<p>I'm not sure what a thesis is... I'm making a speech to teach someone about how to prepare for an exam. What would my thesis be? </p>
<p>Would it be my purpose?: To teach you ways to prepare for an exam.</p>
<p>Or that: Preparing for am exam is very important if you want to get a good grade on it?</p>
<p>Actually it says to state your intent/thesis. So would the intent be my purpose???</p>
<p>I would say the thesis is more like "Preparing...is important..." like you said. In basically every essay you're supposed to have a thesis,have you started high school yet?</p>
<p>The thesis is the subject of your paper....your argument.</p>
<p>You state your thesis (thesis statement) in your introductory paragraph.</p>
<p>Ussualky the thesis becomes the last sentence of the introduction paragraph....and it provides the reader to know your argument, or what your trying to prove, the subject.....is the key to the paper.....so through your body paragraphs you provide envidence to back ur thersis up....so finally when you reach ur conclusion you HAVE TO restate your thesis, but neccessarily word for word.....i hope you understand...its really simple actually once you get the hang of it. (try to avoid having a expand thesis, rather better to have a focus target) for ex: "gang problems in the world" is better for "gang problems in the community"...making a thesis to broad is too much.....once again i hope you understand.....take care</p>
<p>The thesis statement is your argument/opinion on something. My CA teacher drilled this into our heads--the thesis statement should be the last sentence of your intro paragraph.</p>
<p>Okay, but what about the intent? Does the intent mean the same thing as my purpose? Like: The purpose of my speech today is to teach you ways to prepare for your exam.</p>
<p>It depends on what you're doing
A thesis for a speech would be very different than a thesis for a literary paper or a historical research paper, etc.etc.</p>
<p>Yes, the intent is of what you're trying to persuade the audience.</p>
<p>You should show no uncertainty in your thesis statement(s) that your position is correct. Also, "Preparing is good" is inadequate past a certain level. A better thesis statement, which may come at the beginning or end of the first paragraph unless directed otherwise, would be "[Technique1], [Technique2], and [Technique3] are all necessary methods of preparation." Even that's kind of boring and overly stiff, and it doesn't have the content or "nuance", as my American Lit. teacher puts it, to be adequate for many types of papers. On a five-paragraph or formal essay, your thesis statement may be just a formal statement of opinion backed up by the evidence in that paragraph, which should be expanded on later. On a less structured essay, it's still a formal statement of opinion, but the paragraph in which it is contained may not be as rigid.</p>
<p>By the way, none of this advice will apply to all assignments; this is only within my experience of essay writing.</p>
<p>It's the main idea of the essay/speech. You could list key methods of preparing. You should state it once in the introductory paragraph, and a second time in your conclusion.</p>
<p>Some examples:</p>
<p>Literary Paper
--Through his use of characterization in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explores the effects of sin on various characters, suggesting that the most beneficial response to sin is truth.
--The incorporation of several literary devices throughout Huckleberry
Finn, when reviewed in the context of his life, substantiates the fact that Mark Twain is not a prejudiced individual.</p>
<p>Historical Paper
--The gradual weakening of British control over the colonies until this point allowed Americans to acquire relative control of their political and economic institutions throughout the years 1607 and 1763.
--The causes of the famous outbreak of witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts are rooted in social, economic, and political aspects of the late 17th century Salem community.</p>
<p>But if its a debate/presentation/speech then I'd do something like By [doing this], [doing this], and [doing this], we can see that [whatever you want to prove].</p>
<p>^Ignore my example. Those are much better. I made mine up in about five seconds.</p>