how to write the name of a speech in an essay

Speechwriting

8 Purpose and Thesis

Speechwriting Essentials

In this chapter . . .

As discussed in the chapter on Speaking Occasion , speechwriting begins with careful analysis of the speech occasion and its given circumstances, leading to the choice of an appropriate topic. As with essay writing, the early work of speechwriting follows familiar steps: brainstorming, research, pre-writing, thesis, and so on.

This chapter focuses on techniques that are unique to speechwriting. As a spoken form, speeches must be clear  about the purpose and main idea or “takeaway.” Planned redundancy means that you will be repeating these elements several times over during the speech.

Furthermore, finding purpose and thesis are essential whether you’re preparing an outline for extemporaneous delivery or a completely written manuscript for presentation. When you know your topic, your general and specific purpose, and your thesis or central idea, you have all the elements you need to write a speech that is focused, clear, and audience friendly.

Recognizing the General Purpose

Speeches have traditionally been grouped into one of three categories according to their primary purpose: 1) to inform, 2) to persuade, or 3) to inspire, honor, or entertain. These broad goals are commonly known as the  general purpose of a speech . Earlier, you learned about the actor’s tool of intention or objectives. The general purpose is like a super-objective; it defines the broadest goal of a speech. These three purposes are not necessarily exclusive to the others. A speech designed to be persuasive can also be informative and entertaining. However, a speech should have one primary goal. That is its general purpose.

Why is it helpful to talk about speeches in such broad terms? Being perfectly clear about what you want your speech to do or make happen for your audience will keep you focused. You can make a clearer distinction between whether you want your audience to leave your speech knowing more (to inform), or  ready to take action (to persuade), or feeling something (to inspire)

It’s okay to use synonyms for these broad categories. Here are some of them:

• To inform could be to explain, to demonstrate, to describe, to teach.
• To persuade could be to convince, to argue, to motivate, to prove.
• To inspire might be to honor, or entertain, to celebrate, to mourn.

In summary, the first question you must ask yourself when starting to prepare a speech is, “Is the primary purpose of my speech to inform, to persuade, or to inspire?”

Articulating Specific Purpose

A specific purpose statement builds upon your general purpose and makes it specific (as the name suggests). For example, if you have been invited to give a speech about how to do something, your general purpose is “to inform.”  Choosing a topic appropriate to that general purpose, you decide to speak about how to protect a personal from cyberattacks. Now you are on your way to identifying a specific purpose.

A good specific purpose statement has three elements: goal, target audience, and content.

If you think about the above as a kind of recipe, then the first two “ingredients” — your goal and your audience — should be simple. Words describing the target audience should be as specific as possible. Instead of “my peers,” you could say, for example, “students in their senior year at my university.”

The third ingredient in this recipe is content, or what we call the topic of your speech. This is where things get a bit difficult. You want your content to be specific and something that you can express succinctly in a sentence. Here are some common problems that speakers make in defining the content, and the fix:

Now you know the “recipe” for a specific purpose statement. It’s made up of  T o, plus an active W ord, a specific  A udience, and clearly stated  C ontent. Remember this formula: T + W + A + C.

A: for a group of new students

C: the term “plagiarism”

Here are some further examples a good specific purpose statement:

• To explain to a group of first-year students how to join a school organization.
• To persuade the members of the Greek society to take a spring break trip in Daytona Beach.
• To motivate my classmates in English 101 to participate in a study abroad program.
• To convince first-year students that they need at least seven hours of sleep per night to do well in their studies.
• To inspire my Church community about the accomplishments of our pastor.

The General and Specific Purpose Statements are writing tools in the sense that they help you, as a speechwriter, clarify your ideas.

Creating a Thesis Statement

Once you are clear about your general purpose and specific purpose, you can turn your attention to crafting a thesis statement. A thesis is the central idea in an essay or a speech. In speechwriting, the thesis or central idea explains the message of the content. It’s the speech’s “takeaway.” A good thesis statement will also reveal and clarify the ideas or assertions you’ll be addressing in your speech (your main points). Consider this example:

General Purpose: To persuade. Specific Purpose: To motivate my classmates in English 101 to participate in a study abroad program. Thesis: A semester-long study abroad experience produces lifelong benefits by teaching you about another culture, developing your language skills, and enhancing your future career prospects.

The difference between a specific purpose statement and a thesis statement is clear in this example. The thesis provides the takeaway (the lifelong benefits of study abroad). It also points to the assertions that will be addressed in the speech. Like the specific purpose statement, the thesis statement is a writing tool. You’ll incorporate it into your speech, usually as part of the introduction and conclusion.

All good expository, rhetorical, and even narrative writing contains a thesis. Many students and even experienced writers struggle with formulating a thesis. We struggle when we attempt to “come up with something” before doing the necessary research and reflection. A thesis only becomes clear through the thinking and writing process. As you develop your speech content, keep asking yourself: What is important here? If the audience can remember only one thing about this topic, what do I want them to remember?

Example #2: General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To demonstrate to my audience the correct method for cleaning a computer keyboard. Central Idea: Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.

Example # 3 General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: To describe how makeup is done for the TV show The Walking Dead . Central Idea: The wildly popular zombie show The Walking Dead achieves incredibly scary and believable makeup effects, and in the next few minutes I will tell you who does it, what they use, and how they do it.

Notice in the examples above that neither the specific purpose nor the central idea ever exceeds one sentence. If your central idea consists of more than one sentence, then you are probably including too much information.

Problems to Avoid

The first problem many students have in writing their specific purpose statement has already been mentioned: specific purpose statements sometimes try to cover far too much and are too broad. For example:

“To explain to my classmates the history of ballet.”

Aside from the fact that this subject may be difficult for everyone in your audience to relate to, it’s enough for a three-hour lecture, maybe even a whole course. You’ll probably find that your first attempt at a specific purpose statement will need refining. These examples are much more specific and much more manageable given the limited amount of time you’ll have.

• To explain to my classmates how ballet came to be performed and studied in the U.S.
• To explain to my classmates the difference between Russian and French ballet.
• To explain to my classmates how ballet originated as an art form in the Renaissance.
• To explain to my classmates the origin of the ballet dancers’ clothing.

The second problem happens when the “communication verb” in the specific purpose does not match the content; for example, persuasive content is paired with “to inform” or “to explain.” Can you find the errors in the following purpose statements?

• To inform my audience why capital punishment is unconstitutional. (This is persuasive. It can’t be informative since it’s taking a side)
• To persuade my audience about the three types of individual retirement accounts. (Even though the purpose statement says “persuade,” it isn’t persuading the audience of anything. It is informative.)
• To inform my classmates that Universal Studios is a better theme park than Six Flags over Georgia. (This is clearly an opinion; hence it is a persuasive speech and not merely informative)

The third problem exists when the content part of the specific purpose statement has two parts. One specific purpose is enough. These examples cover two different topics.

