How to Create Strong Analysis of Your Impromptu Speech Through Quotes and Proverbs Interpretation (Part 2)

Thanks for continuously reading this article. Surely, you have explored stage one of how to analyze your prompt: determine the author’s meaning. Time to proceed to stage two: taking a stance through a well-crafted thesis statement.

Imagine you announced to friends that you want to adopt a cat.

They respond, “We agree.”

“That’s it?” you ask.

“Yup, that’s it. We agree.”

Hmm. What’s wrong with this scenario? You probably expected your friends to be a little more enthusiastic. They agreed, but what exactly did they agree to? The fact that you’re adopting and not buying? Or that having a pet will make you happier? Or perhaps cats, in general, are amazing?

This specificity is what you’ll need when forming your thesis. It’s important to do more than just agree or disagree. How? By determining your burdens. Think about what needs to be established in order for the quote to turn out true if you agree, or false if you disagree. You could look into any problems that the prompt hints at, any solutions that remain unresolved, or any keywords that can help you draw parallels between the prompt and real-world events. Once you’ve done all of this, sum up your opinion into one concise sentence, known as your thesis statement.

Let’s try this out! You’ve chosen the Irish proverb, “Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.” Assume you’ve done stage one and figured out the meaning of this quote. You came to the conclusion that the goat is a metaphor for people, and the silk, a metaphor for material goods. So, what the proverb means to say is that trying to change your appearance through material goods such as clothing, perfume, or makeup doesn’t change your true nature.

Assume you’ve taken a stance and agree with this proverb. Remember, your thesis can’t be, “I agree with this proverb.” Instead, why do you agree? What is the problem here? It’s clear that some goats (meaning, people) want to disguise themselves with material goods but can’t. So, the burden you’ll need to prove is why material goods aren’t actually able to change who we are. Perhaps you feel that people’s characteristics and personalities are too strong to hide. Your thesis might then be: “We cannot disguise our personalities no matter how hard we try.” Notice that this thesis is clear, concise, and debatable. The last quality is particularly important because you don’t want to sound wishy-washy, where your audience is unsure which position you’ve taken.

Let’s practice one more thesis. We’ll use the same proverb but this time, assume you disagree with the “silk on a goat” proverb. You decide the problem is that society’s expectations of us are too high. We’re required to show our best selves all the time, in order get into a good school, find a good job, or even marry a good person. If this is the problem, the burden you then need to prove is why wearing material goods like silk will solve the problem. Maybe you feel that despite what people say, covering up our flaws with material goods and wealth is not a bad thing. Your developed thesis might sound something like this: “Using money as a disguise is a natural part of life.” Your statement is clear, concise, and definitely debatable because many people don’t think there’s a need to hide behind money.

In impromptu speaking, this entire analysis process should take approximately 30 seconds of your two minutes of prep time. While this sounds impossible, it’s not! As you start recognizing patterns and see more prompts, interpreting the meanings and taking a stance becomes easier. On that note, we’ll leave you with this proverb: “Every tiger was once a cub.”