Persuasive Speech

Project 3

Evaluation 33

Ninth Grade English 1 (ENGH 031 060)

Be sure to include ALL pages of this project (including the directions and the assignment) when you send the project to your teacher for grading. Don’t forget to put your name and I.D. number at the top of this page!

This project is worth 100 points. For guidelines about spelling, grammar, and punctuation, refer to the “Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Handbook” section on pages R24–R28 of your textbook and the writing guidelines in the Appendix of this course.

Persuasive Speech

The final project for this course lets you speak your mind about a topic important to you. We’ve studied persuasive speeches from American figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the structure and function of editorial writing. While not every persuasive speech will cover such weighty grounds as the American economy and civil rights issues, the skills of persuasion are vital for students looking to enter the world as free, critical thinkers. Since many occupations involve the ability to convince others of the ultimate worth or need of something, there’s perhaps no better talent to have than the ability to sway an audience or crowd into thinking a certain way. This is your chance to state your case.

You have two different options for this project: Option 1 is to prepare a multimedia presentation covering your chosen topic, and Option 2 is to write out a traditional persuasive speech. However you choose to approach this project, your topic of choice should be a problem or issue in your community or country that you feel strongly about, one way or another.

Certainly, you can write about a national or international issue, but a local issue will work just as well. Maybe there’s an ordinance in effect where you live that prevents people from congregating in the park during certain hours. Perhaps you support or oppose a state or local tax to fund something. Your topic need not be complex and intricate; it can be something as simple as arguing why your local library should consider alternate hours of operation, or why the dog park should build a better, more protective fence along the highway. The point is that you select a topic that allows you to practice rhetorical skills and presentational strategies.

This is the most demanding of all the projects. As such, give yourself plenty of time to complete and revise your writing or multimedia presentation. Review Lessons 14 and 15 to gain insights into persuasive writing and presentations. Put yourself in the place of an audience: what would you have to hear to be convinced of the point you are trying to make?

If you are having trouble thinking of a topic to write about, don’t be afraid of seeking out previous speeches and editorials others have written. Your topic need not be original, and neither does your argument (your presentation, however, DOES). You’re not expected to split the atom or solve world hunger; this is only to help you gain experience in devising effective rhetorical messages. It’s ok to pick a cliché at this point, as long as you are thinking about the process of persuasion.

When in doubt, speak from the heart. Persuasion can be as much about emotion as it can be about logic (and they often combine).

Good luck!

Option 1

After reading page 637 and pages 656 and 657 in your textbook, as well as the tips for effective presentations in this assignment, create a multimedia presentation of your persuasive speech. Your presentation can be a Power Point or Prezi slideshow, a website, a social media page, or a speech or video that you record, whichever format you choose.

Your presentation should include a title and a strong thesis statement explaining your ultimate argument or point for your topic. “It is therefore vital that we support the building of a new elementary school, not only because our current school district suffers from severe overcrowding, but because it sends a much-needed message about our attention to education” is an example of a strong thesis statement that explains the author’s position, as well as the main points to be discussed in more detail throughout the speech.

Your presentation should demonstrate four rhetorical devices we discussed in Lesson 14: parallelism, restatement, repetition, and analogy. While it’s not our intention to cramp your writing, requiring that you use these devices helps make sure you understand their functions, and they almost certainly will help improve your skills. You only need to use each device once throughout your speech.

Use at least one outside source in your presentation and include a works cited list. You may use either a primary source (an official document or record, or an account of an event from someone who witnessed it) or a secondary source (a book or article from an author who did NOT actually witness the event). Your source(s) should help you convince your audience of the validity of your argument.

Tips for Effective Presentations:

1. Understand your topic. Make sure that you have chosen a topic or issue that is not too broad, and be sure you are interested in it.

2. Research your topic so that you can support your ideas about it. Don’t just give your opinion; have some evidence to support your opinion.

3. Know your audience. Your specific audience will affect what you say and how you say it. If you were the audience, what would you expect to see or hear?

4. What tone do you want to present? Humor? Informative? Somber? Friendly? The tone should fit your topic.

5. Use each of these four rhetorical devices at least once: repetition, restatement, parallelism, and analogy.

6. Incorporate multimedia elements such as graphics, video, sound, music, or voice.

7. Make certain that visuals are clear and that sound is crisp, not garbled.

8. If you are using social networking for your project, remember that anything that you put on the social media page needs to be secure. Be careful what you post there as anyone with access to that page can read what you posted.

9. Make certain to cite sources and that your presentation is original.

10. Speak (create) from the heart. Persuasion can be as much about emotion as it can be about logic (and they often combine in a presentation).

