home
Student Congress
Writing Speeches
Authorship/Sponsorship Speeches
The
authorship/sponsorship speeches open the piece of legislation, so the
primary role of the speech is to explain why it should be passed and
explain the text of the legislation. With bills especially, make sure
to include strong arguments supporting passage, because the piece of
legislation does not do that automatically.
"Normal" Speeches
A
normal speech is like a short argumentative essay, but has room for
refuting ideas discussed in the round. An interesting beginning is
crucial, most speeches start with quotes, analogies, or a shocking
piece of evidence. After a brief introduction which includes the
thesis, its time for the body of the speech, the actual arguments.
Depending on when you speak, arguments can either bring up new ideas or
refute ideas already presented. The key is to keep ideas unique, most
of the other congresspeople in the round will have done research on the
Internet, and repetition does not make interesting speeches. Then end
your speech which a conclusion that summarizes your stance on the issue.
Helpful Hints for Speeches
-Flowing
competitors speeches is important to refrain from repeating ideas. When
you flow, write down the congressperson's name, so when/if you refute
their ideas in a speech, you can say, for example, "Contrary to
Representative/Senator blah blah, No Child Left Behind actually hurts
the education system in America by making teachers "teach" to the
standardized tests." It shows you are paying attention during the round.
-Do not say contention before each argument, give values, summarize the
entire round, or anything else that comes straight from LD or PF.
-Congresspeople all have different varieties of
preparation. Some improv the entire speech, some make outlines, and
some completely write out a speech for each piece of legislation. It
all depends on your individual level of speaking experience and your
confidence in a round. It's best to at least have statistics or examples
for each topic to back up your arguments. Research LinksHere
are some helpful links for research, but google, wikipedia or any other
search engines are always helpful for finding information.
Quotes (Mainly historic quotes)
More Quotes (This site has a variety of quotes from classic to contemporary)Almanac
EBSCOhost (Need INFOhio
password)Newsbank (Need INFOhio password)
NewsweekTime MagazineWashington Post