Your general purpose of an informative speech is to inform.
Your specific purpose relates to your topic and to the specific information you want to convey.
Specific Purpose -
The specific purpose of a speech is its goal, stated in a complete sentence. If the general
purpose of your speech is to inform, then your specific purpose will be a statement of the
particular information you will present to the audience.
Example: Joel’s general purpose in his speech about place-kicking is to inform. His specific
purpose could be stated in a complete sentence. “I want to explain the steps in soccer-style
place-kicking.”
1. Express the specific purpose as a declarative sentence.
2. State the specific purpose precisely. “I want to explain the four steps in soccer-style
place-kicking.”
3. Make sure the specific purpose contains only one idea.
4. Include words in the specific purpose that show your intent. Examples: explain, show,
give
Writing a Thesis Statement -
A thesis statement is a complete sentence that expresses the speaker’s most important
idea, or key point, about a topic. A thesis statement guides the development of a speech.
Examples:
1. Specific purpose: “I want to explain the characteristics of the six major
classifications of show dogs.”
Thesis statement: “Show dogs are classified according to their characteristics as
hounds, terriers, working dogs, toys, sporting dogs, and non sporting dogs.”
2. Specific purpose: “I want to convince the class that they should read “To Kill a
Mockingbird.”
Thesis statement: “To Kill a Mockingbird is an excellent book to read because it
features interesting characters, thought-provoking issues, and an exciting plot.”
If you already know a great deal about your topic, you can write your thesis statement at this
stage of your planning. For most speeches, however, you will need to do some research first.
SAMPLE
Subject Area: football
Topic: place-kicking
Limited Topic: soccer-style place-kicking
General Purpose: to inform
Specific Purpose: I want to explain the four steps in soccer-style place-kicking.
Thesis Statement: The four steps in soccer-style place-kicking are to spot the ball, to mark off
the steps, to approach the ball,, and to kick the ball.
Supporting Your Thesis Statement
You need to find information to support your main idea as expressed in your thesis
statement. The types of details commonly used to support a thesis include facts, opinions,
examples, illustrations, anecdotes, statistics, comparisons, definitions, descriptions, and
quotations.
1) Facts and Opinions:
Statement of fact contain information that can be proved, or verified, by
testing, by observing, or by consulting reference materials.
Statement of opinion expresses personal beliefs or attitudes. Such statements contain
personal judgments, which include information that cannot be proved. In some
situations, you may seek an expert opinion. An expert opinion is a statement of
belief about a subject from a person who is recognized as an authority on that subject.
For example, a rocket scientist could offer an expert opinion on space travel. Experts
can also supply facts. For instance, a high school coach can report on how many college
recruiters have visited players on the team.
2) Examples and illustrations:
An example is a single instance that supports or develops a statement. An illustration
is a detailed example.
3) Anecdotes:
Anecdotes are brief, often amusing, stories. The purpose of an anecdote is to give
information in a form that an audience will remember. Because anecdotes are often
entertaining, they can help make your speech more interesting and enjoyable as well as
informative.
4) Statistics:
Statistics are numerical facts: “Only six out of every ten registered voters voted in the
last school election” or “unemployment recently dropped 2 percent.” Citing a few
statistics may make your speech more informative, but giving too many statistics can
be boring or distracting. Use statistics carefully to add interest or to emphasize a
point.
5) Comparisons:
A comparison is a statement that shows the similarities between people, places, things,
events, or ideas. Comparisons help listeners relate new ideas to familiar concepts.
A figurative comparison imaginatively shows similarities between things that are
essentially not alike. For example, you may say someone is “as slow as molasses in
January” to point out that the person moves slowly.
A literal comparison shows the real similarities between things that are essentially
alike. Example - “Tom runs slower than Jorge.”
Occasionally, a comparison is phrased as a contrast, highlighting the differences
between two things. For instance, you might say, “Unlike last year’s ecology club,
which consisted primarily of seniors, this year’s club has mostly sophomores and
juniors as members.”
6) Definitions:
A definition explains what a word or a concept means. You should define carefully any
words or concepts your audience may not understand.
7) Descriptions:
A description is a word picture of a person, place, thing, or event. Accurate
descriptions help people in your audience form mental pictures that correspond to the
actual thing described.
8) Quotations:
A quotation expresses someone’s exact words. Usually, you express your ideas in your
own words. However, in some cases you will use a quotation to express the opinion of
an authority or to include a particularly well stated idea. When you use quotations, you
must give credit to the source from which the words were taken.
The more convincingly you can show your listeners that you know about your topic, the more
likely they are to pay attention and to remember what you say.
The final step in preparing your material is to organize it.
