Dear
students,
You did
very well on completing last week’s tasks. Out of sight!
We
are almost about to wrap up this short course on writing a speech, so this week’s
tutorial is the last. (However, you are still going to keep working on your
final speech, challenges, etc.!)
Our
goal for this week is to sum up what you have learned at this course, i.e. the speech
structure, the speech purpose and objectives, and creative ideas to make the
speech juicy.
As usual, please, email Yulia if you have any questions or concerns about the tasks. (irychkov@go.olemiss.edu).
These tasks are due
Thursday, November 15th.
Best wishes
EDITING AND PROOFREADING
Once you figure out the topic, the purpose, the objectives, and the
objectives of your speech as well as come up with good ideas to implement in
your speech, you can finally start writing your speech.
The recommended steps are:
- write a rough draft
- refine your draft,
adding illustrations and changing words
- rewrite it into
spoken English, shortening sentences and changing words
- rehearse the speech
aloud, timing it
- make alterations to
fit the time slot.
I can’t tell if there is a limit for possible corrections. My experience shows
that there is always something that can be altered or improved in a text. Anyway,
it’s fine to be a bit of a perfectionist while editing the speech.
Definitely, every author and public speaker also has their own secrets
for polishing the text. For example, Stephen King in his book “On Writing” emphasizes,
“the adverb is not your friend.” In fact, he believes that “the road to hell is
paved with adverbs” and compares them to dandelions that ruin your lawn.
Adverbs are worst after “he said” and “she said” — those phrases are best left
unadorned. You should also pay attention to your paragraphs, so that they flow with
the turns and rhythms of your story. “Paragraphs are almost always as important
for how they look as for what they say,” says King.
The more you write the more ideas and tricks you will work out.
For now, consider the rules in chapter 5.2. Learning the Golden Rules
of Speech Writing in
your course book and complete the following task.
TASK 1.
Here is
a speech draft written by Denis, a student who is taking Public speaking course
this semester. He knows there is a lot of room for improvement in his speech.
Help Denis to edit and polish his speech, applying all the writing strategies
you know. Don’t hesitate to re-write the whole sentence or even paragraph if
needed. Publish the final version of the speech in
your blog. Highlight your additions and
corrections in red.
Things to consider:
- 3-part
speech structurу
- Strong
introduction (attention-getter, topic sentence, etc.)
- Clear,
well-structured body
- Inspiring
conclusion (summing up the arguments, call for action, etc.)
- Connectors
and transitions
- Correct
grammar and vocabulary
Why You Should Exercise
Hello! I believe exercise really helps you get organized. It also
helps you to keep yourself in a healthy physically and mentally. Let’s see why
it is so. When you are a lazy person, it is difficult to take
the first step, but it is all a matter of committing yourself to something that
will provide you a lot of positive feedback. Once you start doing exercise and
observing positive results, you actually enjoy it. It takes a lot of effort and
strong will, but it's worth it. The principal thing to do is to participate in
an activity you like. If you start organizing your day, you will no
longer be a person stressed-out without time to carry on with all your
activities. Also, it is obvious that once you exercise you will have a better
condition. You will be healthier in a physical way. It is probable that you
will lose weight and your muscles will get stronger and stronger. Your body
will feel good, full of energy and it will respond immediately to any action
you want to do, any activity that has to be done with high spirits. Exercising is good is that it affects you positively
in a mental and psychological way. Doing exercise helps you set specific goals
which can be achieved. You become aware of your abilities, accept your
weaknesses, and your self-esteem goes up. Any sport helps you not to think
about school, friends, problems, among other things. It brings you time to
think about yourself and no one else. It helps you keep your mind busy and to
avoid dangerous habits like drugs. Doing exercise is very important to any person of any
age. When exercise, you start living your life happily.
