Midterm Speech
Overview
For this assignment, each student will select a debatable issue of fact, value, or policy, research
their topic carefully and responsibly, and compose and deliver an extemporaneous speech
designed to persuade the audience to support their position on the issue. Students will be
evaluated according to the organization and clarity of their thought, the ethicality of their
research, and the persuasiveness and conviction of their delivery. Speeches must be 5-7 minutes
in length and will be penalized for going outside of these parameters.
Objectives
The goals of this assignment include facilitating students’ development in the following areas
 Understanding and practicing methods of persuasion in public speech
 Responsibly fulfilling the ethical imperatives of persuasive speech-making
 Researching issues in a critical and scholarly manner
 Composing and delivering a persuasive speech with confidence and conviction
Details and Requirements:

Select a topic of current debate regarding fact, value, or policy that you would like to research
and speak about. Submit your specific purpose and central idea for approval via email ASAP.

Conduct scholarly research on the speech you have selected toward the composition of your
persuasive speech. Your documented research must include at least four (4) scholarly
sources- academic books or journals. If you need help evaluating the scholarly quality of
your sources, be sure to ask a research librarian or your instructor.

Drawing from your research, compose and deliver a Persuasive Speech 5-7 minutes in length,
in order to persuade your audience to adhere to your position. The best speeches will be
supported by well-warranted persuasive arguments. They will also be attentive to ethos,
pathos and logos and will use language artfully and creatively. In addition, the best speeches
will use evidence responsibly, demonstrate clear and well-developed reasoning, avoid
fallacies, and adhere to the ethical imperatives of public speech.

Submit, immediately before speaking, a typed, double-spaced, full-sentence outline of your
speech with proper citations of your research. Consider speaking from a key word outline,
but you must turn in a full sentence outline for credit. A manuscript (i.e. with all your exact
wording) is not required or recommended.
DUE: March 3
Checklist for Persuasive Speaking

Introduction—needs an attention grabber, a reveal of the topic, an ethos statement, and your central
idea. The central idea should have a clear focus on a question of fact, value, or policy. If the latter,
you should decide whether you are seeking implied consent or direct action.

Facts of the case—tell us what we need to know to get into the speech. Present the information here
in a balanced way. You must clearly explain why the status quo needs to be changed (or maintained).

Main points—phrase each as a mini-thesis statement and/or specific arguments. Do they, in sum,
provide strong grounds for the judgment you want the audience to make?

Support— draw from five areas of support (ethos, pathos, logos, external testimony or data, narrative
life). Select and arrange these with care.
o
Ethos—in the intro and throughout, you need to establish yourself as balanced, a good judge,
and one who has the audience’s best interests in mind.
o
Pathos—place your audience in moods and cultivate emotional responses to your words (fear,
hope, pity, anger, envy, friendship, courage).
o
Logos—Argument- use the "means of persuasion" sheet to develop a diversity of arguments
(arguments by definition, similarity, difference, degree, cause/effect, etc.) Make sure your
arguments collectively have a diversity of warrants.
o
Testimony—make sure your sources are strong and your arguments are grounded in credible
testimony. When quoting, first tell us the writer’s name and affiliation.
o
Narrative life— make sure each point has moments that make it come alive through sensory
detail, narration, example, analogy.

Counter argument— consider and refute the opposition's best arguments. You can demonstrate your
balance and good judgment by accepting that their concerns are legitimate but that you have a better
way to address them.

Transitions/arrangement— make sure the main points are well ordered and linked and that they build
to a kind of climax. Where should your best arguments or ideas be placed?

Conclusion— needs to signal the end of the speech, reiterate the main points, amplify and extend the
significance, and leave us with something memorable. This is also a good place to call us to action

Significance—does your speech matter? Is the end or goal of the speech one that the audience can
willingly accept? Does it entail any ethical problems or other issues that, if examined, would make
the speech seem less acceptable?