COM 1000: Informative Speech Outline and Presentation Guidelines

Course Administration and Formatting Guidelines

  • Course Information: Students must record their course name and section on all notes: COM 1000 Section 03.
  • Error Penalties: There is a deduction of −2-2 points for every mistake found on the final outline submission.
  • Date Formatting:
    • Standard Format: Month, Day, Year (e.g., June 30, 2024).
    • MLA Format: Day Month Year (e.g., 30 June 2024).
    • Requirement: All outlines must use the MLA date format to avoid the point deduction.
  • Outline Standards:
    • Font: Times New Roman.
    • Spacing: Double-spaced.
    • Submission: A physical printed version is required for the workshop on Thursday.
    • Final Version Due Date: July 2.
    • Total Value: 5050 points.

Academic Integrity and AI Policy

  • AI Prohibition: Use of AI such as ChatGPT for information or writing is strictly forbidden.
  • Consequences: As stated in the syllabus and syllabus quiz, any student caught using AI will receive a grade of "F" (00) for the entire semester.
  • Authenticity: Research must be conducted by the student; as a human, the student is responsible for the narrative and data collection.

Informative Speech Project Overview

  • Core Task: Create an informative speech about traveling to a chosen destination with one partner.
  • Budget: The hypothetical budget provided by Southwestern College is $10,000\$10,000.
  • Goal: Inform the audience about activities, restaurants, and flight information for the chosen location.
  • Source Credibility:
    • If a student has visited the location, they are a credible source and can use "I" statements regarding firsthand experiences.
    • If the student has never visited, exhaustive research is required to provide accurate information.
  • Audience: Approximately 2929 students (the class size increased from 2828 to 2929 recently).
  • Speech Duration: The speech must be between 55 and 88 minutes in length.

Comparison: Outlines vs. Essays

  • Structural Differences:
    • Essay: Continuous text, typically lacks explicit labels for internal structural markers like subpoints.
    • Outline: Uses Roman numerals (II, IIII, IIIIII), specific labels (Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, Thesis, Introduction, Body, Conclusion), and structural designations (Subpoint 1, Subpoint 2, Detail).
  • Formatting Constraints: In an outline, things are technically centered or indented specifically using double "Enter" spaces to create clear visual separation. Arrows or instructional text must be deleted before submission.
  • Function: An outline is not meant to be read verbatim; it is a tool for the public speaker to organize ideas, create a script/guideline, and prevent "talking in circles."

Detailed Outline Template Requirements

  • Mandatory Titles: Students must keep the hierarchical titles provided in the template (e.g., Topic, General Purpose, Roman numerals).
  • Deletion of Instructions: All text highlighted in yellow (instructional questions or prompts) must be deleted. Failure to remove instructions results in a −2-2 point deduction.
  • Specific Purpose Construction:
    • Formula: General Purpose + Audience + Topic.
    • General Purpose: "To inform" or "To educate."
    • Keywords: The sentence structure can vary, but it must contain the general purpose, the audience (classmates), and the specific topic/destination.
  • Thesis: The overarching main point or goal. It should not be "to get an A," but rather the specific knowledge being passed to the class (e.g., architecture, culture, and beaches of Cancun).
  • Introduction (Roman Numeral I):
    • Attention Getter: Techniques to grab attention in under 11 minute.
      • Statement/Catchy sentence.
      • Visuals or appealing to emotions (Pathos).
      • Storytelling (e.g., childhood dreams of travel).
      • Audience Engagement: Use "Yes/No" questions or physical cues (thumbs up/down) rather than open-ended dialogue to manage time effectively.
    • Reason to Listen: Why the audience should care about this specific destination.
  • Transitions: Transition words (e.g., furthermore, in addition, moving on, next) must be included between every major point. One may use "FANBOYS" conjunctions (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So).
  • Main Point 1: Destination and partner identification. Bracketed answers must replace the template's questions.
  • Main Point 2: Budget breakdown for flights/round trip tickets.
    • Research should be done on sites like Kayak.
    • Include the class of travel (Economy, Business, First Class).
  • Main Point 3: Restaurants (Note: Correction made during lecture to change numbering from 44 to 33 for the subpoint series).
    • List of 33 specific restaurants.
    • Details for each: Name, specific dishes you and your partner will order, and precise costs.
    • Currency Conversion: If the menu is in Euros, Yen, or Pesos, students must convert the amount into US Dollars (USD\text{USD}).
    • Total cost for all restaurants listed under a specific point.
  • Main Point 4: Activities.
    • List of 33 specific activities.
    • Details: Cost per person (×2\times 2) and a description of the activity (e.g., renting bikes at Mission Bay Beach for 22 hours).
    • Total cost for all activities.
  • Conclusion:
    • Charity Donation: Whatever remains of the $10,000\$10,000 budget must be donated to a charity located at the travel destination.
    • Requirements: State the name, mission, and vision of the charity, along with the exact donation amount.

