Selecting a Topic and Purpose Chapter 4 Selecting a Topic and Purpose

Choosing a Topic Not difficult in out-of-class experiences Topic = subject of speech Two broad categories Topics you know a lot about Topics you want to know more about Key to a good speech is not found in topic alone… but in how you develop it

All Else Fails: Brainstorming 4 Techniques Personal Inventory Experiences, interests, hobbies, skills, beliefs… Find a general subject area? Clustering (9 columns) Still stuck? Choose 3 and free associate Reference Search Internet Search

Determining the General Purpose General purpose = goal of the speech 3 main types: To Inform To Persuade To Entertain In-class this is provided

Determining the Specific Purpose Specific Purpose = A single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in their speech Should focus on one aspect of a topic

Examples: Topic: Emergencies Topic: Calendars General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the major steps in responding to an emergency. Topic: Calendars Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the four major kinds of calendars used in the world today

Tips for Formulating the Specific Purpose Write the purpose statement as a full, infinitive phrase, not as a fragment Calendars vs. previous example Express purpose as a statement, not a question

Tips for Formulating the Specific Purpose (cont’d) Avoid figurative language “sweet” & “throwing the baby out with the bath water” Limit your purpose statement to one distinct idea –do not use “and to” Make sure that it is not too vague or general

Questions to ask about your Specific Purpose Does my purpose meet my assignment? Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted? Is the purpose relevant to my audience? Is the purpose too trivial for my audience? Is the purpose too technical for my audience?

Phrasing the Central Idea Central Idea = A one sentence statement that sums up or encapsulates the major ideas of a speech More precise than your topic and specific purpose Consider: What would you tell your friends about your speech?

Book says: Central Idea is also your Residual Message Residual message = what a speaker wants the audience to remember after it has forgotten everything else in a speech – “take home message” Did you have one in your job interview?

Guidelines for the Central Idea It should be expressed in a full sentence It should not be in the form of a question It should avoid figurative language It should not be vague or overly general If you can’t state it yet, you do not understand your topic well enough

Chapter 6 Gathering Materials

Using your own knowledge and experience Do not depersonalize your speech by simply relying on facts and figures from books Personal stories can add interest, realism and vividness to a speech

Doing Library Research Librarians Doctors vs Librarians Catalogues Card/Computer Call numbers

Doing Library Research (cont’d) Periodical Indexes A research aid that catalogues articles from a large number of journals or magazines Abstract listing – a summary of a magazine or journal article, written by someone other than the original author General Indexes – “Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature” Special Indexes – Social Sciences Index, Applied Science and Technology Index

Doing Library Research (cont’d) Newspaper Index A research aid that catalogues articles from one or more newspapers Reference Works A work that synthesizes a large amount of related information for easy access by researchers Encyclopedias (General/Specific) Yearbooks* Dictionaries Quotation books Biographical Aids* Atlases and Gazetteers*

The Internet The Internet = The Global Collection of interlinked computer networks When did you first start using the Internet? How old were you? Do you know more about it than your parents? Your Grandparents?

Searching the Internet www = (World Wide Web) A global hypertext information system that allows users to access text, graphics, audio and moving images from the Internet Browsers – Computer program for navigating the WWW Link – A connection between two documents or sections of a document on the WWW

Searching the Internet (cont’d) Search Aids: Search Engines: index web pages and checks them for sites that match a researcher’s request Metasearch engines: a search aid that sends the researcher’s request to several search engines at once Virtual Libraries: combine Internet Technology with traditional library methods of cataloguing and assessing data

Searching the Internet (cont’d) Keyword Searches Subject Searches Bookmarks URL – Uniform Resource Locator A string of letters or numbers that identify the location of a given website on the Internet

Specialized Online Research Resources Government Reference Periodical News Multicultural

Evaluating Internet Documents Who can publish a web page? Authorship: is the author an expert? Examine their qualifications. Consider Bias. Sponsorship: is a sponsoring organization actually providing the content? Recency: How old is the Information, does this matter?

Interviewing No Time in class – look in your book for more information Book provides: Before, During and After Interview stage information

Tips for doing research Start Early Make a preliminary bibliography Take notes efficiently Use index cards Record the source of the note on each card Separate card for each note Distinguish between yours, a quote and paraphrase Think about your materials as you research