• To explain to my audience how to swing a golf club and choose the best golf shoes.
• To persuade my classmates to be involved in the Special Olympics and vote to fund better classes for the intellectually disabled.

To fix this problem of combined or hybrid purposes, you’ll need to select one of the topics in these examples and speak on that one alone.

The fourth problem with both specific purpose and central idea statements is related to formatting. There are some general guidelines that need to be followed in terms of how you write out these elements of your speech:

• Don’t write either statement as a question.
• Always use complete sentences for central idea statements and infinitive phrases (beginning with “to”) for the specific purpose statement.
• Use concrete language (“I admire Beyoncé for being a talented performer and businesswoman”) and avoid subjective or slang terms (“My speech is about why I think Beyoncé is the bomb”) or jargon and acronyms (“PLA is better than CBE for adult learners.”)

There are also problems to avoid in writing the central idea statement. As mentioned above, remember that:

• The specific purpose and central idea statements are not the same thing, although they are related.
• The central idea statement should be clear and not complicated or wordy; it should “stand out” to the audience. As you practice delivery, you should emphasize it with your voice.
• The central idea statement should not be the first thing you say but should follow the steps of a good introduction as outlined in the next chapters.

You should be aware that all aspects of your speech are constantly going to change as you move toward the moment of giving your speech. The exact wording of your central idea may change, and you can experiment with different versions for effectiveness. However, your specific purpose statement should not change unless there is a good reason to do so. There are many aspects to consider in the seemingly simple task of writing a specific purpose statement and its companion, the central idea statement. Writing good ones at the beginning will save you some trouble later in the speech preparation process.

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

How to Write a Speech Essay

What Is the Credibility Statement in Writing?

A speech essay is an essay you’re writing to yourself that organizes your thoughts as to what you will say in the speech you’ll deliver. This speech essay is an important preparatory step toward delivering your speech, because you're organizing your thoughts around the dynamic delivery of a speech to an audience and not around a written essay that simply lies on the page. It is this essential distinction that makes the speech essay different from other essays you research and write in class.

Identify the type of speech you will deliver. Know if you will be giving a persuasive speech, an informative speech, a how-to speech, or an analytical or narrative speech. Each type has a different purpose: A persuasive speech tries to convince the audience to accept an idea or take action; an informative speech provides information; a how-to speech explains the steps involved in a process; an analytical speech examines a concept or process; and a narrative speech tells a story.

Determine the goal of the speech. Most speeches have a general goal and a specific goal. The general goal is the basic intent of the speech. For example, decide whether the general goal of the speech is intended to entertain, inform or persuade. The specific goal is a statement that identifies the exact response you hope to obtain from the audience. For example, “I would like the audience to take action to help stop animal experimentation from pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies.”

Conduct the necessary research. You can use your own knowledge and experience when writing the essay. In fact, sharing a personal experience often “touches” the audience because people relate to what you have experienced. Research adds credibility and, of course, research is absolutely necessary if you include statistics, percentages, facts or quotations. Credible sources include publications, websites such as those that end in .org, .edu, .biz and some but not all .com sites and individuals who possess specialized knowledge.

Write the introduction. The introduction has five goals: To get the audience’s attention, to create a bond of goodwill with listeners, to set the tone, to establish the speaker’s credibility and to provide a lead-in to the content, according to Rudolph Verderber and Kathleen Verderber, co-authors of “The Challenge of Effective Speaking.” Introductions can make a startling statement, ask a rhetorical question, tell a relevant story, refer to the audience’s personal experience or use a thought-provoking quotation.

Develop the body. When writing the body -- which is the “meat and potatoes” of the essay – present the main points and subpoints in logical order. You can use topic order or arrange points by categories or divisions. This is the most common order of arrangement for speeches, according to Verderber and Verderber. Time order organizes points chronologically and is most effective for detailing steps in a process or relating a story. Another option is the logical-reasons order, which organizes points by the reasons that support the speaker’s goal and is especially appropriate for persuasive topics.

Write the conclusion. The easiest way to conclude is to restate the main points, but according to Stephen Lucas, author of “The Art of Public Speaking,” you should “conclude with a bang, not a whimper." Conclude with a brief but thought-provoking quotation, make a dramatic statement, pose a provocative question or refer back to the ideas presented in the introduction. Many accomplished orators combine two or more of these methods in their conclusions, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Related Articles

How to Write a Speech Running for City Council

How to Set Up a Rhetorical Analysis

How to Write an Invocation Speech

How to structure a presentation.

How to Write a Rhetoric Speech

How to Write a Critical Analysis of a Speech

How to Write an Outline for a Narrative Speech

How to Do a Acknowledgement Speech

• “The Art of Public Speaking: Sixth Edition”; Stephen E. Lucas; 1998
• “The Challenge of Effective Speaking: Twelfth Edition”; Rudolph F. Verderber and Kathleen S. Verderber; 2003
• Mount Holyoke College.edu: Differences Between Oral and Written Communication

A college instructor for more than 14 years, Carol Rzadkiewicz earned a Master of Arts from the University of West Georgia. She is also a freelance writer and author of three published novels, and her work has appeared in such print publications as “Predicate Magazine” and “The New Review."

How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech

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The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince your audience to agree with an idea or opinion that you present. First, you'll need to choose a side on a controversial topic, then you will write a speech to explain your position, and convince the audience to agree with you.

You can produce an effective persuasive speech if you structure your argument as a solution to a problem. Your first job as a speaker is to convince your audience that a particular problem is important to them, and then you must convince them that you have the solution to make things better.

Note: You don't have to address a real problem. Any need can work as the problem. For example, you could consider the lack of a pet, the need to wash one's hands, or the need to pick a particular sport to play as the "problem."

As an example, let's imagine that you have chosen "Getting Up Early" as your persuasion topic. Your goal will be to persuade classmates to get themselves out of bed an hour earlier every morning. In this instance, the problem could be summed up as "morning chaos."

A standard speech format has an introduction with a great hook statement, three main points, and a summary. Your persuasive speech will be a tailored version of this format.

Before you write the text of your speech, you should sketch an outline that includes your hook statement and three main points.

Writing the Text

The introduction of your speech must be compelling because your audience will make up their minds within a few minutes whether or not they are interested in your topic.

Before you write the full body you should come up with a greeting. Your greeting can be as simple as "Good morning everyone. My name is Frank."

After your greeting, you will offer a hook to capture attention. A hook sentence for the "morning chaos" speech could be a question:

• How many times have you been late for school?
• Does your day begin with shouts and arguments?
• Have you ever missed the bus?

Or your hook could be a statistic or surprising statement:

• More than 50 percent of high school students skip breakfast because they just don't have time to eat.
• Tardy kids drop out of school more often than punctual kids.

