Informative Speech Outline Assignment

COMS 101

Informative Speech Outline Assignment Instructions

Overview

This course requires you to present an informative speech to a live, visually documented audience of 3 or more adults.

Your speech grade will be determined by the degree to which you satisfy the requirements listed below.

Instructions

1. Choose an appropriate topic.

This assignment requires you to research a job field that you already work in or that you may wish to enter someday to show how someone can use it as a platform for promoting something God values in the world. See the United States Department of Labor’s “Occupational Outlook Index” for an extensive list of jobs you may wish to consider profiling for this project.

Speech Goals
: Because this is an informative speech—a speech in which you merely report information from credible sources without expressing your personal opinion—your goal in this presentation is simply to use information from appropriately credited expert sources in 2 ways:

(1) To describe this occupation to your audience; and,

(2) To show through documented examples or expert quotations how people can use this occupation as a platform for advancing something that God values according to Scripture.

Among the many occupation-related points you could communicate to your audience in this informative speech are the nature of the work, the training or credentials required, employment-related trends, future outlook there, pay scale, etc.

Other Topic Selection Criteria: Your topic must satisfy not only the preceding criteria, but also the topic selection criteria set forth in the course reading materials and the Liberty University Online Honor Code. In addition, your topic must comply with the following:

· Choose a Topic You Can Address Ethically: Avoid any topic that leads you to portray legally or ethically questionable texts or behaviors in a favorable light. This includes but is not limited to theses that advance sexually promiscuous activity, the use of illegal substances, or other behaviors that Liberty University’s statement of values prohibits. Questions about the appropriateness of topics, sources, etc. should be directed to your instructor early in the speech-planning process.

· Choose a Topic You Can Address Originally: Your speech topics must be researched, selected, and delivered primarily for this course and not primarily for, or in conjunction with, a presentation for a church group, a Sunday School class, a social group, or any other small group. You may not give a speech that serves a double purpose.

· Choose a Topic You Can Address as Required by the Instructions: You must choose a topic that enables you to construct the speech in a way that satisfies the specific requirements of the corresponding Grading Rubric, which lists the criteria that your instructor will use when grading your presentation.

2. Form a thesis statement and research the topic.

Please note the following:

Process Overview: To do this, you should do the following:

(1) Form a preliminary thesis—a single-sentence statement that succinctly proposes a a main point about the profiled job field and its potential as a platform for promoting something that God values according to Scripture. Because this functions as your working thesis, you should assume for now that this will be the main point of the speech.

(2) Research credible sources for thesis-related information about your topic.

(3) Finalize your thesis, modifying it if necessary to match what your research disclosed.

(4) Express this finalized thesis as a complete thought in a single-sentence thesis statement.

(5) Choose the information from your research that most powerfully delivers the type of information that this thesis statement requires.

(6) Present this information in a logically sequenced outline of properly documented main points, sub-points, and perhaps even sub-sub-points, using the Informative Speech Outline Template document as your formatting guide.

(7) Your outline in its final form will serve as the blueprint that you mentally must follow while extemporaneously delivering the speech to your audience.

Source-Related Requirements: For your informative speech, you are required to use 3 expert sources. You must use and clearly cite examples, illustrations, statistics, quotations from experts, etc. from at least 3 expert sources in this project. An expert source is a person, group of persons, or organization with documentable expertise in the area it addresses. Information from such sources typically derives from personal interviews with credentialed experts or from documentable print and/or electronic publications.

· The Bible as an Expert Source: While you may of course use the Bible as a source when related to your topic, it must be in addition to the 3 required sources.

· Non-Expert Sources: Never use information from anonymous or questionable sources such as Wikipedia or any printed source authored by someone whose credentials for addressing the topic are not clearly established.

· Liberty University Database Source Options: It behooves you to consult the Jerry Falwell Library for access to many useful, credible databases.

3. Organize your information in the form of a conventional speech outline.

After you have finished your topic-related research and found what you believe to be enough credible information to support your original thesis statement or a modified version of the thesis, begin the process of organizing it in the form of a speech outline.

Be sure to satisfy the following guidelines:

Create a Draft Outline and then a Final Outline: The speech outline process involves 2 submissions. If you post the optional draft outline, your instructor will provide constructive feedback to it that can help you create a stronger final outline. Submit each outline via its designated Blackboard submission link during the module: week when it is due.

· Use the Provided Outline Template to Build Your Outline: Download the MS-Word formatted Informative Speech Outline Template document. Retain its format, but be sure to overwrite its non-boldfaced content with content of your own that is appropriate for that element in a speech that aims to support your thesis about your topic.

Use Topical Pattern to Order Your Content: For the informative speech outline and speech, you must use Topical organizational pattern for addressing your topic. See your course materials for more about this pattern.

