Week 3 — Readings & Resources · Selecting a Topic, Purpose & Thesis

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective covered: Objective 2 — Select and narrow a topic; write a general purpose, a specific purpose, and a thesis (central idea).

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you would open any link. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's reading is focused: one core chapter plus one optional deeper look, grouped by the lecture segments they support. Watch or read one item per group and you will be ready for the quiz; do everything and you will be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 25–35 minutes if you do both readings, less if you skim.

Order that matches the lecture: ① the three general purposes → ② writing the specific purpose → ③ the thesis (central idea).

① Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic (the core reading)

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–6. This chapter is the main reading for the week — it covers the three general purposes, how to select and narrow a topic, brainstorming strategies, and how to write a specific purpose statement.

Reading — "Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic" (Stand up, Speak out, Ch. 6)
🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/06%3A_Finding_a_Purpose_and_Selecting_a_Topic

Why it is assigned: a clear, free, online chapter organized around the exact concepts from this week's lecture — general purposes, topic selection, brainstorming strategies (including what to do if you draw a blank), and how to use the general purpose + a focused topic to develop a specific purpose. Read the whole chapter online; no account needed. The section on "Specific Purposes" (§6.5) is especially useful for understanding the one-idea, audience-centered, achievable-in-time requirements.
⏱ ~20–25 min

② A Shorter Look at Specific Purpose and Thesis Together

Maps to Lecture Segment 4 (the specific purpose / thesis distinction). If the specific-purpose-vs.-thesis distinction is still fuzzy after the reading above, this second resource gives a different explanation that some students find clearer.

Reading — "The Topic, Purpose and Thesis" (Public Speaking — The Public Speaking Project, §8.2)
🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Public_Speaking_(The_Public_Speaking_Project)/08%3A_Organizing_and_Outlining/8.02%3A_The_Topic_Purpose_and_Thesis

Why it earns the click: a concise side-by-side treatment of topic, general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis (central idea), with short examples that make the distinctions easy to follow. Especially useful for the quiz question about why the specific purpose (an infinitive phrase, your goal) is NOT the same as the thesis (a declarative sentence, the message).
⏱ ~8–10 min

Optional deeper dive (free online)

• "The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis" (It's About Them — Public Speaking in the 21st Century, §8.3). A fuller treatment with additional examples and a discussion of how audience-centeredness runs through topic selection, not just delivery. Useful if you want more worked examples before the assignment.
  🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Its_About_Them_-Public_Speaking_in_the_21st_Century(Kim_et_al.)/08%3A_Organizing_and_Outlining/8.03%3A_The_Topic_General_Purpose_Specific_Purpose_and_Thesis

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly this and you will be ready for the quiz:
1. Read "Finding a Purpose and Selecting a Topic" (group ①), focusing on Sections 6.2 (General Purposes), 6.3 (Selecting and Narrowing a Topic), and 6.5 (Specific Purposes).
2. Skim "The Topic, Purpose and Thesis" (group ②) for the specific-purpose/thesis side-by-side.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Marchetti and search for the title in the LibreTexts search bar in the meantime.