminders and warnings about what to expect down the road (Amadeba, 2021). Signposts in speeches are statements that help audience members navigate the turns of your speech. There are several key signposts in your speech. In the order you will likely use them, they are preview statement, transition between introduction and body, transitions between main points, transition from body to conclusion, and review statement (see the table below for a review of the key signposts with examples). While the preview and review statements are in the introduction and conclusion, respectively, the other signposts are all transitions that help move between sections of your speech.

[table id=8 /]

There are also signposts that can be useful within sections of your speech. Words and phrases like Aside from and While are good ways to transition between thoughts within a main point or sub-point. Organizing signposts like First , Second , and Third can be used within a main point to help speaker and audience move through information (Amadeba, 2021). The preview in the introduction and review in the conclusion need not be the only such signposts in your speech. You can also include internal previews and internal reviews in your main points to help make the content more digestible or memorable.

In addition to well-written signposts, you want to have well-delivered signposts. Nonverbal signposts include pauses and changes in rate, pitch, or volume that help emphasize transitions within a speech. Here are some ways you can use nonverbal signposting: pause before and after your preview and review statements so they stand out, pause before and after your transitions between main points so they stand out, and slow your rate and lower your pitch on the closing line of your speech to provide closure.

We all know that first impressions matter. Research shows that students’ impressions of instructors on the first day of class persist throughout the semester (Laws, Apperson, Buchert, & Bregman, 2010). First impressions are quickly formed, sometimes spontaneous, and involve little to no cognitive effort. Despite the fact that first impressions are not formed with much conscious effort, they form the basis of inferences and judgments about a person’s personality (Lass-Hennemann, Kuehl, Schulz, Oitzl, & Schachinger, 2011). For example, the student who approaches the front of the class before their speech wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, looks around blankly, and lets out a sigh before starting has not made a very good first impression. Even if the student is prepared for the speech and delivers it well, the audience has likely already associated what they observed with personality traits of the student (i.e., lazy, indifferent), and those associations now have staying power in the face of contrary evidence that comes later.

Your introduction is only a fraction of your speech, but in that first minute or so, your audience decides whether they are interested in listening to the rest of the speech. You should accomplish four objectives in your introduction. They include getting your audience’s attention, introducing your topic, establishing credibility and relevance, and previewing your main points.

Getting Your Audience’s Attention

Several strategies can get the attention of your audience. Although each can be effective on its own, combining these strategies is also an option. A speaker can get their audience’s attention negatively, so think carefully about your choice. The student who began his speech on Habitat for Humanity by banging on the table with a hammer definitely got his audience’s attention during his 8:00 a.m. class, but he also lost credibility in that moment because many in the audience probably saw him as a joker rather than a serious speaker. The student who started her persuasive speech against animal testing with a little tap dance number ended up stumbling through the first half of her speech when she was thrown off by the confused looks the audience gave her when she finished her “attention getter.” These cautionary tales point out the importance of choosing an attention getter that is appropriate, meaning that it’s unusual enough to get people interested—but not over the top—and relevant to your speech topic.

In one of my favorite episodes of the television show The Office , titled “Dwight’s Speech,” the boss, Michael Scott, takes the stage at a regional sales meeting for a very nervous Dwight, who has been called up to accept an award. In typical Michael Scott style, he attempts to win the crowd over with humor and fails miserably.

In general, when a speech is supposed to be professional or formal, as many in-class speeches are, humor is more likely to be seen as incongruous with the occasion. However, there are other situations where a humorous opening might fit perfectly (Ginger Leadership Communications, 2019). For example, a farewell speech to a longtime colleague could start with an inside joke. When considering humor, it is good to get feedback on your idea from a trusted source.

Cite a Startling Fact or Statistic

As you research your topic, take note of any information that defies your expectations or surprises you. If you have a strong reaction to something you learn, your audience may, too. When using a startling fact or statistic as an attention getter, it is important to get the most bang for your buck. You can do this by sharing more than one fact or statistic that builds up the audience’s interest (Ginger Leadership Communications, 2019).

When using numbers, it is also good to repeat and/or repackage the statistics so they stick in the audience’s mind, which you can see in the following example: “In 1994, sixteen states reported that 15–19 percent of their population was considered obese. Every other state reported obesity rates less than that. In 2010, no states reported obesity rates in that same category of 15–19 percent, because every single state had at least a 20 percent obesity rate. In just six years, we went rom no states with an obesity rate higher than 19 percent, to fifty. Currently, the national obesity rate for adults is nearly 34 percent. This dramatic rise in obesity is charted on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, and these rates are expected to continue to rise.”

The speaker could have just started by stating that nearly 34 percent of the US adult population was obese in 2011. However, statistics are not meaningful without context. So sharing how that number rose dramatically over six years helps the audience members see the trend and understand what the current number means. The fourth sentence repackages and summarizes the statistics mentioned in the first three sentences, which again sets up an interesting and informative contrast. Last, the speaker provides a verbal citation for the source of the statistic.

Use a Quotation

Some quotations are attention getting and some are boring. Some quotations are relevant and moving and some are abstract and stale. If you choose to open your speech with a quotation, choose one that is attention getting, relevant, and moving.

Just because a quote seems relevant to you does not mean the audience will also notice that relevance, so it is best to make that explicit right after you use and cite the quote. Also, evaluate the credibility of the source on which you found the quote. Many websites that make quotations available care more about selling pop-up ads than the accuracy of their information. Students who do not double-check the accuracy of the quote may end up attributing the quote to the wrong person or citing a made-up quote.

Ask a Question

Starting a speech with a question is a common attention getter, but in reality many of the questions that I have heard start a speech are not very attention getting. It is important to note that just because you use one of these strategies that does not make it automatically appealing to an audience. A question can be mundane and boring just like a statistic, quotation, or story can (Ginger Leadership Communications, 2019).

A rhetorical question is different from a direct question. When a speaker asks a direct question, they actually want a response from their audience. A rhetorical question will elicit a mental response from the audience, not a verbal or nonverbal one. In short, a rhetorical question makes an audience think. Asking a direct question of your audience is warranted only if the speaker plans to do something with the information they get from the audience.