Include All Essential Outline Sections: These include the following:

· The introduction must be listed in this order: your attention-getter, credibility statement, thesis statement, and preview statement.

· The body must include 2–5 main points, each with supportive subpoints, and perhaps even sub-subpoints. These will consist mainly of documented examples, illustrations, statistics, quotations from experts, etc. that you have derived from the 3 or more expert sources that this project requires.

· The conclusion must include a summary statement, a call to action, and a concluding element that refocuses the audience’s attention on the thesis.

· The Works Cited (MLA), Reference page (APA), or Bibliography (Turabian) must properly credit your sources and must do so in the format prescribed by the respective format used.

Document Your Sources Properly: Do so both in the outline itself and on an end-of-document source citation page.

· Use In-Text and End-Page Citations: Whether you directly quote, summarize, or paraphrase information from another source, always explicitly acknowledge the source from which you derived the information.

· Always Offset Direct Quotes with Quotation Marks! Place directly quoted words inside double-quotation marks to make it clear that you are not claiming to be the originator of the quotation’s wording. Failure to use double-quotation marks to offset directly quoted material constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism a serious academic offense that can result in automatic failure of the assignment or automatic failure of the course (see the Liberty University Honor Code for more information about this).

· Avoid Plagiarism! Always explicitly attribute information to the source from which you derived it. This requires you to use parenthetical citations or footnotes in the outline itself to show which information derives from which expert source. This also requires you to list the same sources on a Works Cited (MLA), Reference (APA), or Bibliography page (Turabian) in the format prescribed by the style manual that you choose for this project.

· Use Direct Quotes Sparingly: If you include directly quoted material from another source in your outline, it must account for no more than 20-percent of the outline’s content.

Remember to Submit the Informative Speech Outline before its Deadline!

If you have questions about these guidelines, direct them to your instructor as soon as possible.

*The views and opinions expressed in the videos are those of the speakers or authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by Liberty University.

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COMS101

Informative Speech Outline Template

Your Name:

COMS 101 Section ___

Date Due:

Organization: Identify your outline pattern here. Your only option for this speech is the Topical pattern (see course readings, ch. 7).

Audience analysis: Provide a description of your audience (e.g., its demographics like age, gender, ethnicity, etc. as well as any other information about them that impacts the way you plan and present the speech (see course readings, ch. 4).

Topic: In 1 or 2 sentences, identify the career/job field that you, in this speech, will define, describe, and present to the audience as a platform for promoting what God values. Simply state here that one can use this job field [identify it] to promote specific things that God values [identify them]. (See the Informative Outline and Speech Instructions document.)

General Goal: To inform the audience about _____ (the job field you will profile)

Specific Goal: I want to inform my audience about the ______ job field and to show members how this vocation can serve as a platform for promoting _______ [list a God-valued quality or two here]—qualities that God values according to Scripture [cite a biblical passage or two that supports your statement that God values this quality]. (see course readings, ch. 4)

Introduction:

I. Get Attention

Use an attention-getter to introduce the topic (see course readings, ch. 8).

II. Establish Relevance

Show the audience how this topic relates to them (see course readings, ch. 8).

III. Establish Credibility

Identify the credentials or experiences that qualify you to address this topic as an authority (see course readings, ch. 8).

IV. State the Thesis

Present your purpose or thesis statement—a statement that encapsulates your speech’s main idea—here. State it as 1 complete sentence, with subject, verb, and complete thought (see course readings, ch. 8).

V.
Preview Your Main Points

Present a preview statement here. Briefly explain that you will now validate or prove the thesis by presenting Main Point 1 (state it), Main Point 2 (state it), Main Point 3 (state it), etc. Be sure to list each of the body section’s main points, in the order you will cover them.

Transition: Use a word, phrase, or sentence to notify your audience that you now will support your purpose or thesis by presenting the main points in their stated order and in greater detail (see course readings, ch. 7).

Body:

I. Main Point 1. State it as 1 complete, declarative sentence. Works with the other main points to develop the thesis statement. Be sure it consists with the chosen organizational pattern you identified above.

A. An example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 1 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

B. Another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 1 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

C. If needed, another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quotes from an expert, or other supportive material that supports or illustrates Main Point 1 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

Transition: Use a word, phrase, or sentence to notify your audience that you are now transitioning from your first main point to your second main point (see course readings, ch. 7).

II. Main Point 2. State it as 1 complete, declarative sentence. Works with the other main points to develop the thesis statement. Be sure it consists with the chosen organizational pattern you identified above.

A. An example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 2 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

B. Another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 2 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

C. If needed, another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quotes from an expert, or other supportive material that supports or illustrates Main Point 2 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

Transition: Use a word, phrase, or sentence to notify your audience that you are now transitioning from your second main point to your third main point (see course readings, ch. 7).

