Macro-structure refers to those features of the message (written or oral) which focus and organize the whole of the speech or essay. Macro-structure involves your overall strategy for the message.

The most important of these features is the THESIS, or central idea, of the essay. A thesis is a statement/assertion/ argument which controls (or is inclusive of) all of the material in the essay. The parts (or main points) of the essay support, prove, or illustrate some or all of the thesis.

"Thesis" may be defined as the central idea of a message. A thesis should not only identify the essay's topic but assert something about that topic. In other words, a thesis may be thought of as an arguable assertion (something the reader/ listener may not accept without some proof) coming near the beginning of an essay or speech. "Thesis" then requires development: illustration, elaboration and support in the body of the message. A thesis is generally not a statement of fact (self-evident). Nor is it a matter of pure opinion (inarguable).

[not a thesis] IN THIS PAPER I WILL DESCRIBE THE LIFE OF STEVEN SPIELBERG. (nothing is asserted about the topic)

[not a thesis] TODAY I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE STEVEN SPIELBERG'S LIFE, HIS CHILDHOOD YEARS, HIS FIRST FILMS, AND HIS CURRENT SUCCESS. (This is an overview of the main points of the message but still no position is taken.)

[weak thesis] SPIELBERG IS HOLLYWOOD'S MOST SUCCESSFUL WORKING DIRECTOR. (This statement takes a position but isn't very substantive in describing what the message will show.)

[good thesis] STEVEN SPIELBERG HAS ACHIEVED GREAT SUCCESS BY USING THEMES OF FEAR AND FANTASY TAKEN FROM HIS OWN CHILDHOOD. (This statement takes a position and lets the reader/listener know what the author will show.)

Other features of macro-structure that determine whether the essay or speech is effective or not include such things as:

• the purpose of the essay (e.g. to change belief, attitude, value, to call for action, to add to knowledge or understanding). Purpose differs from thesis in that purpose describes what you expect from THE AUDIENCE. 

• the appropriateness of the thesis and purpose to the audience (e.g. using arguments that will appeal or are familiar to the audience, using a vocabulary that is at the right level, etc.);

• the arrangement of the main points (e.g. first to last, weakest to strongest, problem to solution, etc.);

• the clarity and completeness of the parts of the essay in supporting or proving all that the thesis suggests.

The other important aspect of the message is its micro- structure. Micro-structure involves the parts of the essay and how they are constructed (e.g. paragraphs). In developing a thesis authors typically (although not always) break the thesis into sub-points. These sub-points are a series of smaller assertions AND their support material which in one way or another illustrate or prove the some part or feature of the thesis.

Good essays and speeches REQUIRE a good micro-structure and good micro-structure demands good quality support such as:

• explanations and facts

• examples

• testimony (statements from authorities, e.g. quotes, footnotes)

• narration (stories)

• analogies (comparisons)

• surveys and statistics

• reasoning

These and other forms of support are used to demonstrate CONVINCINGLY the correctness or appropriateness of the parts of thesis (that is, the author's assertions/conclusions) or to make sure that what the author states is clear to his audience.

In order to create good micro-structure the author needs to be able to make clear assertions and provide support for them. Of course, it is essential to know the difference between assertion and support material.

AN ASSERTION (sometimes called an argument) is a statement which indicates what the author thinks is the case, is true. A thesis is an assertion. Main points of a message are normally assertions as well. If the audience is not inclined to believe the author without question, AN ASSERTION ALONE is NOT sufficient to make the audience believe the author is correct (or, perhaps, even to understand what s/he means). Therefore, you must provide support for all but the most obviously clear and correct assertions.

SUPPORT MATERIAL includes facts, illustrations, examples, reasoning, or statements from authority which will lead the audience to recognize that the author's assertion is correct and/or appropriate. Essentially, support material consists of statements that the audience will accept as true or correct (inarguable). Good support material must be such that the audience can understand it.

EXAMPLE: (poor micro-structure)

Steven Spielberg got his first movie camera when he was nine. [dangling fact supporting no assertion] He used his own fantasies even in his earliest film efforts. [assertion that has no support material] This was the first sign that he would do the same thing as a major film director. [assertion that has no support material] Now his films frequently show examples of his childhood fantasies. "E.T." is an example of this. [poor support material - so vague the audience is unlikely to understand how it illustrates the assertion of the previous sentence] No doubt this is why he has become a successful director. [assertion that has no support material] It is likely that he will someday be regarded as the greatest director of the 1980s. [assertion that has no support material.]

EXAMPLE: (good micro-structure)

If you want to understand how Steven Spielberg has been able to make such effective films, you need to know a little bit about his childhood. [assertion - maybe even a small thesis] Spielberg had a number of serious fears as a child. [assertion] For example, at night in his room he was always afraid that something would come out of the closet and get him. After the lights were out he found the clown doll his parents had given him to be a terrifying creature. [support for the previous sentence/assertion by examples] Now that Spielberg is an adult film director, he is able to make convincingly scary movies because he adapts his own REAL childhood fears to the screen. [assertion] The closet and the clown became key ingredients in his movie "Poltergeist." [support for the previous sentence/assertion by example] Film critic Richard Corliss noted, "Spielberg's genius is, in part, the result of his ability to turn his own personal experiences into a universal experience for the audience. [additional support by testimony]

Support-assertion group exercise

copyright (c) by Lee McGaan, 1986, 2005, 2014