1. WHAT WILL I SPEAK ABOUT? Some of you may know what you want to talk about already. Others of you may not know what you want to talk about yet. Regardless of which group you’re in, you need to have your topic approved by me, and very soon.

2. WHAT DO I DO ONCE MY TOPIC IS APPROVED? You need to research it, using library materials. The Internet can be used only to access GALILEO. You may not use any dot anything as source material for your speeches. You will need a minimum of five sources, but….

3. WHAT IS MEANT BY REFINING THE TOPIC? You need to be specific about your topic. A topic such as cats needs to be refined, be more specific.

4. WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE? By definition it is an infinitive phrase which addresses the audience and states precisely what you hope to achieve with your speech. The biggest problem you will face in writing your specific purpose is stating precisely what you hope to achieve since the infinitive phrase is a given as well as addressing the audience.

5. WHAT IS THE CENTRAL IDEA? The central idea is a sentence that includes your specific purpose and your main points. For example, what if your specific purpose is “To inform you about the four qualities of a diamond”? The central idea would then be “I want to inform you about the four qualities of a diamond which are cut, clarity, color and carat.”

6. WHAT ARE THE MAIN POINTS? Main points are the logical subcategories of what you hope to achieve in your speech. The number of main points are from 2 to 5. Main points are mutually exclusive. Main points are equally emphasized. Main points are written in parallel construction.

7. CAN A SPECIFIC PURPOSE HAVE MAIN POINTS? Sometimes putting your main points into your specific purpose is the best way to be clear about what you hope to achieve with your speech. A problem/solution persuasive speech is one of the few I can think of. For example, “I want to convince you that the solution to the problem of teenage pregnancy is the free distribution of condoms in high school.”

8. WHAT DO I DO AFTER I AM CONFIDENT ABOUT MY SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND CENTRAL IDEA? You start writing the body of your speech. For each main point you will have information you gathered from your research. It is in the body of your speech where you are most likely to commit plagiarism, but plagiarism can occur in your introduction and your conclusion also.

9. WHAT THREE THINGS ARE NECESSARY TO AVOID PLAGIARISM? Place quotation marks around direct quotations. Attribute your sources in your outline and in your delivery. Cite your sources in your bibliography.

10. WHAT COMES AFTER WRITING THE BODY? You can start writing your introduction which comes in four parts and in the following order: 1. the attention getter, 2. revealing your topic/purpose, 3. establishing your credibility, 4. and previewing your main points. The introduction is handled in Chapter 10 of Lucas.

11. WHAT COMES AFTER WRITING THE INTRODUCTION? You can start writing your conclusion which has these two requirements: 1. signals the end of your speech, 2. and summarizes your speech by repeating the main points. The conclusion is handled in Chapter 10 of Lucas.

12. NOW IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? Yes, but it will take the rest of the semester.