Student Name
Speech 1311-________
Informative Speech Outline
See directions following the Works Cited page.
Topic: Thesis main points 1, 2, 3.
(Example: Adam Levine: Childhood, Music Career, Movie and TV Career, Family.)
Opener:
1. Provide a statistic and then reveal its source. State “According to (magazine name),”
then report the fact or facts from that news article.
2. Ask your audience if they know, or can guess, your topic. Raise your hand to signal a
response from them, then count and acknowledge the number of responses, if any.
3. State your topic. “I am here to discuss your topic.”
4. State your thesis in future tense. “I will reveal main point one, main point two and
main point three.”
5. State your sources. “My research for this speech was found in (name all your
magazine, newspaper and journal sources as listed on Works Cited page,
alphabetically.”
Transition.
(Choose either one-word, phrase-style, sentence-style, or question-answer transition.
Example: Childhood… First, his childhood… First, let’s discuss her childhood…Who
here knows where my topic was born?...)
I.
Main point one (Source: Magazine, Newspaper, Journal, Encyclopedia)
A. Fact 1 from that source.
B. Fact 2.
C. Fact 3.
D. Fact 4.
Transition.
(Examples: Career… Next, his career… Next, let’s discuss his music career…
Next, let me ask if any of you in my audience knows what song made this singer an
overnight star?)
II.
Main point two (Source: Magazine, Newspaper, Journal, Encyclopedia)
A. Fact 1 from that source.
B. Fact 2.
C. Fact 3.
D. Fact 4.
Transition.
(Examples: Family… Last, his family… Finally, who knows what this actor is doing
today and to whom he married? …)
III.
Main point three (Source: Magazine, Newspaper, Journal, Encyclopedia)
A. Fact 1 from that source.
B. Fact 2.
C. Fact 3.
(Optional) Transition.
IV.
Main point 4 (optional) (Source: _______)
Restate your thesis in past tense. “Today, we have discussed (topic) and covered
(main points 1, 2, 3).
Closer: Provide another statistic about your topic and the database news article
source.
Thank your audience.
Works Cited
(Here, you list all your Informative Speech main points MLA citations alphabetically
below even if you have them stated or cited them elsewhere in this Outline)
Make certain this entire document is highlighted and the font changed to Garamond 12, Arial 12
or Times New Roman 12. (We will not tolerate a document with several different styles of fonts
of varying sizes.)
FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.
After you have listed and I have approved 10 or more proposed Informative Speech Topics, you
will select one of the approved topics and then begin researching that person, place, disease, etc.
in your library databases (eLibrary, Biography Reference Bank, CultureGrams, or Biography
Reference Bank only) to create your Informative Outline and Informative PowerPoint.
Warning: NO Google, .com or other non-database research (news articles or photos) will be
allowed for this speech unless otherwise directed by the Professor.
Open the Speech Example folder and review the Adam Levine Outline example to see a finished
Informative Outline. Also, I have provided a blank outline template attached in this
assignment module.
The speech outline should be completed in 5-6 parts (Introduction, Main Point 1, Main Point 2,
Main Point 3, and Conclusion) with at least one database news source used for each main point.
You should find additional sources for the statistics in your Introduction and Conclusion. (On a
rare occasion, I allow a fourth main point, but it is usually unnecessary.)
To complete your Introduction: 1. Find a statistic in a news article from eLibrary, Biography
Reference Bank, CultureGrams, or Encyclopedia Britannica. Write your own "Connection to the
audience" as a question. Write your thesis (identifying your topic and your three main points).
Once you know all your database news source publications, list them all for your Established
Credibility.
Next, use a news source for main point one. For example, for a person that main point might be
"Childhood." For a disease, that might be "Symptoms and Diagnosis." For a place that might be
"History."
Next, use a different news source for main point two. (Sometimes it can be the same database if
you used anything other than Encyclopedia Britannica for main point one.) For a person, that
might be "Career." (How we know her or him.) For a disease, that might be "Treatments." (For
example, Insulin for diabetes, radiation and chemotherapy for cancer, etc.) For a place that might
be "President " or "Prime Minister."
Next, use another different news source for main point three. For a deceased celebrity or
historical person, that might be "Death and/or Legacy." For a disease, that might be "Treatment
options." For a place that might be "Culture," "Holidays" or "Landmarks."
On a rare occasion, there may be a fourth main point. For a person, that might be "Movie made
about the person." For a disease, that might be "A celebrity who suffered/suffers from this
disease." For a place, that might be "Famous people from this city/state/country."
Look at the Adam Levine example and use the blank template to create this document.
DO NOT forget the MLA citations listed ALPHABETICALLY on a Works Cited page. I have
attached screencaps to show you where to find your MLA citations in the databases listed above.
Those who submit an unacceptable draft with a Works Cited not listed alphabetically
automatically lose 10 points that cannot be regained even if you revise and resubmit a new
version.
I will provide rubric to explain the criteria on which you will be graded on a 0-5 scale
(0=criteria not attempted, 1-criteria minimally attempted, 2=criteria attempted but weak with
room for substantial improvement, 3=criteria attempted satisfactorily but with average results,
4=criteria could use slight improvement, 5=criteria successfully attempted).