Writing a

Speech
Look carefully at the following extract from a speech made to

schoolchildren, arguing that their town is the ideal place to grow up.

Fellow students, I am delighted to have been invited to talk to you

today. I am delighted because it gives me the chance to talk about

Middlesbrough, the city in which I live. It was a marvellous place to in

which to be a child and it is the place where I hope to spend the rest of

my life.

Of course there are many fantastic places to live in this country.

I admit I have missed the joys of bird-watching in the Lake District and

staggering up mountains in a force ten gale. And I have missed listening

to the choir at Canterbury Cathedral and rowing down the river at

Stratford. Does all of this bother me? No. I don’t regret it for a

moment.

That is because……… [Speaker lists lots of reasons/good points

about city living].

In addition, [more reasons].

More than anything, though, I love the sport……

To sum up, then: most of you will not have had the advantages I

have enjoyed over the past sixteen years. I come from a city that is

exciting; a city that is vibrant; a city that looks after its own and

welcomes new faces; a city which, I feel, cannot be matched for

friendship, entertainment and in its own way, beauty. I recommend you

visit Middlesbrough soon. But, be prepared – you won’t want to leave.

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Speeches should:

 Be well organised

 Be written to be spoken out loud to an audience

 Use language to hold an audience’s attention

They often use:

 Humour, including irony

 Anecdotes, or personal stories, to prove points

Try to do the following in your speech:

 Introduce purpose in first paragraph

 In the rest of speech clarify your viewpoint, building up to a climax.

 Address the audience directly, using ‘you’, ‘we’, ‘ladies and

gentlemen’, etc.

 Use rhetorical questions, facts and figures, and make appeals.

 Use repetition of key words, important points and the ‘pattern of

three’ for emphasis.

 Use a range of sentence lengths and types, remember short

sentences can add impact or shock your audience.

 The final paragraph should sum up your argument.

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 Writing a Speech

Write a speech for your year group, to persuade them that the death

penalty should, or should not, be brought back.

Use this sheet as a frame for your writing.

Fellow pupils, I am here this morning to…

The main reason in favour of / against the penalty is…

However, it is obvious that this causes problems because…

An equally compelling argument for/ against the death penalty is…

Surely nobody could argue that…

There are several further arguments that I would like to put forward:

First…

Secondly…

Finally, most people in this country would be greatly in favour of…

Who could argue…

In conclusion, I would like to summarise the main points of my argument

by stating…

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and leaving you with the thought that

Thank you for your attention.

OTHER USEFUL PHRASES

 Whether you support this case or not…

 In trying to persuade you, I would not like you to think that…

 Central to this argument…

 I could find many more arguments in favour, but suffice it to say…

 We all know

 Worst of all…

 Most worrying is…

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