Assignment
You will be writing Persuasive Speeches on a topic of your own choosing. Your speech can be
about anything (it does not need to connect to our theme), the only criteria is that it should be a
topic that you feel passionate about and that you really truly believe in and have ideas on which
you would like to persuade your peers.
Your speech should be 3 to 5 minutes long.
I would estimate this to mean 2 double-spaced pages – about 550 words.
Timeline:
• Outline of your speech content is due at the end of class on Tuesday 1/8/08
-You will spend half of class on Monday, homework time Monday evening and the entire
class time on Tuesday completing this outline.
-5% of your grade will come from finishing your outline during class – two points will
be deducted for each day late).
• First Draft Due on Wednesday 1/9/08
-5% of your grade will come from having a first draft written by the end of class on
Wednesday.
-You will have all of class on Tuesday and Wednesday to work on writing your speech. -You should also be using homework time to complete this deadline. Each day that your
first draft is late will result in a 2-point deduction.
• Final Written draft should be completed by Friday.
-10% of your grade will come from having a final draft that has clearly been revised.
You will turn in documentation of previous drafts (at least two after first draft) – they
should be clearly marked up from revision process.
• You will spend the weekend, Monday and Tuesday rehearsing your speech. You need this
amount of time (4 days) in order to rehearse. If you follow this process, you will be able to
present an excellent speech.
• Presentations will take place on Wednesday 1/16 and Thursday 1/17 of next week.
How can I earn extra credit for this assignment or for another assignment that I received a low
grade in (choice of assignment needs to be approved by Yumeris)?
1) I will be asking for six volunteers to be ready to present one day earlier (on tuesday) and
to serve as an example for the rest of the group to review the guidelines. You will receive
5 extra points if you volunteer to go first.
2) Ever heard of podcasts? Use wikispaces to post an audio or video of your well-rehearsed
and interesting speech. Some phones are easily set up to be able to do this. You can also
use my mac during class on Friday or Monday if you do a lot of the writing on your own
time and have time to experiment with this. Depending on the quality of your podcast,
this can earn you up to 10 extra points.
3) Use visual elements of persuasion and create a web page –wiki or a blog that makes
effective use of visuals and to communicate the message of your speech (of course it
should also include the text of your speech).
What are some topics that I can write my speech about?
See back of this handout!
Y.Morel – Senior English
Persuasive Speech Topics
* The case for organ donation
* The need for recycling
* Why the death penalty should be
abolished
* The need for gun control
The dangers of taking illegal steroids
How to pay off your credit card
Avoiding drinking or drunk driving
Why we should abolish school uniform
Global Warming - What we can do
about it
Why we should wear seat belts in cars
Why you should become a blood donor
The dangers of gambling
Gay marriage
Euthanasia
Avoiding student debt
Avoiding junk food
* Animal rights
* Ten things you can do for a Dollar/
Euro/ Pound
* What you should wear for your next
date/ job interview
* I can make you thin
* Pay off your student loan in three easy
steps
* Volunteering - What can you do about
it?
* Golf - the best hobby in the world or a
complete waste of time?
* Ten good tips for legal tax avoidance
* Three easy ways to improve your time
management
* Can drugs reverse the ageing process?
* If you believe - they put a man on the
moon
* Princess Diana - a cover up?
* Internet - the death of the newspaper?
* Can we eradicate AIDS in Africa?
* Is Broadband economic in rural areas?
* What good is keep fit?
* Sex, drugs and rock and roll - good fun
or a major health hazard?
* Getting to the top of the waiting list
Y.Morel – Senior English
* Road congestion charging - the way of
the future?
* Dogs - wolves in the living room or
man's best friend?
* 7 easy ways to simplify your life?
* The five day detox
* The Loch Ness monster really does
exist
* Creative thinking
* Has the DaVinci code just been made
up?
* Half man - half robot. Should we be
scared?
Political
* Creative thinking
* Vote for me
* Why there should be a United States of
Europe
* An easy way to give up smoking
* Why prostitution should be legalized
* How we can get more people to vote?
* Why the death penalty should be
abolished in the United States
* Why we should not consume genetically
modified crops?
* Should religious clothes be banned in
schools?
* The war in Iraq - was it justified?
Famous lives
* The greatest American./ Briton/ French
Person/ Scientist/ Discoverer/ Adventurer of
all time
* Scott of the Antarctic - hero or failure?
* Winston Churchill - good man or a
famous alcoholic?
Train etiquette
Driving etiquette
Standardized testing
Homework