A safer bet is to ask a rhetorical question that elicits only a mental response. A good rhetorical question can get the audience primed to think about the content of the speech. When asked as a series of questions (and combined with startling statistics or facts), this strategy can create suspense and hook an audience.

Tell a Story

When you tell a story, whether in the introduction to your speech or not, you should aim to paint word pictures in the minds of your audience members (Ginger Leadership Communications, 2019). You might tell a story from your own life or recount a story you found in your research. You may also use a hypothetical story, which has the advantage of allowing you to use your creativity and help place your audience in unusual situations that neither you nor they have actually experienced. When using a hypothetical story, you should let your audience know it is not real, and you should present a story to which the audience can relate. Speakers often let the audience know a story is not real by starting with the word imagine .

Introducing the Topic

Introducing the topic of your speech is the most obvious objective of an introduction, but speakers sometimes forget to do this or do not do it clearly. As the author of your speech, you may think that what you are talking about is obvious. Sometimes a speech topic does not become obvious until the middle of a speech. By that time, however, it is easy to lose an audience that was not clearly told the topic of the speech in the introduction. Introducing the topic is done before the preview of main points and serves as an introduction to the overall topic. The following are two ways a speaker could introduce the topic of childhood obesity: “Childhood obesity is a serious problem facing our country,” or “Today I’ll persuade you that childhood obesity is a problem that can no longer be ignored.”

Establishing Credibility and Relevance

The way you write and deliver your introduction makes an important first impression on your audience. However, you can also take a moment in your introduction to set up your credibility in relation to your speech topic. If you have training, expertise, or credentials (e.g., a degree, certificate, etc.) relevant to your topic, you can share that with your audience. It may also be appropriate to mention firsthand experience, previous classes you have taken, or even a personal interest related to your topic. For example, a student delivers a speech persuading the audience that the penalties for texting and driving should be stricter. In his introduction, he mentioned that his brother’s girlfriend was killed when a car driven by someone who was texting hit her. His personal story shared in the introduction added credibility to the overall speech.

Previewing Your Main Points

The preview of main points is usually the last sentence of your introduction and serves as a map of what is to come in the speech (Davis, 2021). The preview narrows your introduction of the topic down to the main ideas you will focus on in the speech. Your preview should be one sentence, should include wording that is parallel to the key wording of your main points in the body of your speech, and should preview your main points in the same order you discuss them in your speech. Make sure your wording is concise so your audience does not think there will be four points when there are only three. The following example previews the main points for a speech on childhood obesity: “Today I’ll convey the seriousness of the obesity epidemic among children by reviewing some of the causes of obesity, common health problems associated with it, and steps we can take to help ensure our children maintain a healthy weight.”

How you conclude a speech leaves an impression on your audience (Barnard, 2017). There are three important objectives to accomplish in your conclusion. They include summarizing the importance of your topic, reviewing your main points, and closing your speech.

Summarizing the Importance of Your Topic

After you transition from the body of your speech to the conclusion, you will summarize the importance of your topic (Abhishek, 2020). This is the “take-away” message, or another place where you can answer the “so what?” question. This can often be a rewording of your thesis statement. You could summarize the speech about childhood obesity by saying, “Whether you have children or not, childhood obesity is a national problem that needs to be addressed.”

Reviewing Your Main Points

Once you have summarized the overall importance of your speech, you review the main points (Abhishek, 2020). The review statement in the conclusion is very similar to the preview statement in your introduction. You do not have to use the exact same wording, but you still want to have recognizable parallelism that connects the key idea of each main point to the preview, review, and transitions. The review statement for the childhood obesity speech could be “In an effort to convince you of this, I cited statistics showing the rise of obesity, explained common health problems associated with obesity, and proposed steps that parents should take to ensure their children maintain a healthy weight.”

Closing Your Speech

Like the attention getter, your closing statement is an opportunity for you to exercise your creativity as a speaker (Abhishek, 2020). Many students have difficulty wrapping up the speech with a sense of closure and completeness. In terms of closure, a well-written and well-delivered closing line signals to your audience that your speech is over, which cues their applause. You should not have to put an artificial end to your speech by saying “thank you”, that is it, or that is all I have In terms of completeness, the closing line should relate to the overall speech and should provide some “take-away” message that may leave an audience thinking or propel them to action. A sample closing line could be “For your health, for our children’s health, and for our country’s health, we must take steps to address childhood obesity today.” You can also create what I call the “ribbon and bow” for your speech by referring back to the introduction in the closing of your speech. For example, you may finish an illustration or answer a rhetorical question you started in the introduction.

Although the conclusion is likely the shortest part of the speech, students should practice it often. Even a well-written conclusion can be ineffective if the delivery is not good. Conclusions often turn out bad because they are not practiced enough. If you only practice your speech starting from the beginning, you may not get to your conclusion very often because you stop to fix something in one of the main points, get interrupted, or run out of time. Once you have started your speech, anxiety may increase as you near the end and your brain becomes filled with thoughts of returning to your seat, so even a well-practiced conclusion can fall short. Practicing your conclusion by itself several times can help prevent this.

Think of your outline as a living document that grows and takes form throughout your speech-making process.  When you first draft your general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis statement, you could create a new document on your computer and plug those in, essentially starting your outline. As you review your research and distill the information down into separate central ideas that support your specific purpose and thesis, type those statements into the document. After choosing your organizational pattern and are ready to incorporate supporting material, you can quote and paraphrase your supporting material along with the bibliographic information needed for your verbal citations into the document. By this point, you have a good working outline, and you can easily cut and paste information to move it around and see how it fits into the main points, sub-points, and sub-sub-points (James Madison University Communication Center, n. d.). As your outline continues to take shape, you will want to follow established principles of outlining to ensure a quality speech.

The Formal Outline

The formal outline is a full-sentence outline that helps you prepare for your speech. It includes the introduction and conclusion, the main content of the body, key supporting materials, citation information written into the sentences in the outline, and a references page for your speech (Dlugan, 2008). The formal outline also includes a title, the general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis statement. It is important to note that an outline is different from a script. While a script contains everything that will be said, an outline includes the main content. Therefore, you should not include every word you are going to say on your outline. This allows you more freedom as a speaker to adapt to your audience during your speech. Students sometimes complain about having to outline speeches or papers, but it is  a skill that will help in other contexts. Being able to break a topic down into logical divisions and then connect the information together will help ensure that you can prepare for complicated tasks or that you are prepared for meetings or interviews.

