Week 12 — Readings & Resources · Persuasive Speaking & the Rhetorical Appeals

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective covered: Objective 7 — Compose and deliver a persuasive speech that employs the three rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), credible cited evidence, a sound organizational pattern (e.g., Monroe's Motivated Sequence), and an ethical approach to audience persuasion.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there's nothing to buy.

This week's load is focused: one core reading (three short sections) + one speech-analysis video, grouped by the ideas from the lecture, plus one optional deep-dive on persuasion ethics. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 35–50 minutes if you do everything, less if you pick one per group.

Order that matches the lecture: ① what persuasion is and the question types → ② the three appeals and Monroe's Motivated Sequence → ③ a famous persuasive speech to analyze.

A habit for this week: the speech in group ③ is there to analyze, not just admire. As you watch or read it, label the moves: where is ethos, where is pathos, where is logos? Does the speaker use Monroe's structure? Is there any moment where you could argue the appeal crossed into manipulation? That active analysis is the skill.

① What Persuasion Is & the Types of Persuasive Claims

Maps to Lecture Segment 2. Persuasion is about influencing beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions; the three types of claims (fact, value, policy) tell you what the speech is arguing.

Reading — "Persuasive Speaking" (Stand up, Speak out, Ch. 17) — §17.1 and §17.2
🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/17%3A_Persuasive_Speaking
Why it's assigned: covers the overview of persuasion and the types of persuasive speeches (including factual, value, and policy claims) in plain language, with real examples. Read §17.1 (Persuasion: An Overview) and §17.2 (Types of Persuasive Speeches) — the navigation links to each sub-section are on that index page. Skim §17.3 for Monroe's before the next group.
⏱ ~12 min

② Monroe's Motivated Sequence & Organizing Persuasive Speeches

Maps to Lecture Segment 4. Monroe's Motivated Sequence (attention → need → satisfaction → visualization → action) is the most field-tested organizational pattern for persuasive speeches that call for action.

Reading — "Organizing Persuasive Speeches" (Stand up, Speak out, Ch. 17, §17.3)
🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/17%3A_Persuasive_Speaking/17.03%3A_Organizing_Persuasive_Speeches
Why it's assigned: a clear breakdown of Monroe's Motivated Sequence and two companion patterns (problem-cause-solution; comparative advantages) — with worked examples. Read this before drafting your speech skeleton.
⏱ ~8 min

③ A Famous Persuasive Speech to Analyze for Appeals

Maps to Lecture Segments 3 and 5. Studying a real persuasive speech for its rhetorical moves — where ethos, pathos, and logos appear; how the speaker handles counter-arguments; where the ethical line is — is the most practical training you can do before writing your own.

American Rhetoric — Top 100 Speeches archive (verified live)
🔗 https://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html
Why it's assigned: this is the gold-standard publicly-available archive of famous speech texts and audio. The archive spans the 20th century; pick any speech in the top 25 and analyze it for the three appeals. Several speeches are explicitly persuasive (policy arguments, calls to action, value advocacy). Navigate to any speech of your choosing from the index page.
⏱ ~15 min to read/listen to one speech + label the moves

How to use this for your work: pick one speech from the list. Read or listen to it once for content, then go back and mark: (1) Where does the speaker build ethos? (2) Where does the speaker evoke emotion — and is it proportionate to the actual stakes? (3) Where does the speaker use evidence or logic — and is it verified? This is the rhetorical-analysis skill that the Discussion and the Workshop both draw on.

Famous-speech rule (required): name and link real speeches factually; never put invented words in a real speaker's mouth. Describe the appeals and structure in your own words; quote only short, universally-known lines, and link the full text/audio. The archive page gives you everything you need.

Optional deep-dive

• "Supporting Ideas and Building Arguments" (Stand up, Speak out, Ch. 8). A fuller treatment of evidence types (examples, statistics, testimony), argument structure, and the connection between strong logos and ethical persuasion. Pairs well with the Week 13 fallacies reading.
  🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/08%3A_Supporting_Ideas_and_Building_Arguments

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz and the speech:
1. Read §17.1 and §17.2 of Ch. 17 (group ①) for the appeal types and claim types.
2. Read §17.3 (group ②) for Monroe's structure.
Then spend 10 minutes browsing the American Rhetoric index (group ③) and identifying two or three appeal moves in whichever speech catches your eye.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Marchetti and use the Stand up, Speak out table of contents at the LibreTexts base URL, or search the American Rhetoric archive directly at americanrhetoric.com.