Once you have the attention of your audience, follow through to define the topic/problem and introduce your solution. Here's an example of what you might have so far:

Good afternoon, class. Some of you know me, but some of you may not. My name is Frank Godfrey, and I have a question for you. Does your day begin with shouts and arguments? Do you go to school in a bad mood because you've been yelled at, or because you argued with your parent? The chaos you experience in the morning can bring you down and affect your performance at school.

Add the solution:

You can improve your mood and your school performance by adding more time to your morning schedule. You can accomplish this by setting your alarm clock to go off one hour earlier.

Your next task will be to write the body, which will contain the three main points you've come up with to argue your position. Each point will be followed by supporting evidence or anecdotes, and each body paragraph will need to end with a transition statement that leads to the next segment. Here is a sample of three main statements:

• Bad moods caused by morning chaos will affect your workday performance.
• If you skip breakfast to buy time, you're making a harmful health decision.
• (Ending on a cheerful note) You'll enjoy a boost to your self-esteem when you reduce the morning chaos.

After you write three body paragraphs with strong transition statements that make your speech flow, you are ready to work on your summary.

Your summary will re-emphasize your argument and restate your points in slightly different language. This can be a little tricky. You don't want to sound repetitive but will need to repeat what you have said. Find a way to reword the same main points.

Finally, you must make sure to write a clear final sentence or passage to keep yourself from stammering at the end or fading off in an awkward moment. A few examples of graceful exits:

• We all like to sleep. It's hard to get up some mornings, but rest assured that the reward is well worth the effort.
• If you follow these guidelines and make the effort to get up a little bit earlier every day, you'll reap rewards in your home life and on your report card.

Tips for Writing Your Speech

• Don't be confrontational in your argument. You don't need to put down the other side; just convince your audience that your position is correct by using positive assertions.
• Use simple statistics. Don't overwhelm your audience with confusing numbers.
• Don't complicate your speech by going outside the standard "three points" format. While it might seem simplistic, it is a tried and true method for presenting to an audience who is listening as opposed to reading.
• How to Write a Persuasive Essay
• 5 Tips on How to Write a Speech Essay
• Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
• Writing an Opinion Essay
• How To Write an Essay
• 5 Steps to Writing a Position Paper
• How to Structure an Essay
• Ethos, Logos, Pathos for Persuasion
• What Is Expository Writing?
• Audience Analysis in Speech and Composition
• Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition
• 100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students
• What an Essay Is and How to Write One
• How to Write a Good Thesis Statement
• How to Write a Graduation Speech as Valedictorian
• How to Write a Letter of Complaint

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How to Write a Strong Title for an Argumentative Essay

Last Updated: June 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 165,171 times.

In most cases, a title for an essay is only required for college papers. A title for an argumentative essay isn't much different than a title for any other essay. You need to present what your essay is about in phrase form, as well as provide a hook to encourage the reader to read your essay. One main difference is you also need to make sure you establish your stance on the subject, so the reader knows where your argument is headed from the beginning. In order to create a strong title, you should write your essay before coming up with a title for it.

Summarizing Your Ideas

• Also, read through your paper. Start making notes on the main ideas. If you organized your paper well, you should have the paper divided into several main ideas.
• Write down any ideas you have about what you think should go in your title.

• In most cases, your thesis, or a version of it, is the best summary for the essay. The thesis should be stated at the end of your introduction, and perhaps restated at the beginning of your conclusion as well.
• Try to get it down to one sentence if possible, such as, "Soup is significantly more flavorful when made with stock than when made with water."

• For instance, if you wrote a paper on why soup is better when made with stock than water, think about what words are essential to that paper.
• Your list of keywords might include "soup," "stock," and "flavor," as an example.

Creating a Title

• Also, think about the tone of your essay. If it's lighthearted, a lighthearted title will fit. For instance, an essay on stock and chicken soup lends itself to lightheartedness.
• However, if your essay is very serious, stick to a serious title. For instance, if you're trying to convince people that poverty needs to end, that's a pretty serious topic and needs a serious title.

• Read over your paper. You can use this opportunity to proofread while you look for a good sentence.
• Write out any sentence that may work. For instance, one sentence that might work is "Soup is delicious, but it is even more delicious when made with stock."
• Shorten it up to work as a title: "Soup Is More Flavorful With Stock."

• For instance, you could write, "Why Does Stock Make Soup So Flavorful?" That establishes your topic, as well as invites your reader into your paper.
• Just be sure you are answering the question you propose.
• Choose a different question than the one you used for your hook, if applicable.

• Come up with something that is contrasting or surprising. A concrete image works well, meaning something that invokes the senses. For instance, you could write something like "The Flavor of Boiled Chicken Bones Is the Best for Soup."
• People don't necessarily think bones are tasty, but they are used to create your flavorful broth. Therefore, it's a bit surprising, but it plays into your essay.
• Try to create a title that is both short and sweet.

• As an example, a pun you could use would be "Use Your Backbone to Make Soup." "Backbone" is a play both on the fact that you're using stock (made from bones) and that you need to use your backbone to stand up for stock.
• As for a saying, you could use something like "Chicken Soup: Only the Opiate of the Masses If Made With Stock." "Opiate of the masses" is a reference to Karl Marx and will attract attention.

Finessing Your Title

• That is, move words around to see if you can make a better statement.
• Try mixing and matching among titles that you like. Pick the parts you like best.

• For instance, if you are discussing a specific type of soup, add that in: "Chicken Stock Makes the Best Chicken Soup."
• If you are specifically talking about homemade stock, add that in "Homemade Chicken Stock Makes the Best Chicken Soup."
• If possible, try to give the reader just an idea of which side you plan to argue in favor of in the essay.

• The most common method is putting the creative part first as the main title, followed by the informative part in the subtitle. However, you can do it either way.
• For example, you could write: "Use Your Backbone: Why You Should Advocate for Stock in Soup."
• If the titles are on the same line, separate them by a colon. If not, you don't need the colon.

• Compare your title to the list you made earlier.

• In the case of an argumentative essay, that not only means that you've presented what your topic is but also what your stance on that topic is.
• Try it out on a parent. Ask her what she thinks the paper is about from your title.

• The exception to this rule is very common abbreviations or abbreviations that are appropriate for your audience.
• For instance, using "HIV" probably wouldn't confuse your readers.

Community Q&A

• It can be helpful to look up titles of articles and essays for reference. Check major websites or networks for examples of effective titles. Remember to avoid “clickbait,” though! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf
• ↑ https://umanitoba.ca/student/academiclearning/media/Writing_a_Great_Title_NEW.pdf
• ↑ https://www.esu.edu/writing-studio/guides/hook.cfm
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-a-great-title-.html
• ↑ http://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title

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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

• The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
• Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
• Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

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How to write a speech that your audience remembers

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Whether in a work meeting or at an investor panel, you might give a speech at some point. And no matter how excited you are about the opportunity, the experience can be nerve-wracking . 