Principles of Outlining

There are principles of outlining you can follow to make your outlining process more efficient and effective. Four principles of outlining are consistency, unity, coherence, and emphasis (DuBois, 1929). In terms of consistency, you should follow standard outlining format. In standard outlining format, you indicate main points by capital roman numerals, sub-points by capital letters, and sub-sub-points by Arabic numerals. You indicate further divisions by either lowercase letters or lowercase roman numerals.

The principle of unity means that each letter or number represents one idea. One concrete way to help reduce the amount of ideas you include per item is to limit each letter or number to one complete sentence. If you find that one sub-point has more than one idea, you can divide it into two sub-points. Limiting each component of your outline to one idea makes it easier to plug in supporting material and helps ensure that your speech is coherent.

Following the principle of unity should help your outline adhere to the principle of coherence, which states that there should be a logical and natural flow of ideas, with main points, sub-points, and sub-sub-points connecting to each other (Winans, 1917). Shorter phrases and keywords can make up the speaking outline, but you should write complete sentences throughout your formal outline to ensure coherence.

The principle of coherence can also be met by making sure that when dividing a main point or sub-point, you include at least two subdivisions. After all, it defies logic that you could divide anything into just one part. Therefore, if you have an A , you must have a B , and if you have a 1 , you must have a 2 . If you can easily think of one sub-point but are having difficulty identifying another one, that sub-point may not be robust enough to stand on its own.

The principle of emphasis states that the material included in your outline should be engaging and balanced. As you place supporting material into your outline, choose the information that will have the most impact on your audience. Choose information that is proxemic and relevant, meaning that it can be easily related to the audience’s lives because it matches their interests or ties into current events or the local area.

Remember primacy and recency discussed earlier and place the most engaging information first or last in a main point depending on what kind of effect you want to have (Morrison, Conway, & Chein, 2014). Also, make sure your information is balanced. The outline serves as a useful visual representation of the proportions of your speech. You can tell by the amount of space a main point, sub-point, or sub-sub-point takes up in relation to other points of the same level whether your speech is balanced. If one sub-point is a half a page, but a main point is only a quarter of a page, then you may want to consider making the sub-point a main point. Each part of your speech does not have to be equal. The first or last point may be more substantial than a middle point if you are following primacy or recency, but overall the speech should be relatively balanced.

The Speaking Outline

The formal outline is a full-sentence outline that helps as you prepare for your speech, and the speaking outline is a keyword and phrase outline that helps you deliver your speech. While the formal outline is important to ensure that your content is coherent and your ideas are balanced and expressed clearly, the speaking outline helps you get that information out to the audience. Make sure you budget time in your speech preparation to work on the speaking outline. Skimping on the speaking outline will show in your delivery.

You may convert your formal outline into a speaking outline using a computer program. You may also choose, or be asked to, create a speaking outline on note cards. Note cards are a good option when you want to have more freedom to gesture or know you will not have a lectern on which to place notes printed on full sheets of paper. In either case, this entails converting the full-sentence outline to a keyword or key-phrase outline. Speakers will need to find a balance between having too much or too little content on their speaking outlines. You want to have enough information to prevent fluency hiccups as you stop to retrieve information, but you do not want to have so much information that you read your speech, which lessens your eye contact and engagement with the audience.

Budgeting sufficient time to work on your speaking outline will allow you to practice your speech with different amounts of notes to find what works best for you. Since the introduction and conclusion are so important, it may be useful to include notes to ensure that you remember to accomplish all the objectives of each.

Aside from including important content on your speaking outline, you may want to include speaking cues. Speaking cues are reminders designed to help your delivery. You may write “(PAUSE)” before and after your preview statement to help you remember that important nonverbal signpost. You might also write “(MAKE EYE CONTACT)” as a reminder not to read unnecessarily from your cards. Overall, my advice is to make your speaking outline work for you. It is your last line of defense when you are in front of an audience, so you want it to help you, not hurt you.

Figure 8.1: Mandatory work meetings are an example of captive audiences. Rodeo Project Management Software. 2020. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/ONe-snuCaqQ

Figure 8.2: Layers that make up our perception and knowledge. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.3: Brainstorming and narrowing a topic. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.4: If you get stuck in your research, ask a reference librarian! Tima Miroshnichenko. 2021. Pexels license . https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-elderly-woman-talking-to-a-student-9572566/

Figure 8.5: Whiteboards are a great way to interact with your audience. Bonneval Sebastien. 2019. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/UIpFY1Umamw

Figure 8.6: Example of a sales spreadsheet. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.7: Example of a pie chart. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.8: Examples of a line graph (top) and a bar graph (bottom). Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.9: Example of a chronological pattern of events. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 8.10: Before using humor in your speech, reflect on if it is the right occasion. Omar Lopez. 2017. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/rwF_pJRWhAI

Section 8.1

Aristotle (2007). On rhetoric: A theory of civic discourse (G. A. Kennedy, Trans.) (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published ca. 367-322 BCE)

Dlugan, A. (2012, November 15). Audience analysis: A guide for speakers . http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/audience-analysis/

Goodwin, J. (2017, December 11). Writing a thesis statement for a speech . https://magoosh.com/pro-writing/writing-thesis-statement-for-a-speech/

James Madison University Communication Center. (2021). Developing a presentation . https://www.jmu.edu/commcenter/presentation-support/developing.shtml

James Madison University Writing Center. (2021). Choosing a topic . https://www.jmu.edu/uwc/link-library/writing-process/choosing-topic.shtml

Section 8.2

Beare, K. (2020, January 21). How to discuss hypothetical situations in English . https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-discuss-hypothetical-situations-in-english-4177287

Beqiri, G. (2018, June 21). Using visual aids during a presentation or training session . https://virtualspeech.com/blog/visual-aids-presentation

Brigham Young University Library. (2021, July 15). Step-by-step guide & research rescue: Evaluating credibility . https://guides.lib.byu.edu/c.php?g=216340&p=1428399

