Speech Guidelines, POL, etc.

Our plan in the lab today is twofold: continue work on speech research AND select a couple of poems to use for the POL in class competition.

By the end of the period, compose a blog entry on your blog that has the following:

1. Your revised (if necessary) topic and debatable question AND a list of 10 subtopic questions for your topic/question (no answers necessary)
2. Links to at least two poems you've selected form the POL website.

SPEECH: For the speech, I'd like you to humor me a little by composing a list of 10 subtopic questions based on your topic and debatable question. This shouldn't take you long. As a step in the research process, it tricks you into thinking about your argument and how to proceed with finding the support for it. Rather than the yes/no debatable question, subtopic questions are very open ended and can't be answered with simple yes/no statements. They require specifics. They are the answer to the who, what, why, when, and how of your topic. Once you've completed these. Go and find the answers to them.

If you haven't already started compiling a notes page in a Word/Google document, you should start doing that today. On Wednesday (01/11) I'll be spot checking at the end of class for evidence of your critical reading of the sources in the form of cut and pasted snippets AND bibliographic citations for each source you draw from. Remembering, with your final draft of the speech you will submit a MLA Bibliography/Works Cited. For this project I'm requiring 6-10 sources. You should focus most of your research attention on SIRS, Issues and Controversies, and Opposing Viewpoints. I'll allow for more no more than 2 "free web" sources. Just so you know, on Tuesday of next week (01/17) we'll be work shopping the rough drafts of our speeches and possibly doing some small group practice with these.

POETRY OUT LOUD: Go to the POL website and find a couple of poems that you'd be comfortable developing oral recitations of. There are lots of ways to sort the poems. Remember about the assessment criteria as you make your selections. In the blog entry for this part of the assignment, link to your two poems by title. Bring hard copies of these poems to class on Tuesday and Thursday.