1. Graduation Speech Analysis Paper Assignment Description
ENG 113: Composition I

2. Graduation Speech Analysis Paper Assignment
Select One of the following Graduation Speeches:
Jake Tapper (Journalist), Dartmouth College, 2017
Link to video and text:
Octavia Spencer (Actress), Kent State University, 2017
Link to video:
Link to text:
Dr. Adam Grant (Researcher/Author), Utah State University, 2017
Link to video: and text:
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor), University of Houston, 2017

3. “Communication Triangle”
Context = Graduation
a special event
a transition
Audience = wants to leave as soon as possible
Text = established pattern of graduation speeches
Life lesson, advice, inspiration, wisdom
Speaker (writer) = someone with expertise
The speaker’s goal is to create a message that keeps the audience’s attention and leaves a lasting impression so that it will not be forgotten

4. Guiding Question
How does the form of the speech help or hinder the speaker’s ability to share his/her message with the audience?

5. Strategies
Strategies the Speaker uses to help the audience understand, enjoy, and remember his/her message
Establish his/her credibility
Why should the audience listen to this speaker?
Expertise, past experience, “just like you,” fame
Use emotion
Tug at the audience’s heartstrings, make them laugh, make them cry, make them feel sympathetic
Hold the audience’s attention with sound logic
Include different types of evidence, build the organization of the argument so that it flows well with clear transitions

6. Reading Recursively
Focus on the text of the speech (you can watch the video, but you need to analyze the written text)
First Reading
Pay attention to your own reactions/emotions
Second Reading
Pay attention to the text = annotate!
Third Reading
Pay attention to how content and form work together
Putting it all together
Is the speech effective? Does the form of the speech , and the strategies the speaker uses, help or hinder to the speaker’s message?
Take a stand on the effectiveness of the strategies

7. Your Assignment Select one of the Graduation Speeches
Summarize the speech – (no more than 300 words)
Identify the speakers main idea/thesis
Describe the key points the speaker makes to support the main idea
Explain how the writer meets the expectations for a good Graduation speech
Examine the effectiveness of the strategies used in the article
Credibility, Emotion, Logic (one paragraph each)
Describe how the strategy is used in the speech
Explain whether or not the strategy was successful
Use specific quotations in proper MLA format to support your analysis
Evaluate the overall effectiveness of how well the strategies work together to convey the speaker’s message to the audience

8. Requirements Continued
Include a strong thesis that takes a clear stand on whether or not the speaker successfully used the three strategies to convey his or her message to the audience
Did the form help convey the content of the speech?
Use specific quotations from the text of the speech to support your analysis
Include a Works Cited page and MLA style in-text citations
Minimum Length: 5-7 Pages
(Approximately Words)
Worth 100 Points

9. Tips Direct the paper at a general, academic audience
Do not use pronouns such as “I” or “you”
Avoid unclear terms such as “it” or “things” – be specific instead
Choose the specific quotations that best illustrate your points and integrate them into the text so that it is clear how they support your analysis
Introduce quotations with a signal phrase – don’t just drop them into the text (Example – “The speaker argues”)
Don’t expect the reader to understand why the quotation is important and how it support your points = include explanations
Include in-text citations and a Works Cited page in proper MLA format

10. Preparing to Write the Graduation Speech Analysis
View the video of the speech, but focus on the transcript/text of the speech for the analysis
Do NOT focus on how the speech is delivered (body language, tone of voice, audience reaction)
Instead focus on how the text of the speech(both the content and the form of the written speech)
Read the text of the speech recursively (minimum three times!)
Annotate each paragraph with notes about the function of the paragraph and the strategies used by the speaker
Establish a timeline and a plan for how you will write your analysis
What is your working thesis?
What are the best quotations from the text to support your analysis?

11. Steps in Writing Your Analysis
Plan Your Analysis
Read the text of the graduation speech multiple times
Establish your working thesis – the main point that you want to support in your essay
The thesis should take a stand on how successful the speaker was in using the strategies to convey his or her message to the audience
Be prepared to revise your thesis as you read and write
Gather evidence to support your thesis
Prewrite
Write your ideas down: brainstorm, freewrite, etc.
Choose the evidence that works best to support your thesis
Write
Allow yourself plenty of time to draft and revise so that you can change the direction of your analysis if new ideas come to you

12. Steps in Writing The Graduation Speech Analysis
Draft your essay
Make sure that the content of the essay builds your argument with:
A strong introduction that includes
A hook that grabs the reader’s attention
An overview of the key points that you plan to make in the essay
A clear thesis that takes a stand on the effectiveness of the strategies
Body paragraphs that include
A topic sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph and provides a smooth transition
Specific evidence, including quotations, that supports your thesis
A clear conclusion that wraps up the essay in a creative and memorable way
Don’t simply repeat the introduction!