Davis, B. (2020, August 16). What is the main value of using expert testimony in a speech? https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-is-the-main-value-of-using-expert-testimony-in-a-speech/#What_is_the_main_value_of_using_expert_testimony_in_a_speech

Gallo, C. (2017, January 31). Four easy tips on using video to make your presentation stand out . https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2017/01/31/four-easy-tips-on-using-video-to-make-your-presentation-stand-out/?sh=74ce88146e3a

James Madison University Libraries. (2019, September 16). Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources: Definitions . https://guides.lib.jmu.edu/sources

James Madison University Libraries. (2021). Quick overview of JMU Libraries services & resources for fall 2021 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_nHy3rstl0

Matook, M. E. (2020). The impactful research appointment: Combating research anxiety and library stereotypes. The Reference Librarian , 61 (3-4), 185-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2020.1837710

National WW II Museum. (n.d.). Guidelines for using primary sources in your classroom . https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/using-primary-sources.pdf

Presentation Magazine. (2011, April 11). Top tips for using graphs and charts in your presentations . https://www.presentationmagazine.com/top-tips-for-using-graphs-and-charts-in-your-presentations-6686.htm

Rielly, T. (2020, May 12). The #1 rule for improving your presentation slides . https://masterclass.ted.com/blog/visual-presentations-series-less-is-more

Segar, G. (2016, September 12). Three types of relevant analogies to use in speeches . https://potentspeaking.com/relevant-analogies/

Section 8.3

Abhishek, K. G. (2020, November 16). How to end a speech: The best tips and examples . https://www.orai.com/blog/how-to-end-a-speech-the-best-tips-and-examples/

Amadeba, E. (2021, September 4). What is signposting in speech? https://www.acethepresentation.com/signposts-in-speech/

Barnard, D. (2017, November 6). Different ways to end a presentation or speech . https://virtualspeech.com/blog/different-ways-to-end-presentation-speech

Davis, B. (2021, April 30). What are the five organizational patterns? https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-are-the-five-organizational-patterns/

Davis, B. (2021, May 8). What is a preview statement example? https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-is-a-preview-statement-example/

Dlugan, A. (2008, February 29). Speech preparation #3: Don’t skip the speech outline . http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-preparation-3-outline-examples/

DuBois, W. C. (1929). Essentials of public speaking . Prentice Hall.

Ginger Leadership Communications. (2019, December 13). How to start a speech with power and confidence . https://www.gingerleadershipcomms.com/article/how-to-start-a-speech-with-power-and-confidence

James Madison University Communication Center (n. d.). Creating an outline . https://www.jmu.edu/commcenter/_files/Outline-Tip-Poster.pdf

James Madison University Communication Center. (2010). Oral source citations . https://www.jmu.edu/commcenter/_files/Oral%20Citation%20Guide.pdf

Lass-Hennemann, J., Kuehl L. K., Schulz, A., Oitzl, M. S., & Schachinger, H. (2011). Stress strengthens memory of first impressions of others’ positive personality traits. PLoS ONE , 6 (1), e16389. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016389

Laws, E. L., Apperson, J. M., Buchert, S., & Bregman, N. J. (2010). Student evaluations of instruction: When are enduring first impressions formed? North American Journal of Psychology, 12 (1), 81–92.

LibreTexts. (2020, August 12). Patterns of organization and methods of development . https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Introductory_Composition/Book%3A_The_Word_on_College_Reading_and_Writing_(Babin_et_al.)/Part_2/08%3A_Drafting/8.07%3A_Patterns_of_Organization_and_Methods_of_Development

LibreTexts. (2021, February 20). Formulating a specific purpose statement . https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Exploring_Public_Speaking_(Barton_and_Tucker)/04%3A_Selecting_Your_Approach_and_Main_Points/4.02%3A_Formulating_a_Specific_Purpose_Statement

Monroe, A. H., & Ehninger, D. (1964). Principles of speech (5th ed.). Scott, Foresman.

Morrison A., Conway, A., & Chein, J. (2014). Primacy and recency effects as indices of the focus of attention. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 8 (Article 6), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00006

Winans, J. A. (1917). Public speaking . Century.

Broad socio-cultural categories, such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, education level, religion, ethnicity, and nationality used to segment a larger population

Consider the audience’s psychological dispositions towards the topic, the speaker and the occasion as well as how their attitudes, beliefs, and values inform those dispositions

When an audience sees you as competent, trustworthy, and engaging

People who are required to attend your presentations

People who have decided to come hear your speech

To inform, to persuade, or to entertain

Generating many potential topic ideas in a fast-paced and a non-judgmental manner

One-sentence statement that includes the objective you want to accomplish in your speech

One-Sentence Summary of the central idea of your speech

Information-retrieval experts

Magazines and journals that are published periodically

The author-supplied summary of the source

The most rigorous form of review, which takes several months to years and ensures that the information that is published has been vetted and approved by numerous experts on the subject

Sources written by people with firsthand experiences or by researchers/scholars who conducted original research

Compiled research by others in a condensed format

Cited case that is representative of a larger whole

Clarify ideas by providing information about what something is, why something is the way it is, or how something works or came to be

Numerical representations of information

A comparison of ideas, items, or circumstances

Quoted information from people with direct knowledge about a subject or situation

Help a speaker reinforce speech content visually, which helps amplify the speaker’s message

A “miniature speech” within your larger speech. Each will have a central idea, meet some part of your specific purpose, and include supporting material from your research that relates to your thesis

Similar wording among key organizing signposts and main points that helps structure a speech

Breaking a large idea or category into smaller ideas or subcategories

Presenting your best information first in order to make a positive impression and engage your audience early in your speech

Based on the idea that an audience will best remember the information they heard most recently

Speech structure based on time or sequence

Arranges main points based on their layout or proximity to each other

Presenting a problem and offering one or multiple solutions

Forming a relationship between ideas that shows a progression from origin to result

A five step organizational pattern to help persuade an audience. 1. Attention Step: Grab the audience’s attention in the introduction. 2. Need Step: Establish the reason that your topic needs to be addressed. Satisfaction Step: Present a solution to the problem that you are addressing. 4. Visualization Step: Incorporate a positive/negative motivation to support the relationship you have set up between the need and your proposal. 5. Action Step: Include a call to action that tells people what they can do about the situation.

