English 9

Speaking Persuasively

Name _______________________

Hour _________

Writing Assignment Due Date: __________

Scheduled Speaking Date: _________

Making an Argument

What is an argument? An argument is much less than most people imagine. It is usually not --An absolute truth. --A revelation or brand new insight. --The last word. --Bad-tempered complaining. --An exercise in pure logic. --A chance to prove that you’re smarter than everyone else. And, most emphatically, it is not necessarily about some

grand issue of concern to humankind in general. An argument is merely an essay that has a thesis, which a substantial part of your audience may disagree with and that seeks to convince them you’re right. That’s all, and that’s not much. To know your speech is an argument, look for three things:

An opposition An implied should A call to action

Overcoming Arguer’s Block You must convince yourself that writing an argument is something you can do without becoming someone you’re not. Do that in four steps:

Notice that you make arguments all the time. Shake the fallacy of the absolute and exclusive truth. Shake the fallacy of the final word. Begin with arguments that are easy to make.

Persuasive Speech Musts: Main Idea (thesis) Supporting Ideas Argument that refutes opposing viewpoints Conclusion that includes a Call to Action

The Assignment: First research and then write an outline for a speech that explains your position on one of the given topics. Provide reasons that elaborate your ideas and support your position convincingly. Then present a persuasive speech to convince the audience of your position. Your assignment should:

1. use the notecard method to record your research (three Source cards, two research cards from each source)

2. use correct outline form which is typed3. include a works cited page of at least three sources, correctly cited using MLA. 4. include adequate support for your position 5. use at least three resources which are cited in your outline correctly and cited orally during

your speech6. use a clear organizational structure, including transitions (which are labeled in your outline),

an introduction and a conclusion 7. use an effective style of delivery when presenting by using effective and appropriate diction

which express ideas smoothly and fluently8. use no more than five notecards from which you present your argument

Persuasive Speech Topics

[School Uniforms] Write a persuasive speech stating whether or not the students at your school should be required to wear uniforms to school. Give at least three reasons to support your position. Remember, you must argue in such a convincing manner that others will agree with you.

[Censorship] Write a persuasive speech stating whether certain television programs that are considered to be unsuitable should be censored for children under 16 in your community. Give at least three reasons to support your position.

[Curfew] The mayor of your city is trying to decide if a 7:00 p.m. curfew for children under the age of 16 is needed. What do you think? Write a persuasive speech to the mayor to convince him to enact or not to enact, the curfew. Give at least three reasons to support your position.

[Extended School Day] Write a persuasive speech stating whether the school day should be lengthened by two hours so that all students can get help with homework. Give at least three reasons to support your position. Remember you must argue in such a convincing manner that others will agree with you.

[Helmets] Write a persuasive speech stating whether children under the age of 16 should be required to wear helmets while biking, scootering, skateboarding, rollerblading, and skiing. Give at least three reasons to support your position. Remember, you must argue in such a convincing manner that others will agree with you.

[Year Round Schools] Many schools have changed their school calendar so that they are now year-round schools. They still have time off in the summer, but they don’t have the traditional 3-month break. Some Minnesota schools are considering following this trend and making the switch to year-round. Write a persuasive speech either in support of the year-round school calendar or in support of continuing the traditional school calendar.

[Raising Grade Requirements for Athletes] High school athletes must maintain a passing grade in each class to be eligible to participate in their sport.  Some teachers and coaches believe that requiring a minimum 60% grade in each class isn’t a high enough standard.  Therefore, it has been suggested that athletes should have a minimum of 70% in each class at the end of each week to be eligible to play.  Write a persuasive speech to either support raising the grade requirement or to keep the grade at the current requirement.

