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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. Thesis statements are primarily for longer speeches, not short ones.
a. True
b. False
Construct specific speech topics from general topic areas
2. To narrow your topic, you should choose to focus on three or four subtopics.
a. True
b. False
3. Because public speaking is a conversation, you should consider whether your audience will be interested in your topic.
a. True
b. False
4. Informing, persuading, and engagement are three specific purposes of public speaking.
a. True
b. False
5. The occasion of your speech may impose some constraints that can affect your topic selection.
a. True
b. False
Analyze topic selection from the perspective of the audience, the speaker, and the occasion
6. When choosing a topic, you should be concerned with what interests you and not what the audience is interested in.
a. True
b. False
7. A one-sentence summary of the topic and goal together is also known as the specific purpose.
a. True
b. False
8. Being invited by a group to speak at a specific situation is sure to increase the uncertainty about the purpose and
expectations.
a. True
b. False
9. General goals are specific enough to guide the choices that you need to make in composing a speech.
a. True
b. False
Differentiate topic, purpose, and thesis statement
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10. The best topics are found where your interests, the interests and needs of the audience, and the demands of the
occasion overlap.
a. True
b. False
11. In classroom speaking situations, one of the primary constraints for the purpose of the speech is the assignment.
a. True
b. False
Compose general and specific purposes for your speeches
12. The general purpose of your speech is the kind of communication act you would like to accomplish with the audience.
a. True
b. False
Draft thesis statements
13. Thesis statements for informative speeches should tell the audience why they should believe the speaker.
a. True
b. False
14. If you were preparing to give two speeches, an informative speech and a persuasive speech, on the same topic, the
thesis statements should be the same while the bodies of the speeches should be different.
a. True
b. False
15. When giving a presentation in a business setting, your goals should include presenting information with clarity and
relevance.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
16. According to your textbook, all of the following are considerations for selecting a topic except _______.
a. your interests
b. the availability of visual aids
c. the interests and needs of the audience
d. the nature of the occasion or speaking situation
e. none of these choices
17. All of the following are general purposes for giving a speech except __________.
a. informing
b. persuading
c. engagement
d. acknowledgment
e. none of these choices
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Construct specific speech topics from general topic areas
18. Having a short time constraint means you should __________.
a. save time by picking a general topic so your speech doesn’t need to get into specific details
b. ask for more time, because a good speech should have enough time to share everything you know about your
topic
c. be more disciplined in choosing your topic and purpose
d. plan to talk faster so you can fit everything you want to say into the time allotted
e. none of these choices
19. The thesis statement is __________.
a. what you talk about in a speech
b. not needed for an informative speech
c. the same as a specific purpose
d. a one sentence summary of your topic and your goal
e. none of these choices
Draft thesis statements
20. If you have trouble formulating a thesis statement, your text suggests you should go back and reconsider all of the
following questions except _______.
a. Did you do enough research?
b. Have you included the audience?
c. What are you going to say in your conclusion?
d. Does your thesis statement fit your general purpose?
e. none of these choices
21. When focusing a general topic into a specific topic, which of the following should be considered?
a. geography or location
b. timeframes
c. the interests of the audience
d. all of these choices
e. none of these choices
Compose general and specific purposes for your speeches
22. Lindsay is preparing to give her first speech. She’s chosen the topic “wedding cakes” and she can’t decide if she wants
to tell her audience how to decorate a wedding cake or to convince them to make their own. Lindsay is unclear about
_____.
a. her general purpose
b. her specific purpose
c. her thesis
d. her research
e. all of these choices
23. The thesis statement __________.
a. ties a narrowed topic and purpose together
b. is usually presented at the end of the speech’s introduction
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c. is the main focus point of both persuasive and informative speeches
d. all of these choices
e. none of these choices
24. According to your textbook, the main benefit of an invited speaking situation is that ________.
a. a speaker will have a clear framework for what the topic and goal of their speech should be
b. the speaker won’t have information about the audience, so he or she has a lot of leeway in choosing a purpose for
their speech
c. the audience will be well informed about whatever topic the speaker chooses
d. all of the above are benefits of an invited speaking situation
e. none of these choices
25. Whether your speech will be an informative, engagement, or persuasive speech is decided when considering
__________.
a. the thesis statement of the speech
b. the general purpose of the speech
c. the topic of the speech
d. all of the these choices
e. none of these choices
26. The best topics are chosen when __________.
a. the speaker is very passionate about the topic
b. the audience and the speaker both are educated on the topic
c. the speaker’s interests, the speaking situation, and the needs of the audience overlap
d. the speaker is aware of the reason the audience is present to hear the speech
e. none of these choices
Analyze topic selection from the perspective of the audience, the speaker, and the occasion
27. Matt is taking a public speaking class and has received his first class assignment. Matt is thinking about what his
classmates would be interested in listening to him talk about. He is most likely __________.
a. deciding which politically correct words to include in his thesis statement
b. determining if the speech should be informative or persuasive
c. picking a topic for his speech
d. identifying the specific purpose for his speech
e. none of these choices
28. A thesis statement that contains words like “understand,” “examine,” or “explain” suggests that the speech
__________.
a. will be an informative speech
b. will be a persuasive speech
c. will be too broad
d. will be too focused
e. none of these choices
29. Your specific purpose is to _________.
a. successfully engage your audience’s attention throughout your speech
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b. share everything you know about your topic
c. speak confidently when you present your speech
d. fulfill a specific need for your audience as it relates to your topic
e. none of these choices
Differentiate topic, purpose, and thesis statement
30. Your topic area is __________.
a. what you will talk about in a speech
b. how you will work to prove your thesis
c. the same as your specific purpose
d. unnecessary for your persuasive speeches
e. all of these choices
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Answer Key
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