Persuasive Speech Assignment
Due: _____________________
Library visits: __________________________
Procedures:
 Choose your top five topics from the persuasive speaking list in this packet. In the event someone has
taken your first choice, you can go with your second, third, and so on. You cannot change your topic
once we have started researching and I must approve ALL topics!
 You will have THREE days in the media center. Research your topic using internet, books,
encyclopedias, magazines, etc. NO WIKEPEDIA! You MUST have at least THREE sources and if
available, ONE must be a book source. Follow the MLA format and cite ALL research.
 NO PRINTING. Take notes as you are researching and save all work to Google Drive or email them to
yourself.
 Use the Motivated Sequence when preparing your speech. Refer to Chapter 17 notes and
PowerPoint on School Wires.
 MUST have at least ONE visual aid. This can be a graph, chart, video clip, images, poster, handout to
be displayed on the board, etc. Refer to Supporting Materials handout on School Wires as well as your
notes.
 Remember to be informative AND persuasive. Choose a side and give specific reasons why to
support your argument.
 Must be typed in 12 pt. font, Times New Roman or Calibri, following the outline format. Manuscript
delivery. Speech should be 4-6 minutes.
I.
(Write out entire introduction. Hook, questions, introduce topic, thesis statement)
II.
A. Reason #1 and why (Do not worry about “1, 2, 3” below each letter. Write this section in
paragraph format)
B. Reason #2 and why
C. Reason #3 and why
III.
(Write out the entire conclusion. Restate facts, information, and reasons. Restate your thesis
and tie it all together. End with a concluding sentence and “Thank you.”)
**Any questions, comments, or concerns you have, PLEASE come see me ASAP!
Do NOT wait until the last minute to discuss this with me.**
Using Supporting Materials in your Speeches
and Presentations
Supporting materials should persuade the audience to believe you. You want your audience to get up and take
action! Supporting material provides the substance, strength, credibility, and appeal that a speech must have
before listeners can be persuaded.
TESTIMONY - Citing the words/ideas of others in your speech
Example: Direct Quote - “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your
country.” - JFK, December 1963
STATISTICS - Numerical Facts (Keep them recent)
Example: “An average high-school graduate has seen about 18,000 hours of television. That is 750
solid days of TV. Over two years. Almost one-tenth of an eighteen-year-old’s life.”
DEFINITION - Explains and describes your point
Example: When the singer-songwriter took over, many thought it was the end to Tin Pan Alley, a
fictional street that stood for the anonymous, professional songwriters who had been churning out most
of America’s pop music for decades.
EXAMPLE - typical, specific instance of something
Example: This entire handout!  “The music industry has frequently pulled together for good causes.
‘We are the World,’ a project of Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, was an all-star effort to record a
song to raise money for charity.”
VISUAL AIDS:
 Posters - preview/summarize your ideas; draw pictures or diagrams
 Objects/Models - a product that enhances your presentations
 Handouts - gives the audience the opportunity to take home the information/reminder
 Graphs - can present statistics, comparing/contrasting, etc. (pie, line, bar graphs)
 Videos - can use slides, movies, YouTube clips to support your speech (should not be a final
thought, show before conclusion, and must be no more than 2 minutes in length – not included in
your time)
Do not forget to credit where you found all supporting evidence in your speech or presentations
You can find supporting material in many ways: books, Internet, newspapers, people, dictionary, magazines, television,
and the radio.
Persuasive Speech Topics: Please choose one topic to research.
Athletics
1.
Should physical education be mandatory for all students every day of the school week?
2. Should students on sports teams be required to carry a certain grade point average [GPA] in order to
play?
3. Should coaches be required to give equal playing time to athletes at the secondary school level
regardless of skills (middle and high school)?
4. Are sports athletes role models?
5.
Is mandatory drug testing of all athletes on a secondary, collegiate, and professional level necessary?
6. Should professional athletes who break the law (via drug use, illegal gambling, domestic abuse, etc.) be
banned from their professional sport in addition to doing jail time?
7.
Should athletes who have taken performance enhancing drugs be admitted into the Hall of Fame?
8. Should parent-spectators be required to sign a “Spectator Expectation Code of Conduct,” which
includes prohibitions against verbal abuse and obnoxious behavior (“Respect all athletes, coaches,
officials and fans.”) if their child plays a school sport. Thus, if a parent-spectator is found disrespecting
a player, coach or opposing team they should be banned from attending their child’s athletic games.
Health
9. Does video violence effects the teenage brain?
10. Intelligence depends on environmental factors, not genetic factors.
11. The McLawsuit: Is the Fast-Food Industry Legally Accountable for Obesity?
12. Do School Cafeterias Contribute to the Rise in Childhood Obesity?
13. Can the growing problem of obesity in the US be reversed?
14. Are Diet Companies in the Business to Help People or to Make a Profit?
15. Are Low-Fat Foods the Healthier Alternatives?
16. Should Sodas and Sugary Snacks be sold in Vending Machines at Schools and Bake Sales be banned?
17. Is Obesity a Matter of Individual Responsibility? Who is Responsible for Controlling Obesity?
18. Why cigarette smoking and effects
19. Avoiding distracting behaviors while driving
School
20. Controversial T-Shirts – If a student wears a controversial T-shirt, does the school board have the right
to ban offensive and controversial clothing or does the student have the right to wear it under the first
amendment?
21. Cyber Bullying Statutes – If a student is bullying someone do they have the right to claim they have
freedom of speech to say what they wanted?
22. Posting Videos Online – Is This a Right & Your Freedom of Speech? – Does anyone have the right and
freedom to post videos online even if the person taking the video does not have permission and the
videos are of people in personal or compromising actions – a school fight, personal encounter?
23. Should students be allowed to use mobile devices in class?
24. Should there be a filter on the internet in school?
25. Should schools provide technology devices (i.e. tablets or laptops) for all students?
26. Parents who engaged with their children are more likely to excel in school and avoid risky behavior.
27. School cafeterias should be transformed into food courts with fast food companies supplying meals.
28. Students should be required to wear school uniforms.
29. School should start later in the day. Is it beneficial to the mind?
30. Schools should shift from a nine month school year to year-round schooling.
31. Video cameras should be put into all classrooms to record student and teacher interactions at all times.
32. Foreign Language should not be mandatory.
33. Armed police guards and metal detectors should be installed in every school.
34. Private schools vs. Public schools.
35. The importance of Arts Education in schools. Is it an essential part of the complete learning process?
Humanity
36. Adoption – Should people adopt and why is it important?
37. Donations – Organ and Blood donations.
38. Why should people “go green?”
39. Joining the military – what are the benefits?
40. Should product testing on animals or humans be allowed?
41. Why is it important to preserve our natural resources?