Week 15 — Assignment (Adaptive Learning) · The Impromptu Speech (PREP-Structured)

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective assessed: Objective 8 (impromptu speaking; PREP; Q&A; composure; delivery) · SLO A (compose & deliver a speech)
Worth 100 points · Speeches (Assignments) group = 25% of the grade
Format: adaptive learning — an AI speech coach walks you from prompt → PREP structure → rehearsal, then helps you score your own recording against the rubric and raise it with another take. You submit the coach's self-scored report (plus your chat link) and your recording.

Assignment 15 of the term — your final recorded speech. This is the one that shows what you can do without a safety net: a drawn prompt, 60 seconds to plan with PREP, and a 60–90-second recorded impromptu.

Part 1 — Student Instructions (read this first)

What this is. Your final speech is a 60–90-second PREP-structured impromptu on a prompt you draw from the list below. An AI coach walks you through the PREP structure, coaches a brief rehearsal, guides you to record yourself, and then helps you self-assess your recording against the rubric — teaching you the structure at each step. Want a better score? Do another take.

How to run it (about 30–45 minutes, including recording):
1. Open any approved AI chatbot — Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT (free versions are fine).
2. Copy everything in the box below and paste it as one single message.
3. Work through it with the coach: draw a prompt, plan PREP keywords in 60 seconds, record yourself, watch your clip, then work through the self-assessment honestly.

Draw your prompt. Pick one of the following by rolling a die, pointing randomly, or having a classmate choose for you — the point is that it feels genuinely unplanned:

1. "What is one habit that has made the biggest difference in your life?"
2. "What skill do you wish was taught in every school?"
3. "What's the most important thing you've learned from a failure?"
4. "If you could change one thing about your community, what would it be and why?"
5. "What does 'being prepared' mean to you?"
6. "What is one small act of kindness that has stuck with you?"

(These prompts are deliberately personal and non-partisan — they are about your experience and values, not political positions. There is no "correct" answer. Pick the one you drew, not the one that feels safest.)

What to submit (three things):
1. The coach's report — its first line is STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100.
2. Your conversation's share link.
3. Your recording (upload the file or paste a link). The recording is part of the grade — the self-score is your honest estimate, and Prof. Marchetti spot-checks it against the clip.

Integrity note. Draw your own prompt, plan your own PREP structure, and record your own speech. The coach helps you prepare and self-assess. Submitting a report or recording you didn't actually make is an integrity violation.

Part 2 — The Coach Prompt (copy everything in the box)

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You are my speech coach and grader for Week 15 of Public Speaking (COMM 1) at Silver Oak University. You will coach me through planning and recording a 60–90-second PREP-structured impromptu speech, then help me score my own recording against the rubric below and improve it with another take. You grade ONLY against the rubric below — never invent criteria or inflate scores. Total possible: 100 points.

ABOUT THE SPEECH
- This is an impromptu speech: I drew a prompt cold and have 60 seconds to plan using the PREP framework before I record.
- PREP = Point → Reason → Example → Point. The structure must be clear in the recording.
- Target length: 60–90 seconds.
- This is my final speech of the term: be warm and encouraging while still giving me honest, specific feedback.

THE RUBRIC (100 points) — grade against THIS. Do not show me the whole rubric as a block up front; reveal each piece as we work on it.
- Structure / PREP (30): the speech clearly moves Point → Reason → Example → Point. The Point comes first. The Example is concrete. The second Point lands the speech. A speech that lists ideas without PREP structure or buries the point at the end scores in the lower range.
- One clear point (20): the speech centers on a single, identifiable main idea from start to finish. Multiple disconnected ideas with no unifying thread score lower.
- Support / Example (20): the Example is specific, vivid, and connected to the Reason. A vague or generic example ("some people say...") scores lower than a personal, concrete one.
- Composure (15): the speaker is calm and controlled — uses buy-time gracefully (pause instead of "um"), doesn't rush, recovers from any stumbles without apologizing repeatedly.
- Delivery (15): audible, clear, good pace, eye contact with the camera/audience, speaking (not reading notes), minimal fillers.

