Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 4 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions + one weekly Speech Workshop
Objective covered: Objective 3 — Find, evaluate, and correctly cite credible supporting material; distinguish expert from lay testimony, credible from non-credible sources, and oral citation from plagiarism or fabrication.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 4 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 4 meeting Tue Sep 22 and Thu Sep 24, a Speech Workshop that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Sep 27, 11:59 p.m. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 4 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 4: Research & Supporting Materials

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

Week 4 is the citation-integrity heart of the course. Before we can persuade or inform anyone, we need evidence — real, credible, honestly cited evidence. This week we answer three essential questions: What kinds of supporting material exist, and how do I choose the right one? How do I know if a source is actually credible? How do I say the source out loud in a speech — and why does that matter? We also take on the most dangerous trap in modern speech preparation: the chatbot that confidently hands you a made-up statistic or a fabricated citation. This week is built to expose that trap and teach you to beat it.

The week's big question

"Where does good evidence come from — and how do I prove it's real when I cite it out loud?"

By Sunday you'll be able to identify types of supporting material, evaluate sources using a standard credibility framework, write a complete oral citation, and — most importantly — catch a fabricated source when an AI invents one.

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all four out loud, you're ready for the quiz.

• [ ] Name and define the main types of supporting material — examples (brief, extended, hypothetical), statistics, and testimony (expert vs. peer/lay) — and explain when each is most effective.
• [ ] Evaluate a source for credibility using the CRAAP criteria (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) and distinguish a credible source from a weak one.
• [ ] Deliver a correct oral citation — say the source, the author's qualification, and the date aloud — and explain why citing out loud is not the same as writing a bibliography.
• [ ] Catch a fabricated citation — ask an AI chatbot for sources, then verify each at the actual source and flag the invented ones.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

Heads-up on the AI tools: this week's Workshop has a signature AI-critique moment you will not find anywhere else in the course. You are going to ask a chatbot for sources and statistics, and then you are going to verify every single one at the actual source. Chatbots invent citations with complete confidence — they make up author names, journal titles, statistics, and dates. Finding the fabrications is the point. This is the most important AI skill this course teaches.

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late. If life happens, reach out before the deadline — I'd rather hear from you early.

How to succeed this week

• Verify everything before you cite it. This is the week's one rule. If a source cannot be located at an authoritative website or database, do not cite it. No exceptions.
• Understand the oral citation format cold. "According to [source/author] — [who/what qualifies them] — [date], …" is a complete oral citation. Learn it as a sentence, not a formula.
• Distinguish the types of supporting material. Statistics, examples, and testimony do different things. Choosing the right type for your claim is a skill.
• Use the CRAAP criteria as a real checklist, not a ritual. Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose — run your source through all five before you trust it.
• Treat this week as the ethical foundation for every speech you give. Everything you say in a speech is going to be attributed to you. If you cite something false, that is on you — not the chatbot.

You already know how to find information online. This week is about raising your standard for what counts as evidence. See you Tuesday.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 4

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Tue Sep 22, 2026 — not before. If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Tue Sep 22."

Subject: Week 4 — the most important research skill you'll learn this term

Hi everyone,

I want to be direct with you this week, because this module is different.

Week 4 is about evidence. Every claim you make in a speech — every statistic, every expert you quote, every example you offer — rests on a source. If that source is real, credited out loud, and relevant to your point, you are doing the work of an honest speaker. If that source is made up, misattributed, or just "something I saw somewhere," you are not.

Here is the thing nobody tells you about AI chatbots and speech research: they fabricate citations. Not occasionally — routinely. They invent author names, journal articles, statistics, and dates with complete confidence. The citations sound real; they are not. And if you copy them into a speech without checking, you are now the person standing in front of an audience with fabricated evidence. That is a serious academic and ethical problem.

So this week, we fix that. You will learn how to tell a strong source from a weak one, how to say a source out loud in a speech (that is different from writing a bibliography), and — in the Speech Workshop — how to actually catch an AI's invented citations by verifying each one at the source.

Three things not to miss:
1. Lecture Tutorial 4 — work through supporting material, credibility, and oral citation with your approved chatbot and submit the share link. Due Sun Sep 27.
2. Speech Workshop 4 ("Research, Evaluate, and Cite") — the signature citation-integrity drill of the course. Find real sources, evaluate them, write verified oral citations, then catch the AI's fabrications. Due Sun Sep 27.
3. Assignment 4 (Source Evaluation & Oral Citation) and Quiz 4 and Discussion 4 also close Sun Sep 27 — start early so you have time to verify sources properly.

The research skills you build this week are the foundation for your informative speech, your persuasive speech, and every piece of evidence you cite for the rest of the term. Take them seriously.

See you Tuesday,
Prof. Marchetti