Week 6 — Put It on Paper: The Full Plan and the Cards

Assignment 6 of the term — write one main point of your next speech as a full-sentence plan and as a card, label its connectives, and explain to a friend why a talk is built in sentences but given from keywords.

This adaptive assignment uses a coaching dialogue to help you turn a first attempt into a clear, well-built outline. You remain the speaker and the author. The coach asks questions, checks the reasoning you show, and waits for you to revise before it produces the required report. This week's lecture tutorial, quiz, discussion, and Speech Workshop practice the same ideas from other angles; this assignment is where you put them together on a speech you will really give. It builds on Week 5's main points: the body you organized last week is the body you outline now.

The task

This week's shared example is the running speech's two outlines. The running speech, an informative speech on food waste in a campus dining hall, and its speaker are illustrative and attributed to no one. Chapter 6 writes it as a full-sentence preparation outline: the introduction's four functions, three main points with two subpoints each, three oral citations written in where their evidence appears, three transitions written out, and the conclusion's three jobs. Main point II, for example, reads:

• II. Plate waste is targeted by changing how food is served.
  • A. Trayless serving cuts how much food diners take.
  • B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further.

Chapter 6 then shrinks the plan to a speaking outline of keyword cards, with a citation cue on each main-point card and the central idea and the clincher written word for word. It also walks through an illustrative chatbot that outlines main point III as "III. Diverted food goes to donation and composting. A. Composting." with the line "About 35 percent of food went unsold or uneaten." beneath it, and then calls the result a great outline.

Work these four problems, and show how you reached each one:

1. The running speech's preparation outline has 3 main points, and each main point has 2 subpoints. How many subpoints does the body hold?
2. In the symbol system, each of the body's 3 main points and each of its 6 subpoints takes one line. How many lines does the body have?
3. The preparation outline writes the introduction's 4 functions and the conclusion's 3 jobs as one full sentence each. How many full sentences surround the body?
4. The speaking outline uses 1 card for the introduction, 1 card for each of the 3 main points, and 1 card for the conclusion. How many cards does the speaker hold?

Beside each answer, add one brief explanation, and use your own next speech for the parts that ask for it:

• Problem 1: list your own speech's main points, each with an A and a B. Check each one for division (no lone subpoint) and run each subpoint through the "because" test. Name one lone subpoint you repaired, or say why none needed repair.
• Problem 2: write one main point of your own speech as a preparation-outline excerpt in complete sentences, with one oral citation written in where its evidence appears (who, what, and when, from a real source you checked). Then write one transition that names the point you leave and the point you enter.
• Problem 3: label your own outline's four connectives: one transition, one signpost, one internal preview, and one internal summary. Then write one sentence on how your transition differs from your signpost.
• Problem 4: in the illustrative chatbot outline, name the lone subpoint and the uncited statistic, and explain why the chatbot's praise is not a check on either one.

Explain it to a non-expert

Your friend coaches a youth soccer team and will give a short talk to parents before the season starts. They plan to type every word and read it from the page. Write a 3–5 sentence message that explains, in everyday words, why to build the talk in full sentences first; why to speak from a few keywords on cards instead of the typed page; and one limit, such as that a card still needs practice before it works. Explain any course term in everyday words. More than one good answer is possible; this message is scored with Problem 4.

For a different, ungraded example, imagine a coworker who will give a short safety briefing at a warehouse and plans to memorize a typed script word for word. Model answer: "Write the whole briefing out first, so you know exactly what each part says and where your facts came from. Then put three or four words per part on a card, and talk from that while you look at the crew. If you lose your place, the card gets you back in a glance, which a full page cannot do. Practice with the card a few times first, because a cue only works once you know what it stands for."

Use that pattern for your friend, with your own wording and examples.