Citing the sources you have obtained information from in your speech to prove your credibility to the audience

Statements that help audience members navigate the changes in a speech

Pauses and changes in rate, pitch, or volume that help to emphasize a transition in a speech

A question which will elicit a mental response from the audience, not a verbal or nonverbal one

A full-sentence outline that helps you prepare for your speech. It includes the introduction and conclusion, the main content of the body, key supporting materials, citation information written into the sentences in the outline, and a references page for your speech.

A keyword and phrase outline that helps you deliver your speech. The speaking outline helps you get that information out to the audience.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © by Faculty members in the School of Communication Studies, James Madison University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Home > Humanities and Sciences > Communication Studies > Communication Studies ETDs

Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, and Professional Papers

This collection includes theses, dissertations, and professional papers from the University of Montana Department of Communication Studies. Theses, dissertations, and professional papers from all University of Montana departments and programs may be searched here.

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

COMEDY, CAMARADERIE, AND CONFLICT: USING HUMOR TO DEFUSE DISPUTES AMONG FRIENDS , Sheena A. Bringa

Navigating Toxic Identities Within League of Legends , Jeremy Thomas Miner

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA RICHNESS AND SOCIAL PRESENCE: EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF MEDIA CHANNELS ON INDIVIDUALS’ LEVELS OF LONELINESS, WELL-BEING, AND BELONGING , Ashley M. Arsenault

CANCELING VS. #CANCEL CULTURE: AN ANALYSIS ON THE SURVEILLANCE AND DISCIPLINE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR THROUGH COMPETING DISCOURSES OF POWER , Julia G. Bezio

DISTAL SIBLING GRIEF: EXPLORING EMOTIONAL AFFECT AND SALIENCE OF LISTENER BEHAVIORS IN STORIES OF SIBLING DEATH , Margaret C. Brock

Is Loss a Laughing Matter?: A Study of Humor Reactions and Benign Violation Theory in the Context of Grief. , Miranda B. Henrich

The Request Is Not Compatible: Competing Frames of Public Lands Discourse in the Lolo Peak Ski Resort Controversy , Philip A. Sharp

Patient Expectations, Satisfaction, and Provider Communication Within the Oncology Experience , Elizabeth Margaret Sholey

Psychological Safety at Amazon: A CCO Approach , Kathryn K. Zyskowski

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Discourse of Renewal: A Qualitative Analysis of the University of Montana’s COVID-19 Crisis Communication , Haley Renae Gabel

Activating Hope: How Functional Support Can Improve Hope in Unemployed Individuals , Rylee P. Walter

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

THE HOME AS A SITE OF FAMILY COMMUNICATED NARRATIVE SENSE-MAKING: GRIEF, MEANING, AND IDENTITY THROUGH “CLEANING OUT THE CLOSET” , Kendyl A. Barney

CRISIS AS A CONSTANT: UNDERSTANDING THE COMMUNICATIVE ENACTMENT OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE WITHIN THE EXTENSION DISASTER EDUCATION NETWORK (EDEN) , Danielle Maria Farley

FOSTERING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE IN COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION: EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FOUNDATIONS TRAINING , Shanay L. Healy

Belonging for Dementia Caregivers , Sabrina Singh

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Making the Most of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing on Negative Feedback , Christopher Edward Anderson

Understanding the Relationship Between Discursive Resources and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Outdoor Adventure Athletes , Mira Ione Cleveland

Service Failure Management in High-End Hospitality Resorts , Hunter A. Dietrich

Fear, Power, & Teeth (2007) , Olivia Hockenbroch

The climate change sublime: Leveraging the immense awe of the planetary threat of climate change , Sean D. Quartz

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Relationship Between Memorable Messages and Identity Construction , Raphaela P. Barros Campbell

Wonder Woman: A Case Study for Critical Media Literacy , Adriana N. Fehrs

Curated Chaos: A Rhetorical Study of Axmen , Rebekah A. McDonald

THE ROLE OF BIPOLAR DISORDER, STIGMA, AND HURTFUL MESSAGES IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS , Callie Parrish

Cruising to be a Board Gamer: Understanding Socialization Relating to Board Gaming and The Dice Tower , Benjamin Wassink

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

STEAMED: EXAMINATIONS OF POWER STRUGGLES ON THE VALUE FORUM , richard E. babb

Beyond the Bike; Identity and Belonging of Free Cycles Members , Caitlyn Lewis

Adherence and Uncertainty Management: A Test Of The Theory Of Motivated Information Management , Ryan Thiel

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Redskins Revisited: Competing Constructions of the Washington Redskins Mascot , Eean Grimshaw

A Qualitative Analysis of Belonging in Communities of Practice: Exploring Transformative Organizational Elements within the Choral Arts , Aubrielle J. Holly

Training the Professoraite of Tomorrow: Implementing the Needs Centered Training Model to Instruct Graduate Teaching Assistants in the use of Teacher Immediacy , Leah R. Johnson

Beyond Blood: Examining the Communicative Challenges of Adoptive Families , Mackensie C. Minniear

Attitudes Toward Execution: The Tragic and Grotesque Framing of Capital Punishment in the News , Katherine Shuy

Knowledge and Resistance: Feminine Style and Signifyin[g] in Michelle Obama’s Public Address , Tracy Valgento

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

BLENDED FRAMEWORK: BILL MCKIBBEN'S USE OF MELODRAMA AND COMEDY IN ENVIRONMENTAL RHETORIC , Megan E. Cullinan

THE INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL DRAMAS ON PATIENT EXPECTATIONS OF PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION , Kayla M. Fadenrecht

Diabesties: How Diabetic Support on Campus can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout , Kassandra E. Martin

Resisting NSA Surveillance: Glenn Greenwald and the public sphere debate about privacy , Rebecca Rice

Rhetoric, participation, and democracy: The positioning of public hearings under the National Environmental Policy Act , Kevin C. Stone

Socialization and Volunteers: A Training Program for Volunteer Managers , Allison M. Sullivan

