Exercise on Topic, Purpose, and Central Idea

This exercise is designed to help you distinguish between the specific purpose and the central idea. The specific purpose is your goal$-$what you set out to accomplish. The central idea is written from the listeners' point of view$-$it is the key idea they should remember if they forgot everything else in the speech. The items below are scrambled; identify the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, and central idea by filling in the blank with the numbers that match that section of the speech.

Topic:

A$.$ To Persuade

General Purpose:

B$.$ Caves

Specific Purpose:

C$.$ Exploring caves is a safe, interesting and exciting activity.

Central idea:

D$.$ To persuade my listeners to explore caves

Topic:

A$.$ Accidental poisoning by carbon monoxide can be avoided if you have a carbon$-$monoxide detector in your home.

General Purpose:

B$.$ Carbon$-$monoxide detectors

Specific Purpose:

C$.$ To persuade my listeners to buy and install a carbon$-$monoxide detector in their homes

Central idea:

D$.$ To persuade