Grammar for Writing:
Level Gold — Chapter 10
Education in the News
Photo: Teacher in Front of Class
Education is in the news almost daily. Should students be required to take science courses? Is home schooling the education of the future? Is too much emphasis put on math? Deciding what is the best, most effective path of education will affect students for years to come.

Your Assignment
Write a persuasive speech that is 3–5 minutes long on one educational issue. Take a stand on the issue, and convince your audience that you are right. Be sure to support your opinions with facts, data, or expert commentary.

Begin this assignment by researching education news. Explore the following topics: math and science education, special education, home schooling, and technology in education.

Please note: Before settling on a topic or issue and the point of view you will take in your speech, have your teacher approve your choice. Some topics are very controversial; your teacher needs to judge whether the topic you choose is appropriate.

STEP 1: Initial Search
Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites:

Look for news, information, and opinion pieces about issues that interest you. Take notes on the arguments for both sides of the issue you choose.

STEP 2: Focus Your Search
Focus your search on one educational area or trend. Use cluster diagrams to organize the details you have discovered about your topic. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, pages 10–11.)

Search the Internet for more information on your topic. Visit the following sites to find additional facts on the issue you chose.

STEP 3: Define Your Audience
Imagine that you are speaking at a parent-teacher association meeting. These people are actively involved in educational issues, so they will want to hear what you have to say. Write persuasively, remembering to support your argument with facts, reasons, and important data. Your audience will be eager to disagree with you if you are not prepared with both examples and ideas for solutions.

STEP 4: Freewriting
Try freewriting the introduction to your speech. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, page 10.) Write three different openings, using three different approaches. Then choose the opening that will get your audience's attention in the most dramatic way. For example, first write a controversial statement to draw your listeners in. Next write an extraordinary fact or statistic that would make their ears perk up. Finally, write an introduction that is a short anecdote. Reread all three aloud (try them out on friends or family members), and choose the one you feel is the most effective.

Composition Connection
To avoid errors in subject-verb agreement, review the material in Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, Chapter 10. Correct grammar is important, especially in a speech. You want your audience to be interested in what you say—not in the errors you make when presenting your ideas. Make subject-verb agreement part of your proofreading regimen.

Write Like A Pro
Good speeches are made every day. Think about speakers you have heard who tried to persuade you to do something. Did you agree with their positions? What arguments persuaded you? Use techniques you have learned from other speakers to write your own top-notch speech. If possible, listen to some historic speeches. (Visit history Web sites, listen to recordings, or watch a video.)

STEP 5: Organize Your Ideas and Write a Rough Draft
Develop an outline based on your research, your freewriting, and the approach to the topic you wish to take. Write your rough draft. (To review making an outline, see Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, page 13.)

Remember these facts about speeches:

  • Your audience cannot go back to reread anything. Don't be afraid to repeat important material.

  • Make your writing "tight"; use the fewest, most effective words to condense it. Don't lose your audience in long, tedious phrasing.

  • Practice, practice, practice! You can't write an effective speech during lunch and present it at 2:00 p.m. Write it well in advance, and then practice aloud in front of a mirror, friends or family.
Photo: Home Schooling

STEP 6: Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing
Reread your speech aloud. Be sure each paragraph has a topic sentence and that all the sentences in the paragraph support that topic. Make sure you have included the most important facts and details that will support your position and convince your audience to agree with you. If you must, write the stage direction [pause] wherever you need to remind yourself to breathe!

Edit your speech for grammatical errors; then proofread your work carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors.

Work with a listening partner to edit and comment on each other's speeches. This should be constructive, helpful criticism that will benefit both speech makers.

STEP 7: Publish Your Work
Present your speech to the class. Your teacher may wish to have several students present their speeches to your school's parent-teacher organization at its next meeting.

Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.