1315.W1 Syllabus – Spring 2016
Course title: Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Course number: SPCH 1315.W1
Course discipline: Speech
Course description: Application of communication theory and practice to the public speaking context, with emphasis on audience analysis, speaker delivery, ethics of communication, cultural diversity, and speech organizational techniques to develop students speaking abilities, as well as ability to effectively evaluate oral presentations.
Speeches will be videotaped for analysis and discussion. If you do not want your recorded speeches used in subsequent semesters for educational purposes, you may opt out by talking to me.
Course dates: January 19 though May 12, 2016
Location: Language 104 on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm or 6:30 pm until speeches are finished.
Meeting day(s): Orientation-which is mandatory – January 26 at 2:00 or 6:30 p.m.in Language 104. Speech delivery days will be 2/2, 3/1, 4/5, and 5/3, 2016 at 2:00 or 6:30 pm in L104.
Meeting time(s): From 2:00 or 6:30 p.m. until speeches are finished.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the foundational models of communication. Assessment: Drawing and labeling a model of the Public Speaking Process 2. Apply elements of audience analysis. Assessment: Audience Analysis activities
3. Demonstrate ethical speaking and listening skills by analyzing presentations for evidence and logic. Assessment: Critiques of videotaped and live presentations
4. Research, develop, and deliver extemporaneous speeches with effective verbal and nonverbal techniques. Assessment: Graded presentations
5. Demonstrate effective usage of technology when researching and/or presenting speeches.
Assessment: Graded presentations
6. Identify how culture, ethnicity and gender influence communication.
Assessment: Audience Analysis activities
7. Develop proficiency in presenting a variety of speeches as an individual or group (e.g. narrative, informative or persuasive). Assessment: Graded presentations
Instructor Information:
Name: Dr. Cary R. W. Voss
Email: Please use the Blackboard email system to communicate with me. That will facilitate an answer to a question within 48 hours Monday - Thursday.
Office location: 100D Language Building
Office hours: MWF 11-11:50; TR 10-10:50, and 6-6:30 on Online speech days, and by appointment
Phone: 361-573-3291 x3355
Mini Biography: I have been teaching Speech at the college level for 28 years. I received my undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Communication, and my Master's Degree in
Communication Studies from Baylor University. I received my Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas. I have taught and coached intercollegiate debate at Baylor, the University of Kansas, Liberty University, and Angelo State University. This is my 13th year at Victoria College. My hobbies include making fire by friction, flintknapping, bowmaking, saltwater fly tying and fishing, and recently Top Bar Hive beekeeping.
Textbooks: Required reading:
Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2015. Print Recommended reading:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009. Print
Online Resources:
The VC Student Handbook applies to this course and can be viewed online Victoria College Student Services Addendum
Useful Websites for MLA Documentation Online: Purdue Online Writing Lab
Policies and Procedures:
Semester Calendar: Is located on Blackboard as a separate page and embedded below.
Online Attendance: For online attendance, students must enter the course in Blackboard a minimum of three times per week. More will probably be necessary.
Speaking assignments: Due on the scheduled day of the assignment. You will only be allowed only ONE excused absence for the entire semester on a day you are scheduled to give a speech. Your first speech day absence burns your excused absence. For every absence beyond the ONE excused absence on a scheduled speech day, you will receive a 30-point deduction for that speech. If you miss two (2) consecutive speeches, you need to drop the course.
Students will receive a written critique on each speech, including comments on performance, length of time of the speech and grade received. Graded critique sheets will be emailed within two weeks after speeches are presented. . Students will also critique other student speeches
Works cited lists in correct MLA style and copies of source title pages will be required for speeches 2-4. Students must turn in a typed outline of the speech. Failure to follow MLA guidelines in creating works cited lists will result in a penalty of one half of the speech grade, which may be earned back once the errors have been corrected. I reserve the right to limit the number of works cited list correction attempts. Students must deliver their speeches, but they must also be present during other Students' speeches.
Participation: Grades will be based on student's input in online class activities and assignments, attention to others' speeches, and evaluations of other students.
Exams: There will be a First and a cumulative Second exam. Practice exams will be made available for you to make sure you can take Blackboard exams, and to help you prepare for the real exams. If you score higher on the cumulative second exam than you did on the first exam, your second exam score will replace your first exam score. If you do not take the first exam, your total exam score will be your score on the second exam. In other words, there will be no makeup first exams.