HOW TO RUN IT — go in STAGES, one at a time:
1. Greet + name + prompt. Greet me warmly in 1–2 sentences. Ask my FIRST NAME and confirm which prompt I drew. (If I skip my name, continue, but ask before the final report.)
2. Stage A — PREP planning (60 seconds). Tell me I have 60 seconds to write keywords for each PREP step — one keyword or short phrase per step, nothing more. Set a short timer in your head. When I give them to you, we move on; don't let me over-prepare.
3. Stage B — Check the structure. Look at my four PREP keywords. Ask: did I put the Point first? Is the Example concrete (a specific moment, person, or event) or vague? If something is off, help me fix one keyword. Don't rewrite it for me — ask questions.
4. Stage C — Brief rehearsal. Have me say it out loud once (type a quick description of how it went or speak the keywords). Give ONE or TWO specific improvements (e.g., "Your Point is strong — make sure you say it in the first sentence, not the third"). Remind me: aim for 60–90 seconds; say the Point first; let the Example be personal.
5. Stage D — Record. Tell me to record myself on a phone or Zoom (60–90 seconds from my PREP keywords), then watch the clip once.
6. Stage E — Self-assess against the rubric. Go criterion by criterion. For each, ask me what I actually observed in my clip (e.g., "Did your Point come out in the first sentence? What was your exact opening line?"), then help me assign honest points and give specific, kind feedback and one concrete fix.
7. Offer a re-take. Ask if I want to record again to raise my score; if yes, coach the fix and re-assess. My BEST take counts (capped at full marks).
- Until the final report, every message ends with a question or a clear next step.
- Score HONESTLY against the rubric — encourage me, but don't hand out points I didn't earn.

IMPORTANT — NO FABRICATION: do not invent quotations, statistics, or "facts" for my speech. This is my impromptu in my words — the coach helps me find and sharpen my own point; it never fabricates content for me.

COMPLETION + REPORT. After I've assessed my best take, produce the report in EXACTLY this format — the FIRST LINE is my score:
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
WEEK 15 ASSIGNMENT — The Impromptu Speech (PREP-Structured)
Student: [name] | Date: ___
Prompt drawn: [the prompt]
Structure / PREP (a/30): [one line — did Point come first, was Example concrete, did second Point land?]
One clear point (b/20): [one line — was there one identifiable main idea throughout?]
Support / Example (c/20): [one line — how specific and connected was the Example?]
Composure (d/15): [one line — how was the buy-time, pace, and recovery?]
Delivery (e/15): [one line — audibility, eye contact, filler words]
Strongest moment: ___
One thing to carry forward: ___
(The five scores must add up to the number on line 1.) Then say, verbatim: "Copy this entire report AND your share link to this chat, and submit both in Canvas for this assignment — and don't forget to upload your recording." End with one genuine sentence of encouragement for finishing the term strong.

GETTING STARTED
Begin now: greet me, ask my first name and which prompt I drew, and start Stage A.

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The Speech Rubric — 100 points (what the coach grades, and what Prof. Marchetti confirms)

Rubric sums to 100. Levels describe observable behavior so grading stays fast and consistent.

Instructor grading note (Prof. Marchetti)

• Record the STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100 from line 1 of the submitted report into the Speeches group.
• Spot-check the recording against the self-score. The clip is the ground truth — does the speech actually move Point → Reason → Example → Point? Does the Point come first? Is the Example personal and concrete?
• Common patterns to watch for: Point buried at the end (structure score should be lower), rambling with no clear main idea (one-clear-point score lower), generic "some people think" example (support score lower).

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 15 Assignment — The Impromptu Speech, PREP-Structured (adaptive)"
assignment_group = "Speeches (Assignments)"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = adaptive
submission_types = [online_text_entry, online_url, media_recording]   # report (score on line 1) + chat link + the recording
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
provenance       = "~ Prof. Marchetti's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"

Traditional variant — for comparison. This sample course is configured adaptive learning, so its actual Week-15 assignment is the AI-coached, self-scored version in I-assignment-and-rubric-week-15.md. This file shows the same Week-15 speech built the traditional way — the student draws a prompt, plans with PREP, records the speech, and submits it, and the instructor grades against the rubric — so you can see both formats side by side. (Choosing assignment_type = traditional at course setup generates this style instead.)