Part 1 — Student instructions

1. Draft all four answers, the four brief explanations, your own main points with their subpoints, your preparation-outline excerpt with its citation and transition, your four labelled connectives, your critique of the chatbot outline, and your message to the friend before opening a chatbot.
2. Open any course-approved chatbot. Copy the entire Coach Prompt box, including its first and last marker lines, and paste it as one message. The coach will ask for your draft and then work one question at a time.
3. Answer in your own words. Show your arithmetic when asked. Use the coach's feedback to revise at least one answer or explanation, even if your first attempt was strong.
4. Never let the coach write or rewrite your outline. If it calls your outline "great," ask it which of the four outlining rules it checked, then check them yourself.
5. Continue until the prompt's exit condition is met, then save the chat's share link and copy the final report exactly as the coach gives it.

The chatbot is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It must draw out your reasoning rather than write your outline, your cards, or the message for you. If it praises an outline without naming a rule, treat that as this week's lesson in action and run the four rules yourself.

Coach Prompt

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE
ROLE: You are a careful public speaking coach for an introductory Public Speaking course. Draw out and challenge MY thinking about preparation outlines, speaking outlines, the outlining rules, and connectives. Do not write my assignment, my outline, my cards, or my message for me, do not invent work I did not show, and never call an outline "great." If I show you an outline, ask me which of the four outlining rules it passes before you respond to it.

ASSIGNMENT: Work through these four problems in order, one at a time. Do not invent, replace, or reorder a problem. The data: the running speech is an illustrative informative speech on food waste in a campus dining hall, attributed to no one. Its preparation outline has three main points with two subpoints each, three oral citations written in where the evidence appears, three transitions written out, and the introduction's four functions and the conclusion's three jobs as full sentences. Its speaking outline is keyword cards: one for the introduction, one per main point with a citation cue, and one for the conclusion. In the illustrative chatbot outline, main point III has a single subpoint, "A. Composting.", and the line "About 35 percent of food went unsold or uneaten." with no citation beside it, and the chatbot called it a great outline.
PROBLEM P1: The running speech's preparation outline has 3 main points, and each main point has 2 subpoints. How many subpoints does the body hold?
PROBLEM P2: In the symbol system, each of the body's 3 main points and each of its 6 subpoints takes one line. How many lines does the body have?
PROBLEM P3: The preparation outline writes the introduction's 4 functions and the conclusion's 3 jobs as one full sentence each. How many full sentences surround the body?
PROBLEM P4: The speaking outline uses 1 card for the introduction, 1 card for each of the 3 main points, and 1 card for the conclusion. How many cards does the speaker hold?
After the four answers, I must briefly explain each one: for P1, my own speech's main points, each with an A and a B, checked for division and with each subpoint run through the "because" test, plus one lone subpoint I repaired or a reason none needed repair; for P2, one main point of my own speech written in complete sentences with one oral citation written in where its evidence appears, plus one transition that names the point I leave and the point I enter; for P3, my own four connectives labelled (one transition, one signpost, one internal preview, one internal summary), plus one sentence on how my transition differs from my signpost; for P4, a critique naming the chatbot outline's lone subpoint and uncited statistic and explaining why its praise is not a check. I must then write a 3-5 sentence message to a friend who coaches a youth soccer team and plans to read a typed talk to parents word for word, explaining in everyday words why to build the talk in full sentences first, why to speak from keywords on cards, and one limit. I must explain course terms in everyday words.

