Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Speech #2: Deconstructing (and Teaching Us About) a Speech Genre


Here's the prompt for Speech #2: Pick a speech genre and then make a case about how/why it’s a (specific) speech genre.  What are its conventions, and what purpose do they serve?  What are some of the speaker’s “moves”, and why do you think they're effective/ineffective?  In what "rhetorical situation(s)" do we find this speech genre?  (Think: audience, purpose, context, tone, style, etc.)

And, although this isn't necessary, you could also consider this question to heighten the "so what?" aspect of your speech: What’s the value of learning/studying speech genre as a concept?

Remember what we've been working on since Speech #1: we've focused on using the terms genre, conventions, and "moves" to help us understand specific communicative acts. Use these terms to guide your analysis of a speech genre and explain to us how it all works. And don't forget: be as specific as possible! Tell us the nitty-gritty of each convention and why it's there (i.e., what purpose it serves).

Your job is to (1) explain to the class the conventions of a specific speech genre and also (2) bring our attention to some of the speaker's "moves."  You don't necessarily need to "act out" the speech itself -- you don't have to give a wedding toast -- although you could act out specific components to highlight what you've observed in this genre.  Your job is to teach us what the ingredients/components/patterns of speech are involved in a wedding toast (or whatever genre you've chosen).  Have fun with this and be creative!  :)


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