But feeling butterflies doesn’t mean you can’t give a great speech. With the proper preparation and a clear outline, apprehensive public speakers and natural wordsmiths alike can write and present a compelling message. Here’s how to write a good speech you’ll be proud to deliver.

What is good speech writing?

Good speech writing is the art of crafting words and ideas into a compelling, coherent, and memorable message that resonates with the audience. Here are some key elements of great speech writing:

• It begins with clearly understanding the speech's purpose and the audience it seeks to engage. 
• A well-written speech clearly conveys its central message, ensuring that the audience understands and retains the key points. 
• It is structured thoughtfully, with a captivating opening, a well-organized body, and a conclusion that reinforces the main message. 
• Good speech writing embraces the power of engaging content, weaving in stories, examples, and relatable anecdotes to connect with the audience on both intellectual and emotional levels. 

Ultimately, it is the combination of these elements, along with the authenticity and delivery of the speaker , that transforms words on a page into a powerful and impactful spoken narrative.

What makes a good speech?

A great speech includes several key qualities, but three fundamental elements make a speech truly effective:

Clarity and purpose

Remembering the audience, cohesive structure.

While other important factors make a speech a home run, these three elements are essential for writing an effective speech.

The main elements of a good speech

The main elements of a speech typically include:

• Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your speech and grabs the audience's attention. It should include a hook or attention-grabbing opening, introduce the topic, and provide an overview of what will be covered.
• Opening/captivating statement: This is a strong statement that immediately engages the audience and creates curiosity about the speech topics.
• Thesis statement/central idea: The thesis statement or central idea is a concise statement that summarizes the main point or argument of your speech. It serves as a roadmap for the audience to understand what your speech is about.
• Body: The body of the speech is where you elaborate on your main points or arguments. Each point is typically supported by evidence, examples, statistics, or anecdotes. The body should be organized logically and coherently, with smooth transitions between the main points.
• Supporting evidence: This includes facts, data, research findings, expert opinions, or personal stories that support and strengthen your main points. Well-chosen and credible evidence enhances the persuasive power of your speech.
• Transitions: Transitions are phrases or statements that connect different parts of your speech, guiding the audience from one idea to the next. Effective transitions signal the shifts in topics or ideas and help maintain a smooth flow throughout the speech.
• Counterarguments and rebuttals (if applicable): If your speech involves addressing opposing viewpoints or counterarguments, you should acknowledge and address them. Presenting counterarguments makes your speech more persuasive and demonstrates critical thinking.
• Conclusion: The conclusion is the final part of your speech and should bring your message to a satisfying close. Summarize your main points, restate your thesis statement, and leave the audience with a memorable closing thought or call to action.
• Closing statement: This is the final statement that leaves a lasting impression and reinforces the main message of your speech. It can be a call to action, a thought-provoking question, a powerful quote, or a memorable anecdote.
• Delivery and presentation: How you deliver your speech is also an essential element to consider. Pay attention to your tone, body language, eye contact , voice modulation, and timing. Practice and rehearse your speech, and try using the 7-38-55 rule to ensure confident and effective delivery.

While the order and emphasis of these elements may vary depending on the type of speech and audience, these elements provide a framework for organizing and delivering a successful speech.

How to structure a good speech

You know what message you want to transmit, who you’re delivering it to, and even how you want to say it. But you need to know how to start, develop, and close a speech before writing it. 

Think of a speech like an essay. It should have an introduction, conclusion, and body sections in between. This places ideas in a logical order that the audience can better understand and follow them. Learning how to make a speech with an outline gives your storytelling the scaffolding it needs to get its point across.

Here’s a general speech structure to guide your writing process:

• Explanation 1
• Explanation 2
• Explanation 3

How to write a compelling speech opener

Some research shows that engaged audiences pay attention for only 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Other estimates are even lower, citing that people stop listening intently in fewer than 10 minutes . If you make a good first impression at the beginning of your speech, you have a better chance of interesting your audience through the middle when attention spans fade. 

Implementing the INTRO model can help grab and keep your audience’s attention as soon as you start speaking. This acronym stands for interest, need, timing, roadmap, and objectives, and it represents the key points you should hit in an opening. 

Here’s what to include for each of these points: 

• Interest : Introduce yourself or your topic concisely and speak with confidence . Write a compelling opening statement using relevant data or an anecdote that the audience can relate to.
• Needs : The audience is listening to you because they have something to learn. If you’re pitching a new app idea to a panel of investors, those potential partners want to discover more about your product and what they can earn from it. Read the room and gently remind them of the purpose of your speech. 
• Timing : When appropriate, let your audience know how long you’ll speak. This lets listeners set expectations and keep tabs on their own attention span. If a weary audience member knows you’ll talk for 40 minutes, they can better manage their energy as that time goes on. 
• Routemap : Give a brief overview of the three main points you’ll cover in your speech. If an audience member’s attention starts to drop off and they miss a few sentences, they can more easily get their bearings if they know the general outline of the presentation.
• Objectives : Tell the audience what you hope to achieve, encouraging them to listen to the end for the payout. 

Writing the middle of a speech

The body of your speech is the most information-dense section. Facts, visual aids, PowerPoints — all this information meets an audience with a waning attention span. Sticking to the speech structure gives your message focus and keeps you from going off track, making everything you say as useful as possible.

Limit the middle of your speech to three points, and support them with no more than three explanations. Following this model organizes your thoughts and prevents you from offering more information than the audience can retain. 

Using this section of the speech to make your presentation interactive can add interest and engage your audience. Try including a video or demonstration to break the monotony. A quick poll or survey also keeps the audience on their toes. 

Wrapping the speech up

To you, restating your points at the end can feel repetitive and dull. You’ve practiced countless times and heard it all before. But repetition aids memory and learning , helping your audience retain what you’ve told them. Use your speech’s conclusion to summarize the main points with a few short sentences.

Try to end on a memorable note, like posing a motivational quote or a thoughtful question the audience can contemplate once they leave. In proposal or pitch-style speeches, consider landing on a call to action (CTA) that invites your audience to take the next step.

How to write a good speech

If public speaking gives you the jitters, you’re not alone. Roughly 80% of the population feels nervous before giving a speech, and another 10% percent experiences intense anxiety and sometimes even panic. 

The fear of failure can cause procrastination and can cause you to put off your speechwriting process until the last minute. Finding the right words takes time and preparation, and if you’re already feeling nervous, starting from a blank page might seem even harder.

But putting in the effort despite your stress is worth it. Presenting a speech you worked hard on fosters authenticity and connects you to the subject matter, which can help your audience understand your points better. Human connection is all about honesty and vulnerability, and if you want to connect to the people you’re speaking to, they should see that in you.