Your presentation will be worth 100 points, and it will count for 12 percent of your course grade. Your speech will be graded on the following criteria:

· A strong, clear thesis statement (18 points possible)

· Consideration of audience, especially that you provide enough background information so your teacher can understand the issue (18 points possible)

· Use of the four rhetorical devices (18 points possible)

· Use of an outside source (18 points possible)

· Effectiveness of multimedia elements (9 points possible)

· Effectiveness in proving your thesis statement (9 points possible)

· Correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You should cite your outside source in MLA Style. The current edition of the MLA Style Manual is available in most libraries, and guides to the manual may be found online. There is a brief summary of the MLA Style on page lxxviii in your textbook. The Project Submission Directions will tell you where to cite your source(s). For grammar guidelines, you may refer to the “Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Handbook” on pages R24–R28 of your textbook or the Appendix in this course. (10 points possible)

Option 2

Write a persuasive speech of 600–900 words (two-to-three typed, double spaced pages). Type your speech in the space provided at the end of this document (scroll down).

You may choose the topic, keeping in mind that your teacher will not grade your project on the basis of whether or not he/she agrees with your ultimate argument, but on whether or not you provide a legitimate viewpoint, with legitimate rhetorical strategies, on a legitimate topic. “People should be nice” is not an acceptable topic. Go a bit deeper and pick a more challenging focus for your speech.

Your speech should include a title and a strong thesis statement explaining your ultimate argument or point for writing this speech. “It is vital that we support the building of a new elementary school, not only because our current school district suffers from severe overcrowding, but because it sends a much-needed message about our attention to education” is an example of a strong thesis statement that explains the author’s position, as well as the main points to be discussed in more detail throughout the speech.

Your speech should demonstrate four rhetorical devices we discussed in Lesson 14: parallelism, restatement, repetition, and analogy. While it’s not our intention to cramp your writing, requiring that you use these devices helps make sure you understand their functions, and they almost certainly with help improve your writing. You only need to use each device once throughout your speech.

Use at least one outside source in your presentation and include a works cited list. You may use either a primary source (an official document or record, or an account of an event from someone who witnessed it) or a secondary source (a book or article from an author who did NOT actually witness the event). Your source(s) should help you convince your audience of the validity of your argument.

Your speech will be worth 100 points, and it will count for 12 percent of your course grade. Your speech will be graded on the following criteria:

· A strong, clear thesis statement (18 points possible)

· Consideration of audience, especially that you provide enough background information so your teacher can understand the issue (18 points possible)

· Use of the four rhetorical devices (18 points possible)

· Use of an outside source (18 points possible)

· Effectiveness in organization and in proving your thesis statement (18 points possible)

· Correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You should cite your outside source in MLA Style. The current edition of the MLA Style Manual is available in most libraries, and guides to the manual may be found online. There is a brief summary of the MLA Style on page lxxviii in your textbook. The Project Submission Directions will tell you where to cite your source(s). For grammar guidelines, you may refer to the “Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Handbook” on pages R24–R28 of your textbook (10 points possible)

Project Submission

Option 1 (Presentation)

If you do your project as a website or a video uploaded on YouTube, paste the URL into the table on the next page. Complete the rest of the table.

If your project is a separate file, upload it to the UNHS Dropbox. To use the Dropbox, follow these directions.

1. Save your video file with the name ENGH031060_Your_Name_Here_Project3.ppt. [File types may vary.]

2. Access the high school DropBox. To access the DropBox, use the navigation panel on your course management system (Waycool) homepage. (You must be logged in to use the dropbox.)

3. Click “Browse” to select your file. (A new “Browse” button will appear after you have selected your file. Disregard it. This feature of the DropBox is for projects in which students need to submit more than one file.)

4. Click “Begin Upload.”

5. Wait until a message appears on your screen saying “Your Upload is Complete.” This message will provide a URL to your file so it can be viewed online.

6. Copy the URL and paste it into the table below. Be sure to copy your URL before you close the DropBox upload page. Complete the rest of the table.

NOTE: If you experience difficulty or long delays in uploading, you may need to compress your video file. Recommended freeware programs for compression are:

http://www.zamzar.com/

http://www.formatoz.com/

Name of Student
Title of Presentation
URL link to Presentation
Citations for any outside sources used (in proper MLA format) as would appear on a works cited page.

Option 2 (Written Speech)

Type your speech, beginning at the top of the next page. Be sure to include a Works Cited page in MLA format, listing all of the sources you use.

When you are ready to submit your project (either option), save this project assignment document. Use the course number, your name, and the project number in your file’s title:

ENGH031060_Your_Name_Here_Project3.doc

Go to your course management system to submit your project.

[Begin written option here. Please double-space your lines.]