13. Building Your Argument
Edit your essay by verifying that:
the essay meets all of the requirements of the assignment and none of the pieces are missing
the essay flows well and there are no awkward sentences or paragraphs
Proofread your essay
Eliminate spelling, grammar, word choice, mechanical, and other errors
Make sure that all quotations, paraphrases, and summaries are properly integrated into the text and cited in MLA style with in text parenthetical documentation and complete and correct Works Cited page
The essay should be error free and polished when you hand it in
You will be required to eliminate errors for the portfolio, which does not count as “revisions”

14. Building Your Argument
The essay that you turn it should be polished, not a rough draft
The essay should have a clear focus with a strong thesis
The evidence in each body paragraph should support the thesis and be integrated effectively
The essay should flow well from paragraph to paragraph with smooth transitions
The essay should capture and hold the reader’s interest with your own “voice”
But do not use the pronouns “I” or “you”

15. A Polished Draft! What does a polished draft mean?
It is NOT a rough draft
It represents your best work
This means that you need to budget your time well
Planning/Prewriting
Drafting/Writing
Revising/Editing/Proofreading/Polishing
The polished draft that you hand in should:
Fulfill all of the requirements of the assignment
Include a strong introduction, a clear thesis, well-developed body paragraphs, and a creative conclusion
The essay should flow well, include specific quotations, and include a compelling analysis of the text
Is free of spelling, grammar, and other errors
This assignment is worth 100 points. You will be graded on how well the polished drafts fulfills the requirements of the assignment.
Errors in the draft will need to be fixed for the revised version submitted in the portfolio, but will not count as “revisions”

16. Graduation Speech Analysis
A strong essay will include sufficient details from the text (quote it, describe it) to support your analysis
However, a fine line exists between enough detail and too much
You must draft, revise, and edit to ensure that you are not flooding your audience with too much information that is not relevant to your thesis
They need your “voice” as a guide so that they understand why the evidence is important
You should use the same strategies you are critiquing in the speech while drafting your own essay:
Credibility – why should your reader trust you?
Emotion – why is the topic important? Why should your reader care?
Logic – how does the evidence and organization of your essay help the reader understand the speech better?

17. Organization of the Graduation Speech analysis
Beginning
Introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and provides the framework for your argument
Include a thesis statement that expresses your stand on the overall effectiveness of the author’s strategies
How successful is the speaker in using the three strategies to convey his/her message to the audience?
Body Paragraph 1: Summary of the Article
No more than 300 words
Identify the speaker’s main ideas and key supporting points
Your body paragraphs will demonstrate how the author uses the three strategies to convey his or her main idea to the audience, so you need to show what that main idea is first

18. Organization of the Graduation Speech Analysis, Continued
Middle
Body Paragraph 2: Credibility
Identify how the speaker establishes his or her credibility or expertise in the speech
(Minimum of 3 examples supported with specific quotations)
Evaluate this strategy. Was it effective? Why or why not?
Body Paragraph 3: Emotion
Identify how the speaker uses emotion in the speech
Body Paragraph 4: Logic
Identify how the speaker uses logic in the speech

19. Organization of The Graduation Speech Analysis, Continued
Ending
Body Paragraph 5: Evaluation of Overall Effectiveness
Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the three combined strategies in conveying the author’s purpose to the audience
How well did credibility, emotion, and logic work together to support the speaker’s main idea/message?
Were the strategies combined successfully? Why or why not?
Conclusion
Wrap up the essay effectively with a strong conclusion that highlights the key points of your analysis in a creative or memorable way
Do not simply repeat the introduction! Be creative instead!

20. Supporting Your Analysis
Be sure to support each point in your analysis with specific quotations from the text
Direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries should be cited in proper MLA format with in text parenthetical documentation
Include a Works Cited page at the end of the essay in proper MLA documentation style

21. Avoid Plagiarism
Plagiarism is intentional or unintentional use of another person’s words or ideas without proper documentation
Note: “Self-Plagiarism” is also plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is when you submit work done for another class without permission for credit in a different class.
(If you took this class before, you may not submit the same paper again in any form. You must write an entirely new paper. You cannot earn credit twice for the same work.)
Avoid plagiarism by properly citing the source for all quotes, paraphrases, and summaries
Use MLA Style in-text parenthetical documentation with a Works Cited Page at the end of the paper (See Chapter 10 in Practical Argument)
Purdue OWL MLA Formatting Style Guide:
Plagiarism is a violation of the York College Honor Code. Penalties for plagiarism may include:
Zero on the assignment
Zero in the course
Academic suspension

22. Handing In The Paper
Be sure to submit the paper on time to avoid late penalties!
The essay should be polished, not a rough draft!
The paper is due at the beginning of class (first five minutes).
You must have your printed copy with you at the start of class in order to participate in the peer review
If you do not bring a printed copy to class, the paper will be considered late!
There will be a 5% late penalty for papers not handed in during the first five minutes of class, even if it is handed in by the end of class.
In addition to the printed copy, you must upload an electronic copy of the paper to the Turnitin drop box on Moodle.
I will not be able to grade the paper until the electronic copy is uploaded

23. Reminder Hand your work in on time to avoid late penalties!
Late Policy:
Worksheets must be handed in on the due date. Worksheets not handed in on the due date will earn a zero.
The major papers handed in late will be penalized based on the amount of time that has passed from the due date:
Major papers not handed in during the first five minutes of class on the due date, but by the end of the class period = 5%
Major papers handed in after the class period ends and up to one week = 10%
Major papers handed in up to two weeks late = 20%
Major papers handed in three or more weeks late = 30%

24. Next Steps Choose the Graduation Speech that you want to analyze
Engage in a recursive reading of the text
Complete the Graduation Speech Analysis Topic Worksheet
Draft your analysis
Be sure to revise and proofread/edit so that you hand in your best polished draft!
Hand in
Peer Review
My comments
Keep everything!
One on one conferences (at the end of the semester)
Portfolio (due at the end of the semester)
Reflective paragraph explaining the revisions you made
Final version including major revisions based on peer review and my comments
Fixing spelling, grammar, or other errors and including in-text citations is mandatory and does not count as major revisions. If in-text citations are missing, you will receive a zero for the revised essay!
Original draft with peer review and comment sheet attached