1. Identify your objectives and target audience

Before diving into the writing process, find healthy coping strategies to help you stop worrying . Then you can define your speech’s purpose, think about your target audience, and start identifying your objectives. Here are some questions to ask yourself and ground your thinking : 

• What purpose do I want my speech to achieve? 
• What would it mean to me if I achieved the speech’s purpose?
• What audience am I writing for? 
• What do I know about my audience? 
• What values do I want to transmit? 
• If the audience remembers one take-home message, what should it be? 
• What do I want my audience to feel, think, or do after I finish speaking? 
• What parts of my message could be confusing and require further explanation?

2. Know your audience

Understanding your audience is crucial for tailoring your speech effectively. Consider the demographics of your audience, their interests, and their expectations. For instance, if you're addressing a group of healthcare professionals, you'll want to use medical terminology and data that resonate with them. Conversely, if your audience is a group of young students, you'd adjust your content to be more relatable to their experiences and interests. 

3. Choose a clear message

Your message should be the central idea that you want your audience to take away from your speech. Let's say you're giving a speech on climate change. Your clear message might be something like, "Individual actions can make a significant impact on mitigating climate change." Throughout your speech, all your points and examples should support this central message, reinforcing it for your audience.

4. Structure your speech

Organizing your speech properly keeps your audience engaged and helps them follow your ideas. The introduction should grab your audience's attention and introduce the topic. For example, if you're discussing space exploration, you could start with a fascinating fact about a recent space mission. In the body, you'd present your main points logically, such as the history of space exploration, its scientific significance, and future prospects. Finally, in the conclusion, you'd summarize your key points and reiterate the importance of space exploration in advancing human knowledge.

5. Use engaging content for clarity

Engaging content includes stories, anecdotes, statistics, and examples that illustrate your main points. For instance, if you're giving a speech about the importance of reading, you might share a personal story about how a particular book changed your perspective. You could also include statistics on the benefits of reading, such as improved cognitive abilities and empathy.

6. Maintain clarity and simplicity

It's essential to communicate your ideas clearly. Avoid using overly technical jargon or complex language that might confuse your audience. For example, if you're discussing a medical breakthrough with a non-medical audience, explain complex terms in simple, understandable language.

7. Practice and rehearse

Practice is key to delivering a great speech. Rehearse multiple times to refine your delivery, timing, and tone. Consider using a mirror or recording yourself to observe your body language and gestures. For instance, if you're giving a motivational speech, practice your gestures and expressions to convey enthusiasm and confidence.

8. Consider nonverbal communication

Your body language, tone of voice, and gestures should align with your message . If you're delivering a speech on leadership, maintain strong eye contact to convey authority and connection with your audience. A steady pace and varied tone can also enhance your speech's impact.

9. Engage your audience

Engaging your audience keeps them interested and attentive. Encourage interaction by asking thought-provoking questions or sharing relatable anecdotes. If you're giving a speech on teamwork, ask the audience to recall a time when teamwork led to a successful outcome, fostering engagement and connection.

10. Prepare for Q&A

Anticipate potential questions or objections your audience might have and prepare concise, well-informed responses. If you're delivering a speech on a controversial topic, such as healthcare reform, be ready to address common concerns, like the impact on healthcare costs or access to services, during the Q&A session.

By following these steps and incorporating examples that align with your specific speech topic and purpose, you can craft and deliver a compelling and impactful speech that resonates with your audience.

Tools for writing a great speech

There are several helpful tools available for speechwriting, both technological and communication-related. Here are a few examples:

• Word processing software: Tools like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other word processors provide a user-friendly environment for writing and editing speeches. They offer features like spell-checking, grammar correction, formatting options, and easy revision tracking.
• Presentation software: Software such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides is useful when creating visual aids to accompany your speech. These tools allow you to create engaging slideshows with text, images, charts, and videos to enhance your presentation.
• Speechwriting Templates: Online platforms or software offer pre-designed templates specifically for speechwriting. These templates provide guidance on structuring your speech and may include prompts for different sections like introductions, main points, and conclusions.
• Rhetorical devices and figures of speech: Rhetorical tools such as metaphors, similes, alliteration, and parallelism can add impact and persuasion to your speech. Resources like books, websites, or academic papers detailing various rhetorical devices can help you incorporate them effectively.
• Speechwriting apps: Mobile apps designed specifically for speechwriting can be helpful in organizing your thoughts, creating outlines, and composing a speech. These apps often provide features like voice recording, note-taking, and virtual prompts to keep you on track.
• Grammar and style checkers: Online tools or plugins like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor help improve the clarity and readability of your speech by checking for grammar, spelling, and style errors. They provide suggestions for sentence structure, word choice, and overall tone.
• Thesaurus and dictionary: Online or offline resources such as thesauruses and dictionaries help expand your vocabulary and find alternative words or phrases to express your ideas more effectively. They can also clarify meanings or provide context for unfamiliar terms.
• Online speechwriting communities: Joining online forums or communities focused on speechwriting can be beneficial for getting feedback, sharing ideas, and learning from experienced speechwriters. It's an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and improve your public speaking skills through collaboration.

Remember, while these tools can assist in the speechwriting process, it's essential to use them thoughtfully and adapt them to your specific needs and style. The most important aspect of speechwriting remains the creativity, authenticity, and connection with your audience that you bring to your speech.

5 tips for writing a speech

Behind every great speech is an excellent idea and a speaker who refined it. But a successful speech is about more than the initial words on the page, and there are a few more things you can do to help it land.

Here are five more tips for writing and practicing your speech:

1. Structure first, write second

If you start the writing process before organizing your thoughts, you may have to re-order, cut, and scrap the sentences you worked hard on. Save yourself some time by using a speech structure, like the one above, to order your talking points first. This can also help you identify unclear points or moments that disrupt your flow.

2. Do your homework

Data strengthens your argument with a scientific edge. Research your topic with an eye for attention-grabbing statistics, or look for findings you can use to support each point. If you’re pitching a product or service, pull information from company metrics that demonstrate past or potential successes. 

Audience members will likely have questions, so learn all talking points inside and out. If you tell investors that your product will provide 12% returns, for example, come prepared with projections that support that statement.

3. Sound like yourself

Memorable speakers have distinct voices. Think of Martin Luther King Jr’s urgent, inspiring timbre or Oprah’s empathetic, personal tone . Establish your voice — one that aligns with your personality and values — and stick with it. If you’re a motivational speaker, keep your tone upbeat to inspire your audience . If you’re the CEO of a startup, try sounding assured but approachable. 

4. Practice

As you practice a speech, you become more confident , gain a better handle on the material, and learn the outline so well that unexpected questions are less likely to trip you up. Practice in front of a colleague or friend for honest feedback about what you could change, and speak in front of the mirror to tweak your nonverbal communication and body language .

