Focus Your Topic by Defining Your Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is also called the central idea or the bottom line. At the end of your talk, what is the one thing that you want your audience to know or to believe?

A thesis is an assertion. Unlike a purpose statement, a thesis is arguable. Once you have defined your central idea, you can then begin to prove your thesis true with your main points and support.

Here are some examples of thesis statements:

• Cigarette butts hurt the environment.
• Effective speakers are competent, confident and charismatic.
• There's no place like home for the holidays.
• Things go better with Coke.
• The earth is flat.
• Use "R.I.C.E." on an injury.
• The best candidate for this position is Jane Doe.
• The defendant has been unfairly accused of this crime.
• The defendant is guilty of this crime.
• There is a Santa Claus.
• Our retiring boss will be sorely missed.
• The Sound of Music is the best play ever produced.

Not all thesis statements are true, of course. They are assertions that must be argued with evidence and support. How might you prove that cigarette butts hurt the environment? How might you go about demonstrating that the earth is flat? Effective communicators, whether they are writers or speakers, develop clear central ideas and then develop arguments for proving these.