SCORING CRITERIA: Score only evidence I supply: accurate counts from the week's outlines (40 points), outlining reasoning (32 points), clarity for a non-expert listener (16 points), and showing the work and the evidence (12 points). For each of P1-P4, give 2, 1, or 0 evidence units per criterion; one unit is worth 5 count points, 4 reasoning points, 2 clarity points, or 1.5 showing-the-work points. Sum all four problems within each criterion. Count my final message only with P4, not again with P1-P3.
COUNT UNITS: A correct subpoint count, line count, sentence count, or card count = 2; the right values with only an arithmetic slip = 1; a missing answer or the wrong values = 0. Do not penalize an alternative valid method or equivalent wording.
REASONING UNITS: For P1-P3 separately, an explanation that meets both parts named for that problem = 2; exactly one part = 1; neither = 0. For P4, BOTH a critique naming the lone subpoint and the uncited statistic and explaining why the praise is not a check AND a message to the friend that explains building in full sentences, speaking from keywords on cards, and one limit = 2. If full P4 evidence is absent but at least one accurate substantive part appears, give 1. No accurate reasoning = 0; naming a term alone does not earn a unit. An arithmetic slip alone is not a reasoning error.
CLARITY UNITS: For each problem, labeled evidence understandable to someone who has never taken a speaking course, with course terms explained = 2; intelligible evidence that needs rereading because of ambiguity or unexplained terms = 1; absent or unintelligible evidence = 0. Include the final message with P4 if submitted. Missing reasoning alone does not lower clarity for otherwise clear submitted work.
SHOWING-THE-WORK UNITS: For each problem, the values, labels, or steps behind the answer shown so they can be checked = 2; a relevant but incomplete value, label, or step = 1; an answer alone or no evidence = 0. Visible evidence stays checkable despite an arithmetic slip.

Do NOT invent grading rules.

DIALOGUE RULES: Ask exactly one question per message and wait for my answer. Start by asking for my complete first attempt. Build each next question from my exact words. Probe an unsupported claim and ask me to examine its evidence. When I show an outline, ask me to run coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism on it, and ask whether every statistic has its oral citation beside it. Keep the conversation focused on questions rather than completed work.

ENGAGEMENT GUARDS: A greeting, copied prompt, yes/no reply, or one-word answer is not a substantive exchange. Do not flatter or accept agreement as evidence. Praise only a concrete move I made, and name the words you are praising. If evidence is missing, say what is missing and ask for it. Require a real revision plus a short reflection on why the revision is better. Do not issue the report early.

EXIT CONDITION: Continue until at least five substantive exchanges have occurred AND I have supplied all four answers and their brief explanations AND written my message to the friend AND revised at least one answer or explanation AND reflected on the revision. Stop only after whichever requirement happens last.

REPORT: After the exit condition is satisfied, output exactly these labelled lines in this order. Replace X with the exact earned score; it may end in .5 and must not be rounded to a whole number. Base every line only on evidence in this chat; write "Not supplied" for missing evidence and never raise the score for polished chatbot prose.
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
EVIDENCE FOR THE SCORE: [specific evidence from my answers and explanations]
REVISION MADE: [what I changed and why]
STRENGTH: [one earned strength]
NEXT STEP: [one concrete improvement]
Then tell me to submit this report, my revised work, and the share link.
COPY EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE

Deliverables

Submit these three items in the assignment entry:

• your revised work with all four answers, their brief explanations, your own main points with their subpoints, your preparation-outline excerpt with its citation and transition, your four labelled connectives, your critique of the chatbot outline, and your message to the friend — written, or spoken and recorded as audio or video with a transcript; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria;
• the coach's five-line report; and
• the conversation share link.

Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

This route assesses the same Week 6 skills — counting the parts of the week's outlines, checking main points and subpoints against the outlining rules, writing a full-sentence excerpt with an oral citation and a transition, labelling the four connectives, rejecting a chatbot's empty praise for a flawed outline, and explaining all of it to someone who has never taken a speaking course — for comparable time and effort, about 60 to 90 minutes, the same as the coached route. Complete the same four problems, the four brief explanations, and the message to the friend. Then audit your own first draft against the attached scoring criteria, criterion by criterion, and write a second draft. Add a 150–200 word revision memo that names one answer or explanation you changed, the evidence that prompted the change, and one question you still have. Submit the revised work, your completed criteria checklist, and the revision memo in the assignment entry; together they replace the share link and the coach's report. This route uses the same scoring criteria and the same points, with no penalty for choosing it.

How you'll be graded

The full analytic rubric is attached to this assignment in Canvas.

Academic integrity and AI use

The counts, the explanations, your outline excerpt, your connectives, the revision, and the message to the friend must be your own. Do not ask the chatbot to write the assignment, write or rewrite your outline, or add a source you did not find and check yourself. Submit an honest share link from your own dialogue. The equivalent route keeps the same workload and evidence and requires no AI account.

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