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

THIRD PARTY EFFECTS OF AFFECTIONATE COMMUNICATION IN FAMILY SUBSYSTEMS: EXAMINING INFLUENCE ON AFFECTIONATE COMMUNICATION, MENTAL WELL-BEING, AND FAMILY SATISFACTION , Timothy M. Curran

Commodity or Dignity? Nurturing Managers' Courtesy Nurtures Workers' Productivity , Montana Rafferty Moss

"It Was My Job to Keep My Children Safe": Sandra Steingraber and the Parental Rhetoric of Precaution , Mollie Katherine Murphy

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Free Markets: ALEC's Populist Constructions of "the People" in State Politics , Anne Sherwood

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

COMMUNICATIVE CONSTRUCTION OF EXPECTATIONS: AN EXAMINATION OF EXPECTATIONS REGARDING MOTHERS IN NARRATIVE CONSTRUCTION , Jordan A. Allen

Let’s talk about sex: A training program for parents of 4th and 5th grade children , Elizabeth Kay Eickhoff

"You Is The Church": Identity and Identification in Church Leadership , Megan E. Gesler

This land is your land, this land is my land: A qualitative study of tensions in an environmental decision making group , Gabriel Patrick Grelle

The Constitution of Queer Identity in the 1972 APA Panel, "Psychiatry: Friend or Foe to Homosexuals? A Dialogue" , Dustin Vern Edward Schneider

The Effect of Religious Similarity on the Use of Relational Maintenance Strategies in Marriages , Jamie Karen Taylor

Justice, Equality, and SlutWalk: The Rhetoric of Protesting Rape Culture , Dana Whitney Underwood

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Collective Privacy Boundary Turbulence and Facework Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of South Korea and the United States , Min Kyong Cho

COMMUNICATING ARTIFACTS: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW MUSEUMS COMMUNICATE ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY DURING TIMES OF CONTROVERSY AND FINANCIAL STRAIN , Amanda Renee Cornuke

Communication Apprehension and Perceived Responsiveness , Elise Alexandra Fanney

Improving Patient-Provider Communication in the Health Care context , Charlotte M. Glidden

What They Consider, How They Decide: Best Practices of Technical Experts in Environmental Decision-Making , Cassandra J. Hemphill

Rebuilding Place: Exploring Strategies to Align Place Identity During Relocation , Brigette Renee McKamey

Sarah Palin, Conservative Feminism, and the Politics of Family , Jasmine Rose Zink

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Salud, Dignidad, Justicia: Articulating "Choice" and "Reproductive Justice" for Latinas in the United States , Kathleen Maire de Onis

Environmental Documentary Film: A Contemporary Tool For Social Movement , Rachel Gregg

In The Pink: The (Un)Healthy Complexion of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month , Kira Stacey Jones

Jihad as an Ideograph: Osama bin Laden's rhetorical weapon of choice , Faye Lingarajan

The Heart of the Matter: The Function and Relational Effects of Humor for Cardiovascular Patients , Nicholas Lee Lockwood

Feeling the Burn: A Discursive Analysis of Organizational Burnout in Seasonal Wildland Firefighters , Whitney Eleanor Marie Maphis

Making A Comeback: An Exploration of Nontraditional Students & Identity Support , Jessica Kate McFadden

In the Game of Love, Play by the Rules: Implications of Relationship Rule Consensus over Honesty and Deception in Romantic Relationships , Katlyn Elise Roggensack

Assessing the balance: Burkean frames and Lil' Bush , Elizabeth Anne Sills

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

The Discipline of Identity: Examining the Challenges of Developing Interdisciplinary Identities Within the Science Disciplines , Nicholas Richard Burk

Occupational Therapists: A Study of Managing Multiple Identities , Katherine Elise Lloyd

Discourse, Identity, and Culture in Diverse Organizations: A Study of The Muslim Students Association (University of Montana) , Burhanuddin Bin Omar

The Skinny on Weight Watchers: A Critical Analysis of Weight Watcher's Use of Metaphors , Ashlynn Laura Reynolds-Dyk

You Got the Job, Now What?: An Evaluation of the New Employee Orientation Program at the University of Montana , Shiloh M. A. Sullivan

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Because We Have the Power to Choose: A Critical Analysis of the Rhetorical Strategies Used in Merck's Gardasil Campaign , Brittney Lee Buttweiler

Communicative Strategies Used in the Introduction of Spirituality in the Workplace , Matthew Alan Condon

Cultures in Residence: Intercultural Communication Competence for Residence Life Staff , Bridget Eileen Flaherty

The Influence of Sibling Support on Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment: A Turning Point Analysis , Kimberly Ann Jacobs

TALK ABOUT “HOOKING UP”: HOW COLLEGE STUDENTS‟ ACCOUNTS OF “HOOKING UP” IN SOCIAL NETWORKS INFLUENCES ENGAGING IN RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR , Amanda J. Olson

The Effect of Imagined Interactions on Secret Revelation and Health , Adam Stephens Richards

Teaching Intercultural Communication Competence in the Healthcare Context , Jelena Stojakovic

Quitting versus Not Quitting: The Process and Development of an Assimilation Program Within Opportunity Resources, Inc. , Amanda N. Stovall

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

IMAGES AS A LAYER OF POSITIVE RHETORIC: A VALUES-BASED CASE STUDY EXPLORING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN VISUAL AND VERBAL ELEMENTS FOUND ON A RURAL NATURAL RESOURCES NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WEBSITE , Vailferree Stilwell Brechtel

Relational Transgressions in Romantic Relationships: How Individuals Negotiate the Revelation and Concealment of Transgression Information within the Social Network , Melissa A. Maier

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

THE SOCIALIZATION OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEES , Maria Dawn Blevins

Friends the family you choose (no matter what: An investigation of fictive kin relationships amoung young adults. , Kimberly Anne Clinger

Public relations in nonprofit organizations: A guide to establishing public relations programs in nonprofit settings , Megan Kate Gale

Negotiated Forgiveness in Parent-Child Relationships: Investigating Links to Politeness, Wellness and Sickness , Jennifer Lynn Geist

