Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 8 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions
Objectives covered (cumulative review): Objectives 1–4 and the language portion of Objective 5 — the communication process & ethics & apprehension (W1); critical listening & audience analysis/adaptation (W2); selecting a topic, purpose & thesis (W3); research, credible evidence & the oral citation (W4); organizing the speech & organizational patterns (W5); outlining — preparation vs. speaking outline (W6); language & style — clarity, vividness, appropriateness (W7).

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 8 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Midterm-Week Announcement. Dates assume the Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 8 opening Mon Oct 19 and the exam window closing Sun Oct 25, 11:59 p.m.

(A) Module 8 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 8: Midterm Review & Exam

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom.

Week 8 is the midterm week. There is no new content this week — instead, we step back and synthesize everything from Weeks 1–7, from how the communication process works to how language and style shape a speech. You've built real skills across seven weeks: diagnosing a message, listening critically, narrowing a topic, finding and citing credible evidence, organizing with the right pattern, outlining with correct coordination and subordination, and choosing clear and vivid language. The midterm asks you to demonstrate those skills in 20 items.

The week's big question

"What do I genuinely know about public speaking — and where are the gaps I need to shore up before the exam?"

By Sunday you'll have sat the midterm, debriefed your preparation honestly, and built a study plan for the second half of the term.

What the midterm covers

By the end of this week, you can…

• [ ] Identify each part of the communication process and classify kinds of noise — applying the full transactional model.
• [ ] Classify listening types and audience-analysis categories — distinguish hearing from listening, demographic from psychographic from situational analysis.
• [ ] Distinguish general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis — recognize well-formed vs. flawed purpose statements.
• [ ] Evaluate source credibility and construct an oral citation — identify credible vs. non-credible sources; state the source, qualification, and date aloud.
• [ ] Match organizational patterns to their best use — choose among chronological, spatial, topical, causal, problem-solution, and Monroe's Motivated Sequence.
• [ ] Apply the rules of outlining — coordination, subordination, division, parallelism; distinguish the preparation outline from the speaking outline.
• [ ] Analyze language and style — classify oral vs. written style; identify clarity, vividness, and appropriateness; recognize rhetorical devices.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — the study guide and exam-prep tutorial are prep; the practice exam is a dress rehearsal; the midterm is the real thing.

This week has no quiz, no assignment, and no Speech Workshop — the midterm replaces them.

How to succeed this week

• Use all four prep tools in order. The review outline gives you the big picture; the study guide gives you the details and confusion cures; the exam-prep tutorial finds your specific gaps; the practice exam confirms your readiness. Don't skip any of them.
• Sit the practice exam timed and closed-note. A practice exam you take open-note tells you almost nothing. Sit it as if it's real — then use the results to guide your last round of review.
• Don't cram everything. The midterm is concept- and scenario-based: it asks you to apply ideas to a described situation, not to recite definitions. The best prep is active recall — working problems, not rereading.
• After the midterm, debrief honestly. The Discussion 8 debrief is where the real learning happens: what study strategy actually worked (vs. what only felt productive), where your gaps were, and a realistic plan for Weeks 9–15 and the final.
• Reach out early if you're unsure of anything. Office hours and email are open. The goal of prep week is to arrive at the midterm with no unresolved questions.

See you in class on Tuesday for the full-period review session.

(B) Midterm-Week Announcement

Release setting: post at the start of Week 8 (Mon Oct 19, 2026). If your platform can't preserve a scheduled date, save as a draft labeled "Release: Mon Oct 19."

Subject: Week 8 — Midterm Review & Exam is here

Hi everyone,

Week 8 is here — which means it's midterm time. Before anything else: take a breath. You've spent seven weeks building real skills — the communication process, listening and audience analysis, topic and thesis, research and oral citation, organizational patterns, outlining, and language and style — and the midterm is simply your chance to show them off.

Here is the short version of what this week looks like:

1. Review Outline + Slides (Deck 8) — posted now; skim them before you dive into the study guide.
2. Study Guide (M) — your week-by-week review with key terms and the predictable confusion cures. Build your one-page concept sheet from it.
3. Exam-Prep Tutorial (N) — an AI tutor that diagnoses your weak spots across all seven weeks and drills you where you need it. Due Thursday Oct 22. Submit your share link.
4. Practice Exam (O) — 20 fresh items, same blueprint, no shared questions with the real exam. Sit it closed-book and timed — treat it like the real thing.
5. Midterm (L) — 20 items, 100 points, closed-book, no AI. Window opens Monday; due Sunday Oct 25 by 11:59 p.m.
6. Discussion 8 (the Midterm Debrief) — after the exam, debrief it with an approved chatbot: what worked, what didn't, and your plan for the back half. Initial post Friday Oct 23, replies Sunday Oct 25.

A few reminders:
- No quiz, no assignment, no Speech Workshop this week — the midterm replaces the week's usual gradeable set.
- AI is not permitted on the midterm itself. The exam-prep tutorial and the debrief discussion do use AI — that's the design. On the exam itself, it's just you and the material.
- Matching and "select all that apply" items are on there, so practice those types specifically in the exam-prep session.

You've done the work. Go show it.

Good luck, and I'll see you in the review session on Tuesday.

Prof. Marchetti