III. Main Point 3. State it as 1 complete, declarative sentence. Works with the other main points to develop the thesis statement. Be sure it consists with the chosen organizational pattern you identified above.

A. An example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 3 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

B. Another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quote from a properly cited expert source that supports or illustrates Main Point 3 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

C. If needed, another example, illustration, statistic, comparison, quotes from an expert, or other supportive material that supports or illustrates Main Point 3 (Parenthetical Citation, if this came from a source).

Other Main Points: These are optional, depending on the needs of your speech. If you use them, they function in the same way as the preceding points.

Transition: Use a word, phrase, or sentence to notify your audience that you are now transitioning into your conclusion (see course readings, ch. 7).

Conclusion:

I. Summarize Your Thesis and Main Points

Briefly restate your presentation’s thesis and main points (see course readings, ch. 8). Your wording should be very similar to the wording you used when previewing the main points in the introduction section and when presenting the main points in the body section.

II. End with a Clincher (see course readings, ch. 8).

Works Cited (if using MLA) or References (if using APA) or Bibliography (if using Turabian)

Using MLA, APA, or Turabian style, to present an alphabetized, properly formatted list of any sources that you cited in the outline. For a helpful online guide to proper formatting in each of these styles, see the CASAS Academic Success Center’s “Writing Style Guides” site at https://www.liberty.edu/casas/academic-success-center/writing-style-guides/. For automated source formatting assistance, see Landmark’s Citation Machine at https://www.citationmachine.net/index2.php. Each link can be found under the Informative Speech Ouline Assignment Resources section.

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COMS 101

Informative Speech Outline Example

John Student

COMS 101 Section ___

September 7, 2015

Organization: Topical pattern

Audience analysis: My audience consists of two white college-aged women and a middle-aged white man, all of whom are college-educated, who attend a small Methodist church in the coal fields of southern West Virginia. Each is unemployed or has a close relative who is unemployed.

Topic: The elder care vocation presents unique opportunities for advancing what God values by promoting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of older people.

General Goal: To inform the audience about the job field of elder care

Specific Goal: I want to inform my audience about the elder care vocation and how it can function as a platform for promoting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of older people, something God values according to Scripture (Lev. 19:32; Job 12:12; Prov. 16:31; Isa. 46:3–4).

Introduction:

I. Get Attention

According to Dr. Cathleen Carr, an eldercare specialist and founder of CetifiedCare, ‘The demand for elder caregivers is growing rapidly as the population of the United States faces record growth in the elderly population.’”[footnoteRef:1] Indeed, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for personal care aides will climb 70.5% between 2010 and 2020” (BLS).[footnoteRef:2] [1: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9119048.htm] [2: http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_103.htm]

II. Establish Relevance

Elder care is an emerging job field with rewarding opportunities for people who want secure jobs, like many of you, could consider.

III. Establish Credibility

I have gained an understanding of this job field through my work as an elder care volunteer for the past two years and through formal research.

IV. State the Thesis

If you are looking for a career opportunity through which you can make a God-honoring difference in people’s lives, elder care is an emerging job field that could give you the excellent opportunity for which you seek.

V. Preview Your Main Points

During the minutes that follow, I will explain discuss this job field, showing you, first, that America is an aging nation, second, that the nation has a growing need for elder care specialists and, third, that the elder care field presents great opportunities for interacting with people in a way that God values according to Scripture.

Transition: Let’s take a closer look at this.

Body:

I. Main Point 1. America’s population is aging.

A. According to statistics from the United Nations Population Division, the percentage of Americans who are age 65 and older has grown from 8.3% in 1950, to 9.8% in 1970, to 12.3% in 1990, to 13% in 2010. This figure is expected to grow to 19.8% in 2030 and 21.6% in 2050.[footnoteRef:3] [3: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/04/business/aging-population.html]

B. The Population Reference Board, in a 2011 report, attributed this shift to a number of factors, such as declining birth rates, reductions in mortality at older ages, and the advances in the treatment of diseases and chronic conditions.[footnoteRef:4] [4: http://www.prb.org/pdf11/aging-in-america ]

C. As America’s older demographic grows, one reasonably infers, so will the demand for addressing the wants and the needs that older people often have.

Transition: This brings me to my second point.

II. Main Point 2. As America’s aging population grows, so does the nation’s need for elder care specialists.

A. Citing a variety of supportive studies, the University of Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies claimed, in 2006, that “[t]he expected growth of the older adult population in the U.S. over the next 50 years will have an unprecedented impact on the U.S. health care system, especially in terms of supply of and demand for health care workers.” The factors contributing to this increased demand include the following:[footnoteRef:5] [5: http://www.albany.edu/news/pdf_files/impact_of_aging_excerpt ]

1. First, “Older adults are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses (e.g., cancer, heart disease, diabetes) than younger people. About 84% of those age 65 and older suffer from at least one chronic condition, compared to 38% of those ages 20 to 44 . . .”