[Too Much Homework] Some of the parents at your school have started a campaign to limit the homework that teachers can assign to students. Teachers at your school have argued that the homework is necessary. What is your position? Write a speech stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

[Locker Searches/Personal Searches] The principal at your school has instituted random locker and backpack searches to check for guns, knives, and other weapons. Anyone caught with these weapons will be immediately suspended. The principal argues that the random searches will not only guard against illegal weapons at school but will also help students feel safer. What is your position on this issue? Write a speech stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

[Censorship] Your local public library has come under criticism for allowing patrons under the age of 18 to check out books that are unacceptable. The books are either explicit, describe

graphic violence, or use questionable language. Most recently, a high school senior checked out James Joyce's Ulysses. The student's parents did not approve of the student reading the book and complained to the town council. As a result, the council is considering removing all questionable books from the library. What is your position on this issue? Write a speech stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

[Grade Scale Change] One of the biology teachers at your school has decided to change from a ten-point grade scale (100 to 90 is an A, 89 to 80 is a B, etc.) to a seven-point grade scale (100 to 93 is an A, 92 to 85 is a B, etc.). The teacher is trying to encourage students to put more effort into their classes by raising the requirements. What is your position on this issue? Write a speech stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

[Controversial Topic of Your Own] You may choose your own topic. It must be controversial and require you to be persuasive. You must have your topic approved BEFORE you begin.

Organizing and Outlining the Persuasive SpeechTime: 4–6 minutes

All speeches have an identifiable introduction, body, and conclusion with verbal citations. Your speech will have at least three verbal citations which will include the source in as much detail as possible and the date of the source.

Introduction: The introduction should compel the audience to listen through the use of an attention-getter (anecdote, quotation, rhetorical questions, startling facts or statistics, humor commonground), and a motivator –reward, punishment, curiosity (i.e., If you rescue a dog from a shelter, you will not only save a life, but you will enrich your own life as well,) and it should provide a preview of your main points. You should also include the thesis statement in your introduction. (i.e. Rescue Dogs are the best pets to own.) You should also show the audience your credibility as a speaker on this topic.

Body: Most speeches should contain no more than three main points, organized ina way that helps the audience make sense of the message. Once the main points and organizational pattern are set, identify what evidence supports which main point and place these subpoints in the correct location. Your final point you make in your argument should be to look at the other side’s point of view and refute those arguments. (i.e. Even though my evidence shows that rescue dogs make better pets, some people might say cats are a more enjoyable animal. I refute that argument by saying dogs are easily trained to do as an owner wants. Etc.)

Conclusion: All speeches should include a brief summary of the main points. No new information should be given to the audience in the conclusion. An effective conclusion references the attention-getter from the introduction. Good conclusions leave the audience thinking about the speaker’s message. In persuasive arguments, you will tell the audience what they now can do with their newly persuaded mindset. (i.e., Next time you are looking for a great pet, rescue a dog, and you can save a life.)

Outlining the Speech: A detailed outline, which includes a Works Cited page, is mandatory. You will be handing this in for credit. Transfer your ideas on no more than five notecards just using keywords and phrases. You will also be handing in your notecards after your speech is completed. You may use both sides of the notecards, but only five 3 x 5 cards are allowed. The outline is due for everyone on the first day of presentations.

Recording Your Research and Documenting Sources

After you locate a good source, create a source card:

Put a number in the upper right corner of the card Go to citationmachine.net

o Choose MLA format from menu on the left of the screeno Choose the type of source you are usingo Fill in the blanks with source documentationo *Submit- The citation will appear in the correct formato Copy the citation, exactly as it appears, onto your Source Card

(Keep this card for the Works Cited page of your speech)

Proceed to take notes from the source, on a research card(s) numbered with the source’s corresponding number. Put the topic of the card on the left hand side. Use as many research cards as you need to record all the information from this source.

DO NOT SIMPLY COPY AND PRINT INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM A SOURCE. Information needs to be summarized from the source and stated in your own words on the research card.You may directly copy information such as facts, statistics, or quotes, but be sure to credit this information in the text of your speech. Not doing this is plagiarism.

After you finish summarizing all the information from this source, move onto the next source by creating a new source card and new research cards with a new number in the upper right corner of the cards.

Creating Source and Research CardsUse Citation Machine (www.citationmachine.net) to create your bibliography: Copy and paste this into a Word document to create your Works Cited page.

"School Uniforms and Dress Codes." NAESP. Natioanl Association of Elementary Principals. 5 Dec 2006 <http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=67>.

Put the bibliography on a notecard to create your source card: (Number each notecard: Source #1, Source #2, etc.)

