A difficult and literal war on words is how Elinor Donahue begins to describe speech writing. A task that tests the patience and pride of the writer, with one caveat; speech writing does not have to be hard. She suggests eight different ways in which the process of speech writing can be streamlined, successful, accurate, and an organized reflection of the speaker (Donahue, 1996). Speakers must sound like themselves when delivering a speech. As well, it is the writer’s job to remove their own voice without taking the speaker’s personality out of it. After all, a well-written speech is critical, because it presents a breadth of ideas and information that enhances the message.
Perhaps, speech writing has a commonality with poetry. A great poem
Throughout the passages, Laurie Halse Anderson establishes the Central Idea through the use of Characteristics and Imagery, revealing that the loudest words are the ones that aren’t spoken.
In this article written by David Bartholomae, the author discusses problems basic writers make and about how they must use the discourse (communication style) of the academic community they are writing to, to be an effective writer. Bartholomae believes that “Inventing the University," is being able to assemble and mimic the universities language(5). Which means, if a student wants to be an efficient writer, he or she must be able to speak the language of his or her audience. Bartholomae writes that a common mistake of basic writers is that they don’t use an authoritative voice, and tend to switch into a more passive voice. This could be due to the fact that students have difficulty establishing their mindset or attitude for an audience
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
David Foster Wallace, author of the essay “Authority and American Usage*,” praises and advocates for “good” writers who have a strong rhetorical ability, which he defines as “the persuasive use of language to influence the thoughts and actions of an audience” (Wallace 628). To have a strong rhetorical ability, an author needs to be aware of whom their audience is, in order to present their information in a way that will be influential on their audience. Wallace recognizes that an author who applies a strong rhetorical ability will be able to connect with the audience so that they respond “not just to [their] utterance but also to [them]” (Wallace 641). An author needs to take into consideration not just content, syntax and grammatical structure (their “utterance”) but also how their character will be perceived by their audience. A positive tone will make the author seem more pleasant and relatable, whereas a negative tone connotes arrogance and pretentiousness. That is why it is crucial for an author to recognize that an audience will respond to “them” and not just their “utterance,” as an author’s appearance to their readers can also shape how impactful their writing is.
Wallace, David Foster. “Kenyon Commencement Speech.” They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter In Academic Writing. Ed. Gerald Graff. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 198-210. Print.
J. A. Reinking & R. von der Osten, R. (2007). Strategies for successful writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentiss Hall. ISBN: 0-13-189195-2.
Obama, Michelle. "Remarks to the NAACP National Convention." "They Say/I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing: With Readings. By Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. Vol. 2e. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. 417-33. Print.
Tan has proven herself a master of rhetorical appeals as well as proving her point, that language can have drastic affects on the users. She has judged and been judged by her language, and has seen her mother disrespected because of how she speaks. Speech is important, as it is used as a tool to determine the limitations of your thoughts.
My columnist, Catherine Rampell, writes with clear and distinguishable voice. This voice carries her pieces, giving each one the same qualities that define her writing. Regardless of topic, Rampell crafts her pieces with the same components: short intros, a witty voice, and direct quotations scattered in to add evidence and credibility. Through thorough examination of Rampell’s works, I found her writing to be very formulaic (though I’m sure this is true of a myriad of other columnists, especially considering the pressures on the industry.) Once I discovered her formula, my imitation began to write itself.
Words are dangerous, words travel into the very heart of a person and change how they look at the world. When presenting to a group of people, using normal conversational words will not be enough. In history there has been many great speeches; two great ones were given by John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. President Kennedy's Inaugural Address and Mr. King's “I Have a Dream” have multiple similarities and differences. The similarities are a passion for what they say, how they address a problem they face, and how they use figurative language. A difference is the reasoning for delivering their speeches.
The speech that was analyzed was “Your Body Language Shape Who You Are” by social psychologist, Amy Cuddy. Amy explained in her speech that other people’s and your body language can display how a person can perceive themselves in a power dominance situation. Also, Cuddy described how an individual can change how a room of people views them by simply arranging their posture. Amy Cuddy gave an effective speech by her delivery of the topic, her credibility on the subject, and how she kept the audience engage.
Any craftsman knows that you need the right tools to complete a project successfully. Similarly, people need the right language and usage to communicate in a positive way. How people write is often a problem because they don’t have the right tools, but a bigger problem occurs when a writer “is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything at all” (592). If a writer carries this mentality, why try to communicate in the first place? People need...
For my first paper I'll talk about voice, and how it affects the conversations that we have with other people, and how we perceive certain voices to sound in stories, and other works that we read. I think that in general voice is a type of mystery, and that it is one of those things that we really can't understand. When looking at a piece of writing I think that a clear and concise voice is one of the things that makes a piece work. This is my own feeling, and it might not agree with others, but when I'm reading a story, and it is full of good stuff like conversation, and heart felt feelings, I feel that the author is able to tell me what he/she is trying to say, I think that it has a better impact on the reader compared to the writing that goes on about nothing, and seems to only have one monotone voice.
Writing has come naturally to me due to my past and experiences. My first language was not English and for this reason I devoted myself to learning what I could and more. Any project that was given in school, I chose to do a written essay or paper. This gave and continues to give me practice and experience to the English language. If I want to get anywhere in life in America, I have to read, write, and speak English fluently; otherwise I would be known as less by my peers. As of today, I can read, write, and speak English fluently. However, speeches are still a difficulty; I feel as if I am being judged, but I know I can overcome this obstacle with practice and experience.
Watching TV and listening to radio broadcasts, an audience would notice splendid speakers who are able to present marvelous speeches that impress their audience. This arouses the question of whether great speakers are born with ability of using words in a way that affect people, or whether they were given a special kind of training that entitled them to be good speakers and writers. Despite the widespread belief that verbally intelligent people were born with this language ability, the truth is that the process of linguistic intelligence is acquired, not innate. Anyone can be a verbally intelligent person through learning and training in the use of the right word in the right place. Also, a person who has speech impediments and disorders can be a good speaker through learning and training. There are many examples of famous people who succeeded in being good speakers after suffering from speech impediments.