5. Remember to breathe

When you’re stressed, you breathe more rapidly . It can be challenging to talk normally when you can’t regulate your breath. Before your presentation, try some mindful breathing exercises so that when the day comes, you already have strategies that will calm you down and remain present . This can also help you control your voice and avoid speaking too quickly.

How to ghostwrite a great speech for someone else

Ghostwriting a speech requires a unique set of skills, as you're essentially writing a piece that will be delivered by someone else. Here are some tips on how to effectively ghostwrite a speech:

• Understand the speaker's voice and style : Begin by thoroughly understanding the speaker's personality, speaking style, and preferences. This includes their tone, humor, and any personal anecdotes they may want to include.
• Interview the speaker : Have a detailed conversation with the speaker to gather information about their speech's purpose, target audience, key messages, and any specific points they want to emphasize. Ask for personal stories or examples they may want to include.
• Research thoroughly : Research the topic to ensure you have a strong foundation of knowledge. This helps you craft a well-informed and credible speech.
• Create an outline : Develop a clear outline that includes the introduction, main points, supporting evidence, and a conclusion. Share this outline with the speaker for their input and approval.
• Write in the speaker's voice : While crafting the speech, maintain the speaker's voice and style. Use language and phrasing that feel natural to them. If they have a particular way of expressing ideas, incorporate that into the speech.
• Craft a captivating opening : Begin the speech with a compelling opening that grabs the audience's attention. This could be a relevant quote, an interesting fact, a personal anecdote, or a thought-provoking question.
• Organize content logically : Ensure the speech flows logically, with each point building on the previous one. Use transitions to guide the audience from one idea to the next smoothly.
• Incorporate engaging stories and examples : Include anecdotes, stories, and real-life examples that illustrate key points and make the speech relatable and memorable.
• Edit and revise : Edit the speech carefully for clarity, grammar, and coherence. Ensure the speech is the right length and aligns with the speaker's time constraints.
• Seek feedback : Share drafts of the speech with the speaker for their feedback and revisions. They may have specific changes or additions they'd like to make.
• Practice delivery : If possible, work with the speaker on their delivery. Practice the speech together, allowing the speaker to become familiar with the content and your writing style.
• Maintain confidentiality : As a ghostwriter, it's essential to respect the confidentiality and anonymity of the work. Do not disclose that you wrote the speech unless you have the speaker's permission to do so.
• Be flexible : Be open to making changes and revisions as per the speaker's preferences. Your goal is to make them look good and effectively convey their message.
• Meet deadlines : Stick to agreed-upon deadlines for drafts and revisions. Punctuality and reliability are essential in ghostwriting.
• Provide support : Support the speaker during their preparation and rehearsal process. This can include helping with cue cards, speech notes, or any other materials they need.

Remember that successful ghostwriting is about capturing the essence of the speaker while delivering a well-structured and engaging speech. Collaboration, communication, and adaptability are key to achieving this.

Give your best speech yet

Learn how to make a speech that’ll hold an audience’s attention by structuring your thoughts and practicing frequently. Put the effort into writing and preparing your content, and aim to improve your breathing, eye contact , and body language as you practice. The more you work on your speech, the more confident you’ll become.

The energy you invest in writing an effective speech will help your audience remember and connect to every concept. Remember: some life-changing philosophies have come from good speeches, so give your words a chance to resonate with others. You might even change their thinking.

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / How to Cite Sources / How to Cite “I Have a Dream” Speech

How to Cite “I Have a Dream” Speech

One of the most iconic and prolific speeches ever delivered in US history is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Dr. King spoke in front of a quarter of a million people during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In a speech that lasted  17 minutes, Dr. King shared his vision and desire for equal civil rights for African Americans.

Quickly cite a speech using our online form here .

Millions of websites display a full transcript of Dr. King’s speech, and YouTube views also rack up into the millions. With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day upon us, it’s possible your teacher or professor asked you to use Dr. King’s famous speech in your work. If you’re unsure how to cite Dr. King’s speech, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Included on this page are instructions to cite Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in MLA 9 format, APA 7 format, and Chicago format.

To cite a transcript of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech found online, you’ll need the following pieces of information:

• Speaker’s first and last name
• Speech title
• Website title (if applicable)
• Website’s publisher (if different from the website’s title)
• Publication date (for a speech transcript)
• Date the speech was delivered
• URL of the website where the speech’s transcript or recording was found
• Event where the speech was delivered
• Location of the event

Remember, citations help readers find the exact source used. While there are numerous transcripts of Dr. King’s speech available online, your goal is to help the reader easily understand and locate the same exact source you used for your project. Why? This speech could appear in different formats on various sites.

Structure to cite “I Have a Dream” speech in MLA 9:

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Event/Forum Name, Date, Location, City Name.

King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream.” March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC.

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in MLA 9:

Speaker’s Last name, First name. “Title of Speech Transcript.” Website Name , Publisher of the Website (only include if it’s different than the name of the website), Speech Date, URL (remove https:// or https://). Transcript.

You’ll notice elements of an MLA website citation , but with additional information on the speaker.

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in MLA 9:

King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr; August 28, 1963.” The Avalon Project , Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, 2008, www.avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp. Transcript.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation in MLA 9:

(Speaker’s Last Name)

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in APA 7:

Speaker Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Speech).  Title of speech  [Speech transcript]. Website Name. URL

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in APA citation format :

King, M.L., Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream [Speech transcript]. The Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp

Here’s an example of how to cite a speech in an in-text citation in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Last Name, Year)

(King, 1963)

Narrative: Last Name (Year)

King (1963)

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in the Note-Bibliography format of Chicago Style (17th ed):

• Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Title of Speech,” Date of speech, Location of speech, Medium, information on where to find the transcript: Website Name, Website Publisher’s Name, URL.

Bibliography

Speaker Last Name, First Name. “Title of Speech.” Date of Speech. Location of Speech. Medium. Information on where to find the transcript: Website Name, Website Publisher’s Name, URL.

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” in Chicago’s note-bibliography style:

• Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, Transcript, The Avalon Project, Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” August 28, 1963. Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, Transcript. The Avalon Project, Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp.

Trying to cite Dr. King’s speech from a YouTube or Vimeo video? Maybe you need a parenthetical citation definition ? Or maybe you are trying to learn the basics. For all of the above, try our citation tools at easybib.com .

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To cite a recorded speech in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the speaker, title of the speech, date the speech was given/published, the website where the speech was accessed, and the URL. Templates and examples for how to cite a recorded speech in APA and MLA styles are included below.

APA reference list entry

Speaker’s Surname, F. M. (Date speech was given). Title of the speech [Description]. Publisher of recording. URL

Roosevelt, F. D. (1933, March 12). First fireside chat [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html

MLA works cited list entry

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the Speech/Recording.” Year speech was given (if different than recording). Website Hosting Recorded Speech , uploaded by Account Name (if applicable), date recording was published, URL.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “First Fireside Chat.” 1933. American Rhetoric , 26 Feb. 2017, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html.