Ethical Requirements: If you "makeup" or "create" sources for a speech and cannot produce the original source or a photocopy of that source upon request, you will fail the course. If you plagiarize material, you will fail the course. If you have questions about source falsification or plagiarism, please ask me. You will be required to provide photocopies of the publication information for all sources used in speeches. You will be required to use MLA style to document your sources in your works cited list.
Research: You will be required to provide photocopies/printouts of the title pages for all sources used in speeches. You will be required to use MLA style to document your sources in your works cited list.
Equity Statement: All persons, regardless of gender, age, class, race, religion, physical ability, and sexual orientation shall have equal opportunity without harassment in this course. Any problems with or questions about harassment can be discussed confidentially with your instructor.
Additional Class Rules: Do not enter the room while someone is speaking. Do not chew gum while giving speeches. Do not wear hats while speaking unless they are part of a visual aid. Do applaud student performances. Please turn off all cell phones and pagers. Cell phones MAY NOT be used during class. This may result in dismissal from class and a zero for any assignment due that day. Participation is on a voluntary basis – be prepared to volunteer. Do have fun and learn and teach well.
Course Work: In order to demonstrate an understanding of the course content, the following assignments must be completed. If you fail to complete an assignment, you will fail the course. In addition, students will read required assignments from the textbook, handouts, and the web. Perhaps more than in other courses, the success of this class depends on the high level of commitment and participation by all students.
Requirements:
Exams: There will be two online tests given that will cover textbook and lecture content provided in Blackboard. The exams can be taken from home.
Speeches: detailed assignment sheets for each speech are available on the homepage under “speech assignments”
Speech #1: Coat of Arms Speech - an informative speech designed to introduce yourself to an audience to help establish identification and favorable ethos.
Speech #2: Process Explanation Speech - an informative speech to explain to the audience about a process or procedure; how to do or make something, or how something functions, operates, or is produced.
Speech #3: Policy Advocacy Speech - a persuasive speech designed to persuade the audience to accept your solution to a significant social or foreign policy problem. The speaker must advocate a change in law or policy.
Speech #4: Charity Advocacy Speech / Final Exam - a persuasive speech designed to convince the audience that a significant social problem exists and that a charity of your choosing will do a good job of reducing that social problem through audience donation of time, money, or some other donation.
Grading Scale:
Grades Grading Scale
10% “Coat of Arms” Speech A = 89.5 - 100 15% Process Explanation Speech B = 79.5 - 89.49999 20% Policy Advocacy Speech C = 69.5 - 79.49999 25% Charity Advocacy Speech / Final Exam D = 59.5 - 69.49999 05% Participation F = 00.0 - 59.49999 12.5% First Examination
Speech Evaluation Criteria
The average speech (grade C) should meet the following criteria:
1. Conform to the kind of speech assigned—informative, persuasive, etc. 2. Be ready for presentation on the assigned date
3. Conform to the time limit
4. Fulfill any special requirements of the assignment—preparing an outline, using visual aids, conducting an interview, etc. 5. Have a clear specific purpose and central idea
6. Have an identifiable introduction, body, and conclusion 7. Show reasonable directness and competence in delivery
8. Be free of serious errors in grammar, pronunciation, and word usage
The above average speech (grade B) should meet the preceding criteria and also:
1. Deal with a challenging topic
2. Fulfill all major functions of a speech introduction and conclusion 3. Display clear organization of main points and supporting materials
4. Support main points with evidence that meets the tests of accuracy, relevance, objectivity, and sufficiency 5. Exhibit proficient use of connectives—transitions, internal previews, internal summaries, and signposts 6. Be delivered skillfully enough so as not to distract attention from the speaker’s message
The superior speech (grade A) should meet all the preceding criteria and also:
1. Constitute a genuine contribution by the speaker to the knowledge or beliefs of the audience 2. Sustain positive interest, feeling, and/or commitment among the audience
3. Contain elements of vividness and special interest in the use of language
4. Be delivered in a fluent, polished manner that strengthens the impact of the speaker’s message
This handout provides an example of a Works Cited page in MLA 2009 format.
Your Name Works Cited
"Blueprint For Climate Stability." Environmental Defense Fund.
Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009. <http://www.edf.org/
sites/default/files/content/solutions_winter2015.pdf>
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York
Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/ video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate-change.html>
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York
Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis
Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009. GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of
Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 14.1
(2007): 27-36. Print.
An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.
Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New
York: Springer, 2005. Print.
Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global Warming
and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006): 63. Print
American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.
---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science Online. Web. 24
May 2009.
Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World Rept., 6 May
2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.
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