Source Card

Source #1

“School Uniforms and Dress Codes." NAESP. Natioanl Association of Elementary Principals. 5 Dec 2006 <http://www.naesp.org/Content >.

Research Cards

Cost Source #1

93% of all public schools that require schooluniforms have some sort of program thatwill purchase uniforms for needy students.

Discipline Source #1

“According to the department of education, 58% ofthe public schools who require the wearing of uniforms found their discipline problems have decreased significantly.”

Cost Source #3

Many families have reported that their clothingexpenses for the year have decreased by as muchas 22%.

Outline Format for Persuasive Speech

Introduction

I. Attention-getter (anecdote, quotation, etc.)II. Motivator (punishment, reward, curiosity)II. Establishment of ethos (credibility):III. Thesis statement:IV. Preview (each main point):

A. First . . .B. Next . . .C. Finally . . .

(Transition)Body

V. Main idea 1A. Subpoint and/or supporting material (such as a statistic or a

quotation)1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

B. Subpoint and/or supporting material1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

(Internal summary)(Transition)

VI. Main idea 2A. Subpoint and/or supporting material

1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

B. Subpoint and/or supporting material1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

(Internal summary)(Transition)

VII. Main idea 3 (Refutation of Opposing Viewpoint)A. Subpoint and/or supporting material

1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

B. Subpoint and/or supporting material1. Sub-subpoint (optional)2. Sub-subpoint (optional)

(Internal summary)(Transition to conclusion)

ConclusionVIII. Summarize (overall theme):

IX. Review (each main point):X. Tie to the introduction:XI. Creative concluding thought (end with impact):

Works Cited Page (following but attached to outline)

A SAMPLE WORKS CITED PAGE

[PLEASE NOTE: Many of these citations are fictitious; they are meant to be used as models only.]

Works Cited

Angier, Natalie. "Chemists Learn Why Vegetables are Good for You." New York Times 13 Apr.

1993, late ed.: C1. New York Times Ondisc. CD-ROM. UMI-Proquest. Oct. 1993.

Burka, Lauren P. "A Hypertext History of Multi-User Dimensions." MUD History. URL:

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/lpb/mud-history.html (5 Dec. 1994).

Christie, John S. "Fathers and Virgins: Garcia Marquez's Faulknerian Chronicle of a Death

Foretold." Latin American Literary Review 13.3 (Fall 1993): 21-29.

Creation vs. Evolution: "Battle of the Classroom." Videocassette. Dir. Ryall Wilson, PBS Video,

1982. (MLA) 58 min.

Darling, Charles. "The Decadence: The 1890s." Humanities Division Lecture Series. Capital

Community College, Hartford. 12 Sept. 1996.

Metheny, N.M., and W. D. Snively. Nurses' Handbook of Fluid Balance. Philadelphia: Lippincott,

1967.

Orchestra. CD-ROM. Burbank: Warner New Media. 1992.

Evaluating Internet Sources:

Know what kind of site you’re examining. Most Web sites fall into one of five categories: informational pages (e.g., www.winthrop.edu), news and journalistic sources (e.g., www.cnn.com), advocacy pages (e.g. www.alleycats.org), personal home pages, and entertainment pages (e.g. www.thex-files.com). Each is mounted for a different purpose; for instance, information on the effects of tobacco use will be different on the R.J. Reynolds home page than on the American Cancer Society home page. Use your knowledge of what kind of site you find to determine whether the page writer may have a bias you need to consider.

Know who provided the information you find. The Internet is like a giant flea market: for every Rembrandt you find, there will be hundreds of paintings of Elvis on black velvet. Anyone who can get a Web account can post anything. Good Internet pages will include the following information: who the author is (name, credentials, a physical or electronic address); when the material was posted or last updated; the kind of site on which the information appears (is it, for instance, a site sponsored by a reputed information or company, or one that anyone can buy space on?); cross-references or sources for factual material; footnotes or bibliography. If you can’t find out anything about the author, you might do well to treat the information with caution.

Cross-check the information with other sources. Is the person who posted it mentioned on other sites or in other print articles? If you do a library search, can you find other material by this author? Or can you find independent verification of the facts or opinions the site provides? If the information on a Web site cannot be cross-checked, you need to treat it as an unsubstantiated opinion. The stronger the claim, the more verification you should seek.