To cite a famous speech in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the speaker, title of the speech, date the speech was given, website where the speech was accessed, and the URL. Templates and examples for how to cite a famous speech in APA and MLA styles are included below.

Speaker’s Surname, F. M. (Date speech was given). Title of the speech [Description]. Website Where Speech Was Accessed. URL

Long, H. P. (1934, February 23). Every man a king — Radio speech to the nation [Transcript]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongking.htm

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the Speech.” Year speech was given. Website Where Speech Was Accessed , date webpage was published, URL. Transcript (if applicable).

Long, Huey P. “Every Man a King — Radio Speech To The Nation.” 1934. American Rhetoric , 26 Feb. 2017, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongking.htm. Transcript.

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Essays About Your Name: Top 5 Examples and 6 Prompts

Every person’s name is special. Read the following essays about your name for examples and prompts to discover how you can create a thoughtful and personal piece.

Whether given or chosen, names have a powerful hold over each person. They can be curious mysteries, reminders of painful pasts, fond monikers, or personal treasures. Like our faintest scars and mental states, they also have deep histories ingrained into our very being. They can become means by which we trace our ancestors, create opportunities, or cherish our present situations. Your name is more than a means of calling your attention. It can convey an abstract idea of your personhood, experiences, and beliefs.

For example, what comes to mind when you hear the name Marilyn Monroe ? Most people think of the iconic blond bombshell from the 1950s to the early 1960s. Depending on how much you know about her, you may know her as a bright and determined woman or a sweet but ditzy character, which she often played in TV and film roles. Her name alone indicates her accolades, skills, and perceived personality.

5 Essay Examples

1. long essay on what’s in a name by prasanna, 2. the story of my name by rong xiaoqing, 3. the mystery of carl miller by sarah miller, 4. name and identity by jennifer wang, 5. call you by your name by roxanne krystalli, 1. the power of nicknames, 2. my unique and interesting name, 3. what it’s like being named after popular people, 4. why i chose this nickname, 5. cultural names and their meanings, 6. my name if i were from a different place.

“In a deep sense what creates the true meaning and power of a name is the worth of the individual or thing as reflected in the outer world.”

Prasanna divides her essay into three parts, explaining how people receive their names, how these monikers affect their identities, and how powerful names can be. The essay title was lifted from William Shakespeare’s “ Romeo and Juliet ,” reiterating Juliet’s profound line, “What’s in a name? What we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This script refers to the reality that names’ importance is directly related to the unique qualities someone possesses.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

“Those who read my name did not know how to pronounce it, and those who heard it did not know how to write it.”

Rong shares her struggles of being a Chinese American and the complications of her name. Her name contains two of the most complicated Chinese characters that she found difficult to write when she was young, plus it was hard to pronounce in English. However, when Rong learned the meaning of her name, she fell in love with it.

In the next section of her essay, she talks about instances where names are more than names, referring to cases such as a parent losing custody of their children for giving them Nazi names. Rong also includes relevant studies that connect names and race and the times people deliberately mispronounced her name to be cruel. She concludes that she’s still growing and has all the time in the world to learn more about herself.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about names and essays about self .

“The last name Miller says nothing about me, but if pressed I would say I appreciate the way it evokes a beautiful neutrality, and the way it reminds me that all of us could so easily have been someone else.”

The author, Sarah Miller, only knows part of the story behind her ancestors. In her essay, she shares a few facts about her father’s birth and what she knew of her grandmother, then she recalls how she often asked about her grandfather, Carl Miller. The essay focuses on the author’s curiosity about Carl Miller and her emotional journey about accepting that she might never learn more about him.

“No others show me being stretched between two very different cultures and places—the ‘Jennifer’ clashing with the ‘Wang,’ the ‘Wang’ fighting with the ‘Jennifer.’”

In this short essay, Wang describes her internal confusion between her two cultures, disclosing how she struggles to be in the United States as a Chinese woman. She remembers how she wandered toy aisles looking for dolls with the same skin tone as hers and how she turned to shun her Asian heritage because she didn’t understand it. While the essay centers around Wang trying to introduce herself, her writing echoes the dilemma many young immigrants still face today.

“By the time I went to college, Roxani had been left behind. I was fully Roxanne by then, until one day my roommate beckoned: “Rooooox, do you want to watch an episode of something with me?” My father had an aversion to nicknames and never called me anything short of my full name: Roxani.”

Krystalli talks about how her name transitioned from the Greek Roxani to Roxanne to several other variations and then back again. She shares her life experiences and thoughts about these names as she grew up and gained new monikers. By the end of her essay, Krystalli tells the reader how she yearns to become Roxani again and reconnect with her Greek roots.

6 Prompts for Writing Essays About Your Name

Your nickname has a history that is as unique as yours. Nicknames are unpredictable and can sometimes be challenging to accept. For example, some children often pick nicknames based on their peer’s appearance, particularly if something stands out to them. However, nicknames can often be a sign of affection; naming someone with a nickname can be a way to show your friendship and close bond.

With this prompt, share how you dealt with any given nicknames you didn’t like. You can also speak about a short backstory of how others chose these nicknames. Explain your thoughts when you felt like you had no choice but to take other people’s nicknames for you. 

Whether your parents got creative in naming you or you chose a one-of-a-kind name for yourself, those with unique names share distinct experiences. For example, people may rarely pronounce or read it correctly. Others may have difficulty spelling your name when they need to write it down. 

In this prompt, share your experiences that connect to your unique name. Talk about the most interesting and memorable instances you remember and if you expect them to happen again.

If your parents are die-hard fans and decided to name you after their favorite book character, musician, or public figure, your name can feel like a borrowed one. Although some enjoy sharing names with well-known people, others would rather have a unique name. 

Delve into people’s reactions when they learn your name in your essay. Discuss how you’ve handled their jokes, or share the questions you already anticipate once they realize where your name came from.

Your name can change people’s perception of you, and choosing a nickname gives you control over that. This prompt is excellent if you have a nickname that has no connection with your given name. It’s also a great conversation starter. In your essay, explain why you chose that moniker and what it means to you. 

You can also add how people reacted before and after they learned the history of it. Your nickname doesn’t have to have a deep history. It can be as simple as earning the nickname “Cookie” because you like to eat cookies.

In some cultures, people still practice giving traditional names or nicknames to children, and you may belong to a culture that does the same. If you want to share this experience with your readers, discuss your name in this essay. Explain the language your name comes from, what it means, and why you received it. You can also give other examples, like the nicknames of your siblings, cousins, or ancestors.

Appreciation of another culture can push us to ponder what we’ll be called if we were from that group. If you’ve had an intense interest and appreciation for another culture or country, you may have already thought about how you want to be addressed. Share the name you chose, its meaning, and why you picked it. This also extends to fictional or fantasy worlds or cultures. 

