Topic + Thesis Submission

There are 4 parts to this assignment. Submission directions are at the end.

1. Selecting a topic; your topic must be a controversial topic that has public urgency

.You will explain how your topic meets certain criteria listed below

2. A thesis for the informative speech (it must be a claim of fact)

• You will explain how you know that your thesis meets the criteria for a claim of fact and how it will help a foundation for your persuasive speech (without taking a stand in the informative speech)

3. A possible thesisfor the persuasive speech. (It must be a claim of value or a claim of policy. This may be revised and get more specific as you conduct research).

You will identify whether you think your persuasive speech thesis will be a claim of value or a claim of policy

4. Post to the discussion board below

Step 1: Selecting a topic

If you need a refresher on how to brainstorm and narrow your topic idea, review the following pages

3.1 Informative and Persuasive Speech Topic: An Urgent Public Controversy

Informative and Persuasive Speech Topic: An Urgent Public Controversy

The informative and persuasive speech assignments have two very different objectives

But they are linked

Your informative and persuasive speeches must both be focused on the same topic

The topic must be a matter of public debate

Your topichas to bea matter of urgent public controversy

But you will approach this topic in two very different ways in these two speeches

Informative Speech

In your informative speech, you willnotbe persuading your audience to agree with you.

You will provide background information, define key terms, describe context, and maybe explain a little bit about why the topic is controversial.

You willnottake a stand or persuade your audience to pick one side over another

Your thesis will be a claim of fact

• The rest of this module will explain and discuss what a claim of fact is, and how to write one

Your speech will consist of supporting claims of fact, plus evidence and sound reasoning.

• Don't worry, you'll have the chance to do that in the persuasive speech

Persuasive Speech

Your persuasive speech will build on the work you have done in your informative speech

You will be allowed to use a few of the same sources

You will take a stand on this controversial topic and try to persuade your classroom audience to agree with you by presenting a well-researched, well-reasoned argument

You will identify a problem and propose a solution

• You might propose to change the way we see/view/think about something (a value speech) or you might propose that we take a specific, concrete action (a policy speech)

Your thesis will be a claim of value or a claim of policy

If your thesis is a value claim, your speech will consist of supporting claims of value and supporting claims of fact , plus evidence and sound reasoning.

If your thesis is a policy claim, your speech will consist of supporting claims of policy, supporting claims of value and supporting claims of fact , plus evidence and sound reasoning.

3.1 Selecting a Topic

• Select a topic based on interest
• Select a topic based on passion
• Select a topic you know a lot about
• Select a topic that you want to learn more about
• Select a topic based on career interests

Keep In Mind

• Keep in mind the amount of time you have and what you can accomplish
• Keep in mind what information might be out there that is credible - do you have the time for the research?

Keep in mind that you need to be specific with your topic - Ex. Immigration or Homelessness are very large topics

What can you specifically focus on within those topics?

Keep in mind - Why should your audience want or need to know about your topic?

Use the answer to this question to help you narrow your topic down

Keep in mind that even though your informative speech is not persuasive,you will have to propose a future change in your persuasive speech.

Your persuasive speech can't argue that we shouldn't have passed a law that already passed 6 months ago. You will need to propose a future action in your persuasive speech

Make sure you pick a topic that is current enough that you can propose future action when you get to the persuasive speech.

The broader your topic is, the more work your speech will be

Make your speech--and your research--manageable by narrowing the subject area you are covering

Be specific!

Topics youcannotuse as the basis for your informative and persuasive speeches include the following:

1. abortion
2. gun rights/control*
3. marijuana
4. exercise/obesity
5. the drinking age
6. the same topic as a classmate--the topic + thesis submission assignment is first come, first served

Selecting a topic checklist

An urgent public controversy means that there is a problem that needs to be solved, and people disagree about either a) what the problem is or b) how to solve it.For it to be an urgent controversy, it means thatif we do not solve the problem, then people, animals, the environment, or something else in our community will be harmed(not necessarily physical harm).

Remember that you will talk about the same topic for the informative and persuasive speeches. Therefore the topic must be controversial and a matter of public urgency.To make sure that is true, go through the list below and make sure you can answer each of the following questions.

What is the problem that needs to be solved?This can be fairly broad at this stage. (the answer to this question is your topic)

Is the controversy familiar to a large number of people? If not, can you demonstrate that it is an urgent problem that more peoplearen'tfamiliar with this controversy?

Do reasonable people disagree about this controversy right now, in the present? (For example, there are people who believe the earth is flat. That is not reasonable. The fact that some YouTube conspiracy theorists believe the earth is flat does not actually make it a matter of debate. Reasonable people have to disagree for this assignment).

Who in our community is affected by this problem?

Is the controversy something that can be affected through communication?Does it, in other words, present a situation in which communication can solve, or contribute to solving, a specific problem? In other words, what will you write about for your persuasive speech?

Who disagrees about the nature of the problem or how to solve it (different community groups, political parties, people living in different neighborhoods, etc)?

what makes the problem urgent? In other words, who or what will be harmed if we do not address this issue?

Step 2: Informative Thesis (claim of fact)

Note: you may actually want to go ahead and do step 3 before step 2, if you get stuck.It can be easier to figure out where you want to end up with the persuasive speech (what kind of change do you want to propose? ) and from there, it can be easier to decide on your focus for the informative speech.

Once you have selected your topic, you need to write an informative speech thesis related to your chosen topic.

The questions below are to help you craft your primary claim of fact, which will be the thesis for your informative speech.

You should answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second question

Can you replace any of the words in your claim with "good" or "bad" (Or with "better" or "worse") and still have your claim mostly make sense? Your answer should be no. If youranswer is yes, double check as to whether or not you have a value term in your claim and revise accordingly.

Is your claim potentially empirically testable? (you should be be able to answer yes to this question). How do you know?

Step 3: Possible Persuasive Thesis (claim of value or policy)

You will propose a change, either to the way your audience views/sees the problem (a claim of value) or you will propose a specific action (a claim of policy).

How does your proposed action or proposed change in values help to address the problem you identified above?

Step 4: Post the following 3 things to the discussion board

Number each part of your submission post clearly with 1, 2, and 3:

1.Your proposed topicYour topic should be clearly identified in the first sentence of part 1 of your post. That means you need to tell me whatproblem you think needs to be solved.

Then explain in sentences how you answered the questions posed in Step 1 above.Most importantly, make certain that you include:the problem to be solved(that's your your topic!),who disagrees about your topic, andwhat makes this problem urgent(something that needs to be solved right away)?What or who will be harmedif we do not solve this problem?

2.An informative speech thesis (a claim of fact)related to the topic you selected in step 1

• Your informative thesis should be one, clear, declarative sentence.Your informative thesisshould be the first sentence of part 2 in your submission post.
• Explain in sentences how you think you will think this will provide background/context and set you up for your persuasive speech (though you will not be taking a stand on the controversial issue in your informative speech).
• Explain in sentences how you know your claim is potentially empirically testable, i.e., a claim of fact and not a claim of value or policy

3.A persuasive speech thesis (a claim of value or a claim of policy)that will build on your informative speech

• Your persuasive thesis should be one,declarative sentence.Your persuasive thesisshould be the first sentence of part3 in your submission post.
• It can be slightly more general and subject to revision than your informative thesis. But you need to have an idea of where you are headed, since the two speeches are related.
• Identify whether this proposed thesis is intended to be a claim of value or a claim of policy