Public Speaking
Historical Speech Analysis Paper
Choose one of the iconic speeches from the attached list and write a paper analyzing its use of the five canons of rhetoric – invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery - which we discussed in class. A copy of the Powerpoint used to discuss the canons is available on Blackboard under Course Content, Powerpoints.
Use the canons to organize the body of the paper. Start off with a paragraph introducing the speech and then go into the canons.
End the paper with a solid conclusion.
Your goal is not to tell me what was in the speech – so and so said this - but to analyze how what is in the speech is, or is not, an example of the use of the 5 canons of rhetoric. For example, MLK used the extemporaneous delivery technique in his “I Have a Dream” speech. This was appropriate because he was able to maintain some eye contact with the large audience and make use of hand gestures. Certainly, you may quote the speech, but only to use that quote as an example of the use of one of the canons.
Type up your analysis in 3-5 pages, double-spaced. At the top of your first page list your name, the name of the speaker and the title of the speech. A cover page is not necessary. You must use at least 3 sources for this assignment. More is fine, less is not. The speech itself – in any format, like print and video – is one source. You need at least two others, like a newspaper or scholarly article, book or other source that addresses the speech in some way. Cite your sources using MLA style, both within the paper and at the end on a Works Cited page. (See the MCC library home page for an MLA guide).
This assignment is due on the day given by the professor during class. You must submit it on Blackboard and turn in a hard copy in class. No handwritten or late assignments will be accepted.
You must get a draft of your paper seen by a tutor at the Academic Support Center (ASC). ASC tutors will not proofread your paper only! Instead, your tutor will discuss larger ideas regarding your writing to help you write the strongest paper possible. See the Tutoring Form on Blackboard for more details.
The confirmation of the tutoring session needs to be sent to the instructor by the paper due date. It does not need to be turned in with the hard copy of the paper or submitted on Blackboard.
Below is the list of speeches from which you may choose for this assignment.
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/mandela.htm
“I have been to the Mountaintop” http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
Pearl Harbor: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm
“A More Perfect Union” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88478467
Speech to the Democratic National Committee 2004 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0&feature=related and transcript http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/demconv04/obama072704sp.html
“Address to Nation on the Challenger” https://www.reaganfoundation.org/ronald-reagan/reagan-quotes-speeches/address-to-the-nation-on-the-explosion-of-the-space-shuttle-challenger/
“Women’s Rights are Human Rights” http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hillaryclintonbeijingspeech.htm
2016 Democratic National Convention Address
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2016/michelleobamadnc2016.htm
*Contact your instructor or consult your course's Blackboard shell for guidelines for the Historic Speech Analysis Paper.
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