Check the relevance, accuracy, and currency of the information. Using information that contains mistakes, typos, exaggerations, or inflammatory statements–no matter how eye-catching–can seriously weaken your credibility with your readers, just as using outdated figures or statistics can.

Make sure you document anything taken from a Web site the same way you would document any other source–or you’ll be guilty of plagiarizing.

Finally, use common sense. It is fun to search the Internet–but you can’t believe every word you read there, just as you can’t believe every word you read in books or magazines. You have to balance the attractiveness and ease of access on the Internet with a strong scholarly skepticism. If you use Internet information carefully, and in conjunction with other sources, you should be able to add depth and variety to your writing. If you use it carelessly, you can weaken your credibility, damage your arguments, and blind yourself to the truth about issues.

“HOW TO” Use the Card Catalog – Alexandria®

Get to SIRS® – Social Issues Resource Series Get to Electronic Library Minnesota – Magazine/Newspaper Database

Get to Readers’ Guide Full Text Select – Magazine DatabaseAll of the above are available online from the following WEBSITE:

www.cambridge.k12.mn.us/~mperson

On the right side under “Alexandria,” click on CIHS Card Catalog.1. The first screen is where you search for books available here at CIHS by author, title,

subject, keyword, etc.2. If this link does not work, the url is http://10.3.1.3

On the right side under “Social Issues Resource Series,” click on SIRS. 1. The “username” is: MN0287H The “password” is: 55008 2. Click “Submit.” 3. Click “SIRS Knowledge Source” 4. Search by Subject Headings or Keyword/Natural Language.

5. If this link does not work, the url is http://ars.sirs.com

On the right side under Electronic Library Minnesota, click on the Magazine Index. 1. There is no user name and password.2. The search box is at the top of the page.3. If this link does not work, the url is

http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/ic/suic/?userGroupName=mnsminitex

Readers’ Guide Full Text Select1. Click on “Magazine Index”2. User ID: bluejackets3. Password: BLUEJACKETS

4. If this link does not work, the url ishttp://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/login.jhtml?_requestid=5521

Scoring Rubric for Persuasive Speech

INTRODUCTION (20)Attention-Getter 5 4 3 2 1 0Motivated Audience (punishment/reward/curiosity) 5 4 3 2 1

0Preview step included 5 4 3 2 1 0established credibility/ethos 5 4 3 2 1 0

BODY (30)key ideas explained 5 4 3 2 1 0All sources in speech are orally cited 5 4 3 2 1

0All sources on display boards are orally cited 5 4 3 2 1

0major points supported with at least three citations: internal citation #1__________ & date: ______ 5 4 3 2 1 0 internal citation #2__________ & date: ______ 5 4 3 2 1 internal citation #3__________ & date: ______ 5 4 3 2 1 0

ORGANIZATION (15)clear transitions 5 4 3 2 1 0clear organizational pattern 5 4 3 2 1 0sources appropriate for topic 5 4 3 2 1 0

LANGUAGE (10)clear, concise, colorful 5 4 3 2 1 0creative, culturally sensitive 5 4 3 2 1 0

DELIVERY (35)vocally expressive, conversational style 5 4 3 2 1

0adequate eye contact 5 4 3 2 1 0hand gestures used effectively 5 4 3 2 1

0avoided nervous mannerisms 5 4 3 2 1 0Posture shows confidence 5 4 3 2 1

0dressed appropriately for situation 5 4 3 2 1 0generally effective and extemporaneous 5 4 3 2 1 0

CONCLUSION (10)reviewed major points 5 4 3 2 1 0

conclusion that refers back to introduction 5 4 3 2 10

NOTE CARD (5)only five note cards used 5 4 3 2 1

0

OUTLINE (35)Typed 5 4 3 2 1

0in correct outline form 5 4 3 2 1 0at least three sources 5 4 3 2 1 0sources written in correct MLA style 5 4 3 2 1 0sources are alphabetized 5 4 3 2 1

0sources use hanging indentation 5 4 3 2 1

0transitions included and labeled 5 4 3 2 1

0TOTAL ______/160