Communication Skills (MCM 301)

Lecture - 14

Thesis statement
What is a thesis statement? A thesis statement is a declarative statement in
sentence form. It is a complete thought; it is not a question. It is a simple sentence that
makes a statement or expresses an attitude, opinion, condition, position, or feeling about
the subject.
Suppose you begin with a topic, the general subject matter, and, after considering
your audience and researching your subject, you formulate a statement about the topic.
For example:
Topic:
Thesis:

Fast foods
Fast foods are a serious problem for heart patients

You have made a complete declarative statement. This statement expresses a condition
about the relationship that exists between fast foods and heart patients. However,
consider the next example.
Topic:
Thesis:

Fast foods
Does fast foods cause a serious problem for heart patients?

This sentence is not a thesis statement. It does not express a feeling, condition, opinion,
or an attitude. The sentence is a question; it does not declare or tell anything -- it only
asks. This sentence would not give focus to your message for the audience. It would only
pose more questions.
The thesis statement, then, is a complete declarative sentence that expresses an opinion,
condition, value, attitude, or feeling.

Purpose of the thesis

What is the purpose of the thesis sentence in a communication situation? Why is one
necessary? A thesis statement is the focus of the speech, lecture, conversation, or
discussion. It is the main idea or purpose of the entire message, expressed in a single
sentence.
For example:
Topic:
Thesis:

Inflation
Inflation has seriously affected the housing market.

The entire speech, then, should be spent developing the thesis. You should show how the
housing market has been seriously affected by inflation, Every statement, fact, opinion
and example expressed should be concerned with developing the concept that inflation
has affected the housing market.

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Communication Skills (MCM 301)

Appropriateness of the thesis

The thesis must not only be a declarative sentence; it should also be appropriate for the
audience. Formulate a thesis that you are interested in and well informed about, and also
one that will interest and inform the audience. Will the thesis be new and interesting to
them, or are your going to "inform" the audience about something they already know?
Is your thesis appropriate for the occasion and place? A topic and thesis might be
interesting but simply not appropriate for the audience at that particular time. Selecting a
thesis that is inappropriate constitutes a failure to adapt to the audience.

Scope of the thesis

Next ask yourself if the thesis is well designed. You have already partially answered this
question if you have considered the level of interest and of prior information of your
audience.
You should also consider the scope of your thesis sentence. Have you limited the thesis
adequately? Do you have the time and information necessary to discuss the thesis you
have designed? Is your thesis too general and too broad to be of interest or to be
informative to the audience?
For example, you have been assigned to present an 8- to 10-minute persuasive speech.
You select and research your topic. You formulate the thesis: "Inflation is a serious
problem in this country." Is your thesis well designed? No, because the thesis is too broad.
How could you develop and support this thesis in 8 to 10 minutes? The sentence needs to
be limited, and it could be limited in a variety of ways, such as:
Inflation is a serious problem for:
the young married
the farmer
the housewife
The list is endless. How many specific groups can you add to the list?
After thinking of all the possible ways to complete the statement, you can see just how
broad the original thesis is, and how impossible it would be to develop it effectively for
the audience.

Concreteness of the thesis

Besides being limited in scope, a thesis must also be concrete in its wording. For example,
the thesis "Preventive dentistry is good" is, not well designed. This thesis needs to be
more concrete. "Good" is a vague term; it needs definition. A more effective thesis for
our audience might be: Preventive dentistry is an effective means of controlling tooth
decay:" This statement indicates why preventive dentistry is important.

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Communication Skills (MCM 301)

Development of the thesis

After you have formulated your thesis statement, the next step is to develop it by stating
your main points. Suppose your thesis is Improving communication skills are essential
for every business student. What are your reasons for making this statement - good
communication skills help make good presentations, improved communication ensures
future success? Your reasons for believing that improving communication skills are
essential for every business student are your main points and are the means of developing
your speech for the audience.
Your main points should always be:
Clear
Logical
Equal in value
Distinct
Central to the issue

Clarity
Are your main points clearly worded? Have you used simple terms? Are the words
concrete and precise? Are you constructing simple sentences?
It is important to make your reasons clear for the audience. For example, if the thesis
statement is "Everyone should take a first-aid course in high school" a clear reason, stated
concretely in a simple sentence, might be:
Students need courses that have a practical application.
A reason that is not as clear, concrete, or simply constructed would be:
Students need not only theatrical courses, but also they need courses that are
practical and have direct correlation with their lives and immediate situations.
Which statement would the audience more readily understand?

Logic
Are your reasons logical? Will they make sense to the audience? Will they seem
reasonable to them? Will it be apparent to the audience that your reasons follow logically
from your thesis?
If your thesis is "Everyone should take a first-aid course in high school," two logical,
reasonable statements that support the thesis are: "Students need courses that are
relevant," and "Students can learn to save lives." Unreasonable arguments would be:
"The Red Crescent wants you to take the course."

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Communication Skills (MCM 301)

Equal in value
Are your reasons of equal value, or is one statement significantly more important than the
other? Is one statement simply not as important a reason or consideration as the other?
Main points should be of equal importance if at all possible. For example, if the thesis
statement is "Every one should go for a morning walk. Two important reasons might be:
"Walking is a good exercise," and "Walking is good for health." The statement "Walking
is a good exercise because I like it" is neither logical nor as important as the other reasons
for walking.

Distinct
Are your main points distinct from each other, or do some main points restate or overlap
other statements?
For instance, suppose your thesis is "Crimes against women is a serious issue in this
country" Two distinct supporting statements might be: "Teenage gangs are terrorizing
women," and "Women living in big cities are the victim." These points are distinct
because the first emphasizes who is causing the assaults and the second emphasizes the
place where the assaults occur.
Two main points that relate to the same thesis and are not distinct might be: Women are
the victim of terrorism in big cities and Women are seldom hurt in small cities. These
are not distinct statements. They both say the same thing, but from different vantage
points.

Central to the issue

Will the main point answer the central question for the audience? In persuading your
audience to play cricket, you might use as main points that cricket will make you thinner,
healthier, and happier. These reasons are central to the issue. However, if your reasons
for advising a person to play cricket include that cricket is played in different countries
and that Mr. X is an excellent cricket player, your main points are not central to the issue.
In summary, your main points should be statements that are clear, logical, equal in value,
distinct, and central to the issue.

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