Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 6 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions + one weekly Speech Workshop
Objective covered: Objective 4 — Construct a well-organized speech using standard outlining conventions (coordination, subordination, division, parallelism) and use connective devices (transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries) to guide the audience.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 6 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Week 6 Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 6 meeting Tue Oct 6 and Thu Oct 8, a Speech Workshop that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Oct 11, 11:59 p.m. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 6 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 6: Outlining

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.

Last week you learned how to organize a speech — the patterns (topical, causal, problem-solution, Monroe's Motivated Sequence) and the three-part structure of introduction, body, and conclusion. This week you learn how to put that structure on paper in a way that actually helps you speak. There are two documents every speaker works with: a preparation outline (your full thinking written out in complete sentences, for planning) and a speaking outline (a stripped-down keyword version you actually take to the lectern). One is for your eyes and your planning; the other is your launch pad at the moment of delivery. Knowing which is which — and why you never take the preparation outline to the lectern — is the whole game this week.

We also fill in the last family of organizing tools: connectives — transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries. These are the road signs that keep an audience oriented as you move through your speech.

The week's big question

"How do I get my organized speech plan onto paper in a way that actually helps me deliver it — instead of trapping me in a script?"

By Friday you'll be able to build a preparation outline with correct coordination, subordination, and division; convert it to a keyword speaking outline; and use the four types of connectives in the right places.

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.

• [ ] Distinguish a preparation outline from a speaking outline — explain what goes in each, what the rules are, and which one you take to the lectern.
• [ ] Apply the four outlining rules — coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism — and identify violations in a given outline.
• [ ] Place the four connective devices — transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries — correctly in a speech outline.
• [ ] Convert a preparation outline into a keyword speaking outline and deliver from the keywords without reading.

What's due this week, and when

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

Heads-up: the Workshop this week is the "convert drill" — the single most useful outlining exercise. The preparation outline you build in the assignment can be the same one you convert in the Workshop. Doing them in that order makes both easier.

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

How to succeed this week

• Know which outline is which. Preparation outline = full sentences, for planning. Speaking outline = keywords, for the lectern. Confusing them is the week's #1 trap.
• Check every sub-level with the division rule. If you have an "A," you need a "B." If you break a main point into sub-points and only have one, fold it up or split it into two real ideas. This is the rule students forget most.
• Connectives are road signs, not decorations. A transition signals "I'm moving on." A signpost is a quick numbered marker ("first," "second," "finally"). An internal preview tells what's coming inside a section. An internal summary reminds before you move. Use each for its specific job.
• The convert drill is where the skill lives. Writing a preparation outline is planning on paper. Stripping it to keywords and speaking from them is where delivery begins. The Workshop forces you to do both in sequence — take it seriously.

(B) Week 6 Announcement

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Tue Oct 6, 2026 — not before. If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Tue Oct 6."

Subject: Week 6 — Your outline is your plan; your speaking outline is your freedom

Hi everyone,

Last week we organized the speech. This week we write it down — in two very different ways for two very different jobs.

The preparation outline is your full thinking on paper: complete sentences, correct levels (I → A → 1 → a), transitions written out, oral citations in place. It's for you, for planning, and your instructor may collect it. You never take it to the lectern — if you try, you'll read, and the audience will know.

The speaking outline is what you actually bring when you stand up: keywords, a phrase or two per point, maybe one full quotation if you need to quote precisely. It lives on note cards or a half-sheet. It keeps you on track without trapping you in a script.

This week's Workshop, the Convert Drill, asks you to take a preparation outline and strip it down to a speaking outline, then actually record yourself delivering from the keywords. That recording is the evidence — "I spoke, I didn't read." It's one of the most directly useful skills we do all term.

Three things not to miss:
1. Lecture Tutorial 6 — runs you through coordination, subordination, division, parallelism, and the four connectives in a back-and-forth with your approved chatbot. Due Sun Oct 11.
2. Speech Workshop 6 (the Convert Drill) and Assignment 6 (Preparation Outline Task) — these connect directly. Build the outline in the assignment, then convert it in the Workshop.
3. Quiz 6 — know the difference between a transition, a signpost, an internal preview, and an internal summary; know the division rule; know which outline goes to the lectern. All due Sun Oct 11.

Two weeks until the midterm. Everything we've done since Week 1 lands on that exam — and your outline skills are the scaffold the rest of the course rides on.

See you Tuesday,
Prof. Marchetti