Works Cited and Research Support

  • Format: All sources must be in MLA format, not just hyperlinks.
  • Required Elements: Author/Editor, name of the article, published year or access date, and the URL.
  • Alphabetical Order: Sources must be listed alphabetically by the first letter of the entry.
  • Bib-Generators: Tools like EasyBib can be used to help generate citations after filling in the necessary fields.
  • English Writing Center Support:
    • Located across from the classroom.
    • Students can take their outlines to a tutor for help with grammar, punctuation, and MLA formatting.
    • Extra Credit: Asking for a "blue receipt" (or yellow at Southwestern College) signed by a tutor and stapled to the outline grants +5+5 points of extra credit.

Classroom Presentations and Dialogue

Interaction: MLA Format Q&A
  • Instructor: "Anyone, how do we write the date in MLA format?"
  • Student 1: "Month and year. Month, date, year."
  • Instructor: "MLA is day month year. Right, Yes. I'm looking at it. Standard format is what we have been learning ever since we were, like, in kindergarten."
Case Study: Managing Audience Interaction
  • Scenario: A speaker has a 55 to 88 minute time limit.
  • Advice: Avoid open-ended dialogues. If an audience member like "Johnny" interrupts, use professional redirection: "I'll get back to you later, Johnny, once my speech is over."
  • Engagement: Use thumbs up/down to cut through conversation time while maintaining engagement.
Presentation 1: Malakai (Kai)
  • Demographics: 1919 years old, from California and Texas.
  • Family: Parents, older sister (Peyton), little sister (Yasmeen). Little brothers (Aries and Amari). Niece named Amy.
  • Hobbies:
    • Food: Enjoys TruFu strawberries, Raising Cane’s, and In-N-Out.
    • Lifting: Mix of aesthetics and powerlifting; shared a PR video.
    • Cars: Mechanic background inherited from his grandfather.
      • Owns a truck: 1111 miles per gallon (calculated gas cost: $2,000\$2,000 every 33 months).
      • Owns a commuter car: Bought for $1,300\$1,300. Total cost including fees will be $2,000\$2,000. Full tank costs $11.50\$11.50.
  • Travel: Has been to Hawaii twice. Enjoys camping.
  • Camping Trip: Mojave Desert; desert mountains and sunsets.
  • Speech Timing: 55 minutes and 1414 seconds (5:145:14).
Presentation 2: Jose
  • Context: Jose is a new student who joined on Tuesday of the previous week. He was offered flexibility to present after the class break due to his recent enrollment.

Questions & Discussion

  • Question: "On every page, it says first name, last name… Do you have to write down everything?"
  • Answer: "No. Not on every page. Only on the first page."
  • Question: "In the very beginning where it says instructions… only erase the yellow parts?"
  • Answer: No, the instructor clarified that for the final professional handout, all instructions should be deleted to keep the outline "clean."
  • Student Question (re: AI): The student asked about using AI for general info.
  • Response: The teacher reiterated the syllabus warning: using AI results in an automatic "F" for the semester.