2. Second, “Older adults are more likely to require the services of health professionals as a result of injuries and illnesses due to greater physical vulnerability (e.g., they are more likely to break bones in falls; they are more likely to contract pneumonia as a consequence of influenza).”

3. Third, “Older adults have more limitations in terms of performing activities of daily living than younger people due to greater rates of physical and cognitive disability. Almost 35% of adults age 65 and older have an activity limitation, compared to about 6% of those ages 18 to 44 . . .”

4. Fourth, “Older adults consume far more prescription medications than younger people.”

5. Fifth, “Older adults consume more ambulatory care, hospital services, nursing home services, and home health care services than younger people. People age 65 and older average 706 ambulatory care visits per 100 people (compared to 291 visits per 100 people age 18–44); average 286.6 hospital discharges per 1,000 people (compared to 94.8 for ages 18-44); and constitute more than 70% of home health care patients . . .”

6. Sixth, “The needs and utilization patterns of baby boomer older adults may be different from those of current older adults in important ways, and this will also affect the demands placed on the health care system in the future.”

7. Seventh, “Baby boomer older adults will have a smaller pool of potential family caregivers than current older adults. They have had fewer children than their parents, and are more likely to have had no children (more than 12% of women in this cohort are childless . . . They are also more likely to be divorced (lifetime divorce rates are projected to be 53% for the cohort . . . and will thus be more likely to live alone as they enter old age.”[footnoteRef:6] [6: http://www.albany.edu/news/pdf_files/impact_of_aging_excerpt ]

B. Further confirming this trend, the Alzheimer’s Association, in a 2004 report, projected that the United States would see an average 44 percent increase in Alzheimer’s Disease—a degerative mental disease often associated with aging—by the year 2025.[footnoteRef:7] [7: http://www.alz.org/alzwa/documents/alzwa_resource_ad_fs_ad_state_growth_stats ]

C. With the emergence of this aging trend, the demand for health care workers is dramatically increasing. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that “healthcare is the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, employing over 18 million workers.”[footnoteRef:8] [8: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/]

Transition: This brings me to my final point.

III. Main Point 3. The elder care field presents great opportunities for interacting with people in a way that God values according to Scripture.

A. God values the well-being of older human life (Lev. 19:32; Job 12:12; Prov. 16:31; Isa. 46:3–4) and impaired human life (Matt. 14:14; 15:30; 20:34; Luke 4:18; 7:22).[footnoteRef:9] Elder care specialists clearly can promote this through their work. [9: Donald H. Alban Jr., Speech Communication: A Redemptive Introduction. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2012, 74.]

B. God also values our love for others (John 13:34–35; 15:12–17; Rom. 12:10; 16:16; 1 John 4:7-21).[footnoteRef:10] If authentic love for others motivates the elder care specialist to do his or her job, he or she promotes something God values by doing it. [10: Alban 75]

C. Finally, God values our compassion for others, and this includes the poor and oppressed and the sick (Matt. 25:31-46).[footnoteRef:11] [11: Alban 75]

Transition: This brings me to my conclusion.

Conclusion:

I. Summarize Your Thesis and Main Points

As I just demonstrated, America’s population is aging. As the nation’s aging population grows, so does its need for elder care health workers. Thus, a career in this field may be worth considering and not just because of the job opportunities it presents. Rather, a career in this field may be worth considering because it presents great opportunities for honoring God by helping the elderly, showing authentic love to them, and expressing compassion for those among them who are poor, oppressed, and sick.

II. End with a Clincher

Are you looking for a job in which employment opportunities abound? Are you also looking for a job through which you can honor God by promoting what He values? The elder care job field might be the answer to your search.

Bibliography

“The Aging of America.” The New York Times. 5 Feb. 2011,

“Alzheimer’s disease growth: U.S.will see average 44 percent increase in Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.” Alzheimer’s Association. 2004. < http://www.alz.org/alzwa/documents/alzwa_resource_ad_fs_ad_state_growth_stats >

Alban, Donald H., Jr. Speech Communication: A Redemptive Introduction. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2012.

“America’s Aging Population.” Population Reference Bureau. Feb. 2011,
< http://www.prb.org/pdf11/aging-in-america >.

“CertifiedCare Explains Development In Personal Care Aide Legislation That Protects The Rapidly Increasing Elderly Population.” PRWeb. 19 Jan. 2012, .

“Employment Projections.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1 Feb. 2012, < http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_103.htm>.

“Healthcare Workers.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 16 April 2013.
< http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/>.

“The Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States: Summary of Key Findings.” Center for Health Workforce Studies. March 2006.
< http://www.albany.edu/news/pdf_files/impact_of_aging_excerpt >.

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