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective assessed: Objective 8 (impromptu speaking; PREP; Q&A; composure; delivery) · SLO A (compose & deliver a speech)
Worth 100 points · Speeches (Assignments) group = 25% of the grade

The Assignment

Your final speech of the term is a 60–90-second PREP-structured impromptu on a prompt you draw. There's no prepared speech, no outline turned in in advance — just the draw, 60 seconds of planning, and the recording. This is the skill the whole course has been building toward: one clear point, under pressure, landed cleanly.

The PREP structure (use this, every time):
- P — Point. State your main idea in the first sentence. Not a warm-up, not a disclaimer — the point, right away.
- R — Reason. One reason why. One or two sentences.
- E — Example. Make it concrete and personal — a specific story, moment, or event.
- P — Point again. Restate your main idea to close. Give the speech a landing.

How to prepare (do this in order):
1. Draw your prompt. Use the list below — roll a die, ask a classmate to pick, or pick one randomly without reading them all first. The improvised draw is the point.
2. 60 seconds of PREP planning. One keyword per step. Keywords only — not sentences, not a script.
3. One rehearsal out loud. Say it once from the keywords. Time yourself. Aim for 60–90 seconds.
4. Record on a phone or Zoom. Speak from memory of your four PREP keywords — NOT from reading them.
5. Watch your clip once. Did the Point come out in the first sentence? Was the Example concrete? Did the second Point land?
6. Submit the recording. Your best take (you may record two or three).

Your prompt choices (draw one):

1. "What is one habit that has made the biggest difference in your life?"
2. "What skill do you wish was taught in every school?"
3. "What's the most important thing you've learned from a failure?"
4. "If you could change one thing about your community, what would it be and why?"
5. "What does 'being prepared' mean to you?"
6. "What is one small act of kindness that has stuck with you?"

(Personal and non-partisan — no correct answer. Pick the one you drew.)

Delivery target: speak from your PREP keywords, not a script. Eye contact with the camera/audience. 60–90 seconds.

A note on composure: the difference between a strong impromptu and a weak one is usually the first five seconds. If you feel the urge to fill silence with "um," pause instead. One breath, then the Point. The pause is composure, not hesitation.

Integrity & AI note. This is your own speech in your own words. You may use an approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) to rehearse your PREP structure or get feedback on a practice run, but the speech you record must be yours — drawn from your own prompt and your own experience. If AI helped you rehearse, add a one-line note saying which tool and how.

Rubric — 100 points

Rubric sums to 100. Levels describe observable behavior so grading stays fast and consistent.

Instructor answer key & model — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

This is an impromptu speech on a personally drawn prompt, so there is no single "right" content. This model shows what a full-marks speech looks like in PREP structure and delivery; grade students' own speeches against the rubric, not against this exact content.

Model impromptu speech (Prompt: "What is one habit that has made the biggest difference in your life?"), in PREP keyword form — the student speaks from these, not reads them:
- Point (keyword): "Writing down one thing to do tomorrow, every night."
- Reason (keywords): "Mornings used to feel chaotic / now I start with a plan."
- Example (keywords): "Last finals week — three exams, two papers / 8 p.m. the night before I wrote the list / woke up, knew exactly what to do first / finished everything."
- Point again (keywords): "That five-minute habit is worth more than an alarm clock."

Why it earns full marks: Point comes first, in the first sentence. Reason is brief and clear. Example is personal, specific (finals week, the actual night, the outcome), and tied directly to the Reason. Second Point restates and closes with a clean landing. Delivered without reading, 65–75 seconds, calm composure, eye contact.

Common ways students lose points (watch for these):
- Buried Point ("...and THAT'S why I think this habit matters" — at the end) → structure/PREP score lower.
- Generic Example ("Some people say writing things down helps") → support/example score lower.
- No second Point (speech just stops after the example) → structure/PREP score lower.
- Constant filler words under time pressure → composure and delivery scores lower.
- Reading from the PREP keywords instead of speaking from memory of them → delivery lower.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 15 Assignment — The Impromptu Speech, PREP-Structured (traditional)"
assignment_group = "Speeches (Assignments)"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = traditional
submission_types = [media_recording, online_upload]
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
rubric_ref       = "week-15-impromptu-rubric"
provenance       = "~ Prof. Marchetti's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"