Developing and Communicating Better Sexual Harassment Policies Through Ethics and Human Rights , Thain Yates Hagan

Managing Multiple Identities: A Qualitative Study of Nurses and Implications for Work-Family Balance , Claire Marie Spanier

BEYOND ORGANIC: DEFINING ALTERNATIVES TO USDA CERTIFIED ORGANIC , Jennifer Ann von Sehlen

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

Graduate Teaching Assistant Interpretations and Responses to Student Immediacy Cues , Clair Owen Canfield

Verbal negotiation of affection in romantic relationships , Andrea Ann Richards

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

Art of forgiveness , Carrie Benedict

"We shall fight for the things we have always held nearest our hearts": Rhetorical strategies in the U.S. woman suffrage movement , Stephanie L. Durnford

War on Terror Middle-East peace and a drive around the ranch: The rhetoric of US-Saudi diplomacy in the post-911 period , J. Robert Harper

What do you mean by competence?: A comparison of perceived communication competence among North Americans and Chinese , Chao He

Rhetoric of public interest in an inter-organizational environmental debate: The Fernie mining controversy. , Shelby Jo. Long

Investigation of the initiation of short-term relationships in a vacation setting. , Aneta Milojevic

"It 's the other way around"| Sustainability, promotion, and the shaping of identity in nonprofit arts organizations , Georgi A. Rausch

Child left behind: An examination of comforting strategies goals and outcomes following the death of a child , Kelly R. Rossetto

Profile of the modern smokejumper| A tension-centered lens on identity and identification , Cade Wesley Spaulding

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Media Center 4/19/2024 12:01:00 PM Greg Johnson

Technology rules approved in football

Automatic timeouts to occur in the last 2 minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarters.

Optional technology rules in football, effective for the 2024 season, were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Thursday.

In games involving Football Bowl Subdivision teams, each school will have the option to use coach-to-player communications through the helmet to one player on the field. That player will be identified by having a green dot on the back midline of the player's helmet.

The communication from the coach to the player will be turned off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.

For all three divisions, teams have the option of using tablets to view in-game video only. The video can include the broadcast feed and camera angles from the coach's sideline and coach's end zone.

Teams can have up to 18 active tablets for use in the coaching booth, sideline and locker room. Tablets cannot be connected to other devices to project larger additional images and cannot include analytics, data or data access capability or other communication access. All team personnel will be allowed to view the tablets during the game. 

The Football Rules Committee, which met the last week of February, had a thorough discussion regarding wearable technologies.

The committee invites non-FBS conferences that are interested in using wearable technologies to submit an experimental proposal to the committee. Any proposals must be made to the committee by June 15. 

Two-minute timeout

The panel approved adding an automatic timeout when two minutes remain in the second and fourth quarters. 

This rules change synchronizes all timing rules, such as 10-second runoffs and stopping the clock when a first down is gained in bounds, which coincides with the two-minute timeout.

First-down timing rules

After a year of review, Division III committee members decided to adopt the timing rules where the game clock would continue to run when a first down is gained in bounds. The game clock will stop when a first down is gained during the last two minutes of either half. Division I and II schools used this timing rule last season. 

Other rules changes  

• Allowing conferences the option of using a collaborative replay review system. This will be formally added to the rules book; it had been an experimental rule.
• Penalizing horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box as a 15-yard personal foul. Previously, a horse-collar tackle within the tackle box was not a foul.

Additionally, head coaches can conduct interviews with broadcast partners after the first and third quarters. This was allowed on an experimental basis last season and will be added as a permanent rule. 

The panel did not support a uniform rule proposal made by the Football Rules Committee. Panel members were not comfortable with on-field officials having to enforce the recommended rule. 

The panel understands the rules committee's concern but encourages the committee to look for an administrative solution that does not include game official enforcement.

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Morning Rundown: Columbia classes go virtual over Gaza protest tensions, U.S. ally blasts Biden's cannibal comments, and the Spice Girls have an impromptu reunion

Opening statements in Trump's historic trial set to begin Monday after tense day of jury selection

Opening statements are set to begin next week in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial after the final members of the jury were seated Friday, following a dramatic day in which two prospective jurors broke down in tears, an appeals court judge rejected Trump's request for a stay, and a man set himself on fire in front of the courthouse.

“We’re going to have opening statements on Monday morning. This trial is starting,” Judge Juan Merchan said towards the end of the day, after successfully seating the remaining five alternate jurors that were needed.

The case — the first-ever criminal trial of a former president —will be heard by a panel of 12 jurors and a total of six alternates. It's expected to last roughly six weeks.

The five alternates ultimately selected Friday include an unemployed married woman who’s into art and described herself as not political, an audio professional, a contract specialist, a clothing company executive and a construction company project manager. It took four days of jury selection to find the 18 jurors.

Around the same time the judge declared, "we have our full panel" inside the courtroom in the early afternoon, a man set himself on fire outside the courthouse. The NYPD said the man, identified as Max Azzarello of Florida, later died. He appeared to have had pamphlets describing a conspiracy involving cryptocurrency that he threw around before setting himself ablaze, police said.

Later in the afternoon, Trump's attorneys were in a state appeals court trying again to get an emergency stay of the trial. Trump attorney Cliff Robert argued his client could not get a fair trial in Manhattan, which had been Trump's longtime home before moving to Florida after he was elected president in 2016.

Steven Wu of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office countered that "what the last week has shown is that the jury selection has worked."

"We have 18 ordinary New Yorkers who are ready to serve. It would be unfair to them and the public for this to be delayed further," he argued. The judge rejected Trump's stay request a short time later.  

The jury selection process Friday was especially intense, some potential jurors breaking down in tears and others saying they were too anxious to serve.

The day began with the judge calling up the 22 remaining potential jurors from the previous pool of 96 to answer questions designed to indicate whether they could be fair and impartial about the divisive real estate mogul and presumptive Republican nominee for president.

The first of those potential jurors was dismissed after she said she didn’t think she could be fair. “I have really, really bad anxiety and people have found out where I am,” she told the judge. A short time later, two other potential jurors were dismissed after each told the judge that upon further reflection, “I don’t think I can be impartial.”