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead. For help picking your next essay topic, check out our 20 engaging essay topics about family .

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Student Opinion

To Whom Would You Write an Open Letter?

A politician or a celebrity? A leader of a company? A school administrator? Your mom? Use our questions below to brainstorm ideas for our contest.

By Katherine Schulten and Natalie Proulx

What’s bothering you? Who could do something about it? What could you say that would persuade that person to care or to make change?

And what if we all read your letter? How could you make us care, too?

These are some of the questions we’re asking you to ponder for our new Open Letter Contest . An open letter is a published letter of protest or appeal usually addressed to an individual, group or institution but intended for the general public. Think of the many “Dear Taylor Swift” open letters you can find online and on social media: Sure, they’re written to Ms. Swift, but they’re really a way for the writer to share opinions and feelings on feminism, or ticket sales, or the music industry, or … the list goes on.

We’re inviting you to do this, too. Write your own open letter, to anyone you like on any issue you care about, as long as it is also appropriate and meaningful for a general New York Times audience.

To whom should you write? What should you say?

Take a look at a few examples that have been published in The Times over the years. (In The Times, open letters often appear in the Opinion section since they are persuasive essays written in the form of letters, as you’ll see.)

For instance, sometimes an open letter is intended to call someone out publicly, like this one written to Mark Zuckerberg , the chief executive of Facebook (now Meta), by the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in 2019. Here is how it begins:

Mark, In 2010, I wrote “The Social Network” and I know you wish I hadn’t. You protested that the film was inaccurate and that Hollywood didn’t understand that some people build things just for the sake of building them. (We do understand that — we do it every day.) I didn’t push back on your public accusation that the movie was a lie because I’d had my say in the theaters, but you and I both know that the screenplay was vetted to within an inch of its life by a team of studio lawyers with one client and one goal: Don’t get sued by Mark Zuckerberg. It was hard not to feel the irony while I was reading excerpts from your recent speech at Georgetown University, in which you defended — on free speech grounds — Facebook’s practice of posting demonstrably false ads from political candidates. I admire your deep belief in free speech. I get a lot of use out of the First Amendment. Most important, it’s a bedrock of our democracy and it needs to be kept strong. But this can’t possibly be the outcome you and I want, to have crazy lies pumped into the water supply that corrupt the most important decisions we make together. Lies that have a very real and incredibly dangerous effect on our elections and our lives and our children’s lives.

But an open letter doesn’t have to be written by someone famous to someone famous. In An Open Letter to the Woman Who Told My Family to Go Back to China (student version; here is the original ), the journalist Michael Luo addresses an anonymous woman on the street. It begins:

Dear Madam: Maybe I should have let it go. Turned the other cheek. We had just gotten out of church, and I was with my family and some friends on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We were going to lunch, trying to see if there was room in the Korean restaurant down the street. You were in a rush. It was raining. Our stroller and a gaggle of Asians were in your way. But I was, honestly, stunned when you yelled at us from down the block, “Go back to China!”

Open letters can also honor and thank someone, and call attention to the continued importance of their work. In 2017, at the end of Barack Obama’s tenure as president, the rapper T.I. wrote him an open letter :

You entered humbly into our worlds from the streets of the South Side of Chicago and galvanized a generation. You resonated from the barbershops to the airwaves to the streets of every hood across America. Many of US did not know your name, nor did we truly understand the impact you would have on the world in the years, months and days that followed. As I reflect, I am filled with gratitude, outrage, grief, anger, humility and appreciation, both for the things you helped bring to light and the many things we still have yet to realize.

Or they can inspire and motivate, as the columnist Timothy Egan’s letter “ Dear Graduate ,” from 2009, does. Here’s an excerpt:

Eat a hot dog. With lots of mustard. The kind you can get for two dollars from street vendors just outside the ballpark, a trick I picked up from Ash Green, gentleman editor at Alfred A. Knopf. He passed this wisdom on before the recession. While we’re on the subject: Learn to cook, something they don’t teach at fancy-pants colleges. Millions for quantum physics and deconstructing Dostoevsky, nothing on how to make enchiladas for 20 people. At times, your life will have moments, days, even weeks of despair. Trust me: there is no bout of blues that a rich Bolognese sauce, filling every cubic inch of kitchen air, cannot cure. And that brings me to: Take risks. I don’t mean ski the double diamond runs, ask for a card in blackjack with 15 showing and the dealer holding a king, or hit a high note in a karaoke bar, while sober. That goes without saying.

Students, read the open letters above, and then tell us: To whom would you most like to write an open letter?

Here are some questions that can help you brainstorm which audience you might want to address:

Is there someone famous who has made you mad, or has intrigued or impressed you? Or someone to whom you’d like to offer your expertise, advice or opinion? Like a politician, an athlete, a leader of a corporation, an artist or an entertainer?

Is there a powerful person or institution that you’d like to call out publicly? Someone who you believe needs to be held accountable in some way? What have they done that you think others need to know about?

Is there a person or group you would like to inspire or motivate to take action? What is it that you want them to consider, reflect on or do?

Is there someone closer to home, like a parent, a friend, a teacher or a neighbor, you’d like to address? What would you say to this person that would be meaningful, important and appropriate for a general audience to hear?

Is there a person or group you would like to address because you want to honor or thank them or to reflect on their contribution to society, as T.I. did in his letter to Mr. Obama? What has this person or institution done, and what effect has it had on you and others? Why do you think it’s worth acknowledging publicly?

If no one person or group comes to mind, perhaps a cause or issue inspires you.

For a decade we ran an editorial contest , and the students who participated in it wrote passionately about all kinds of things: artificial intelligence , fast fashion , race , transgender rights , college admissions , parental incarceration , fan fiction , snow days , memes , being messy and so much more . You can still write about the issues and ideas that fire you up — but this time around you’ll be writing a letter to a person who has the power to bring change or understanding to that issue. Here are some questions that might help you brainstorm:

What causes or issues do you care about? Why are they important to you? What experiences do you have with them?

What would you like to see change? Why? How would that change be meaningful to you or to the communities you care about?

What do you wish more people understood? What is something you know a great deal about that you think others would benefit from understanding better?

Once you have a sense of your issue, ask yourself:

Who can make a change, big or small, local or global, to address this issue?

In the comments, tell us to whom you’d like to write an open letter, the reason you’re writing and why you think that issue is important not only for the recipient but also for a wider audience.

Then, if you’re so inspired, you can turn your comment into an open letter and submit it to our contest . Find out more about how to write your letter in our related guide .

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Katherine Schulten has been a Learning Network editor since 2006. Before that, she spent 19 years in New York City public schools as an English teacher, school-newspaper adviser and literacy coach. More about Katherine Schulten

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

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• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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