Other potential jurors included a married father who said he listens to a podcast called “Order of Man,” which is described on Apple’s website as discussions about “reclaiming what it means to be a man.” Some past guests of the podcast include people who’ve been outspoken in their support of Trump and were highly critical of the civil fraud case New York Attorney General Letitia James brought against the former president. The man, an audio specialist, was chosen as one of the alternates.

Another potential juror was a married fund manager who said he’d done “get-out-the-vote” work for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 presidential opponent. Trump and his attorney Todd Blanche passed notes back and forth while that juror was speaking. He was later dismissed after being asked about a 2020 Facebook post where he apparently called Trump “the devil and a sociopath.”

Trump appeared most interested in jurors whose answers offer ambiguity around their personal political views. When one prospective juror said they were a Fox News viewer, Trump cocked his head, then quickly conferred with his lawyer, Todd Blanche.

Another potential juror was a woman who became emotional as she disclosed she'd served two years in prison on drug-related charges, but said she could be "fair and impartial."

During a morning break, Merchan — who'd chided reporters on Thursday for disclosing too much information about potential jurors — said the woman had shared "very personal things about her life" and was "very brave." “I just wanted to encourage the press to please be kind. Please be kind to this person,” the judge said. He later dismissed her, saying she needed a certificate of release to be qualified for service going forward. On her way out, she cheerfully called out, "Good luck!"

Following that juror's departure, the DA's office began its individual questioning of the jurors. One woman, who'd disclosed that her father is lifelong friends with Trump ally turned critic Chris Christie, broke down in tears when prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked her an innocuous question about the burden of proof in the case. "I feel so nervous and anxious right now. I’m sorry," she responded, bursting out into tears. "I thought I could do this," she said, adding "I wouldn’t want someone who feels this way to judge my case." She was dismissed.

Hoffinger's questioning was followed by Trump attorney Susan Necheles, who asked a potential juror who'd started their own business how she would assess a witness's credibility. The woman then asked to speak to the judge, saying she was "getting anxiety and self-doubt” from Necheles's line of questioning. She was dismissed. 

Necheles later asked another woman — who previously said she was a victim of sexual assault — whether she would hold it against Trump that women outside this case have accused Trump of sexual assault. She said she would not have a problem setting those accusations aside but the judge ultimately excused her, saying, "It’s best to err on the side of caution."

Another man said he has some differences from Trump on his policies but thinks he's “usually awesome.” He was not chosen for the jury.

On his way into court in the morning, Trump again complained the case against him is "unfair," and that the partial gag order preventing him from lashing out at witnesses, prosecutors, court staffers and jurors is not "constitutional." "Everyone else can say whatever they want about me. They can say anything they want. They can continue to make up lies and everything else. They lie. They’re real scum. But you know what? I’m not allowed to speak," he told reporters.

Prosecutors this week asked the judge to fine Trump and hold him in contempt for social media posts that they said violate the gag order. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.

The m a in pa nel of 12 is made up of seven men and five women, including two lawyers, a teacher, a retired wealth manager, a product development manager, a security engineer, a software engineer, a speech therapist and a physical therapist. The foreman — the juror who essentially acts as the leader and spokesperson for the panel — is a married man who works in sales and gets his news from The New York Times, MSNBC and Fox News.

The lone alternate selected Thursday is a woman who works as an asset manager.

Trump vented about the speed of the process in a post on social media shortly after the final jurors were selected, claiming the judge is “‘railroading’ me, at breakneck speed, in order to completely satisfy his ‘friends’.”

Later in the day, Merchan held what's known as a Sandoval hearing . That's a type of hearing designed to let defendants know the scope of questions they could face from prosecutors on cross-examination so they can make informed decisions about whether to take the witness stand in their own defense.

Leaving court on Friday, Trump was asked whether he was still planning to testify and he said he was.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office disclosed in a court filing that it would like to ask Trump about several items, among them the $464 million civil judgment against him and his company for fraud , the total $88 million verdicts and liability findings for sexual abuse  and  defamation in lawsuits brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and a number of other adverse court rulings over the past few years.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases and is appealing  the fraud judgment and the Carroll verdicts.

Prosecutors said they want to be able to bring those findings up “to impeach the credibility of the defendant” if he takes the witness stand.

Discussing the findings in the fraud case, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told the judge it was "hard to think of something that is more squarely in the wheelhouse” for the DA to ask Trump about "than a finding by a judge of persistent and repeated fraud and illegality."

Trump's attorney Emil Bove countered that prosecutors shouldn't be able to breach the topic at all because Trump's appeal is still pending. He made similar arguments over the DA's contention that they should be allowed to ask about a judge's finding that he was untruthful on the witness stand during the fraud trial and had violated a gag order in the case.

“Is it your position that because a case is being appealed or might be appealed, that therefore it can not be used?" Merchan asked the lawyer. "Not necessarily," Bove replied.

The judge said he'd issue his ruling on the dispute on Monday morning.

Trump said last week he  “absolutely” plans to testify , but he is under no obligation to do so.

Asked by Necheles at the end of the day who the DA's first witness would be, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said they wouldn't inform Trump's team of the person's identity until Sunday, given that Trump has been criticizing some witnesses on social media despite the partial gag order in the case. “And if that should be tweeted, that’ll be the last time we provide that courtesy,” Steinglass said.

Merchan called the DA's position "understandable" and told Necheles "I will not compel them to do anything."

Trump has pleaded  not guilty  to 34 counts of falsifying business records and faces up to four years in prison if he is convicted.

Bragg alleges that Trump falsified records to hide money he was paying his former lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for $130,000 he paid adult film actor Stormy Daniels  near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels has claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied that he slept with Daniels, but he has acknowledged repaying Cohen.

The DA’s office also alleges that as part of a scheme to boost Trump, National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. paid $150,000 to model and actor Karen McDougal , who appeared in Playboy magazine and claimed that she had a nine-month affair with Trump before he was elected president “in exchange for her agreement not to speak out about the alleged sexual relationship,” according to a statement of facts filed by Bragg.

Trump has also denied having a sexual relationship with McDougal.

Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.

Lisa Rubin is an MSNBC legal correspondent and a former litigator.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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