Public Speaking Arts/SGO... · 2014. 8. 27. · Extemporaneous speaking is the idea to sound as if you are speaking spontaneously, but instead of giving the clumsy, faltering speech

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PATERSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Public Speaking

LANGUAGE ARTS

BASELINE ASSESSMENT

Student:

Teacher: School:

Date:

Score:

Administered By:

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Directions: After reading the excerpts, answer the following questions.

An informative speech is one that intends to educate the audience on a particular topic. There are many

different types of informative speeches, including speeches that describe the conditions of a subject and

speeches that instruct the audience on how to perform an action. This type of speech uses descriptions,

demonstrations, vivid detail, and definitions to explain a subject, person, or place that audience wants

to understand. Unlike persuasive speeches, an informative speech relies less on pathos (appeal to

feelings) and more on communicating information.

Hamilton, Gregory, Public Speaking for College & Career, 9th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010),

pages 299-305

1. Which one of the following is an example of an informative speech? (RI.9.3-12.3, RI.9.4-12.4,

SL.9.3-12.3)

A. To teach my audience how to transform discarded CDs and DVDs into useful objects

B. To convince my audience that child geniuses should be permitted to enroll in college classes

C. To convince my listeners to reject the idea that tornadoes are incapable of striking large

cities

D. To persuade my listeners not to buy products tested on animals

One of the ways speakers analyze audiences is by looking at demographic traits. Such as age; gender;

sexual orientation; religion; group membership; racial, ethnic, or cultural background; and the like. This

is called demographic audience analysis. It consists of two steps: (1) identifying the general demographic

features of your audience, and (2) gauging the importance of those features to a particular speakin g

situation.

Stephan E. Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 10th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009), page 100

2. Which one of the following is not an example of the diversity of your audience? (RL.9.4-12.4,

SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Gender

B. Age

C. Educational background

D. Speaker

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Directions: After reading the excerpts, answer the following questions. Respond to questions 3 & 4

There are a number of speech designs. Chronological pattern arranges your main points in a time

sequence-what occurs first, what occurs second, and so on. Topical pattern would divide your central

idea into components or categories, using logic and common sense as your guides. Cause -Effect pattern

orders the points by discussing a cause and then the effects of this cause. A Problem-Solution pattern

divides a speech into two main sections: a problem and its solution. Spatial Pattern organizes items

according to the way in which they relate to each other in physical space – top to bottom, left to right,

north to south, inside to outside, and so on.


pages 204-208

3. You plan to give a speech to persuade your audience to support “pet therapy” for lonely elderly

people in nursing homes. Your most likely choice for a speech pattern would be? (RI.9.3-12.3,

SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Chronological Pattern

B. Topical Pattern

C. Cause-Effect Pattern

D. Problem-Solution Pattern

4. Alexis is delivering her speech in Psychology class today. Her speech is going to inform her

audience of the two kinds of sleep that all people experience. Her speech follows which of the

following organizational patterns? (RI.9.1-12.1, RI.9.3-12.3., SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Chronological Pattern

B. Topical Pattern

C. Problem-Solution Pattern

D. Spatial Pattern

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5. The body of the speech is the point at which you go into full detail about each of your main points.

The body is where you tell your story. The body of the speech does the following: (RL.9.2-12.2,

SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Introduces the topic to the audience.

B. Helps provide the audience an introduction to your credentials as a speaker on the topic.

C. Expands upon the main points previewed in the preview statement.

D. All of the above.

Directions: After reading the excerpts, answer the following questions. Respond to questions 6 & 7

The message of a speech is what the speaker communicates to the listeners. The message is sent in the

form of symbols – either verbal or nonverbal. Verbal symbols are words. Nonverbal symbols are what

you convey with your tone of voice, eyes, facial expression, gesture, posture, and appearance.


page284

6. Which one of the following is an example of a verbal technique? (SL.9.3-12.3)

A. Eye contact

B. Inflection

C. Posture

D. Facial expressions

7. Which one of these is an example of a nonverbal strategy? (SL.9.3-12.3)

A. Gestures

B. Volume

C. Jargon

D. Rehearsing

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8. It is very important to be able to communicate effectively in our professional, as well as, our

personal lives. When hiring, employers are most likely to be influenced by which of these

attributes? (RL.9.2-12.2, RL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.1-12.1)

A. Grade point average

B. Letters of reference

C. Technical knowledge of the field

D. Oral communication skills

Directions: After reading the following excerpts, answer the following questions.

There are four basic speaking methods that are used by public speakers today: memorization,

manuscript, impromptu, and extemporaneous. When we memorize a speech we deliver it without a

script or notes. A manuscript is an entire speech word for word which is read aloud to the audience.

Impromptu is speaking on the spur of the moment with no opportunity for extensive preparation.

Extemporaneous speaking is the idea to sound as if you are speaking spontaneously, but instead of

giving the clumsy, faltering speech that many off-the-cuff speakers give you present a beautifully

organized, well-developed speech that you have spent many hours preparing and practicing.


pages 275-278

9. Jim utilized his note cards when he gave his speech in his Journalism class. What type of speaking

method did he use? (SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Impromptu

B. Manuscript

C. Extemporaneous

D. Memorization

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Informative speeches can be categorized in many ways. Four of the most popular types are definition,

description, process, and explanation. A definition speech is giving an extended definition of a concept

so that the listeners get a full, richly detailed picture of its meaning. A description speech paints a vivid

picture of a person, a place, an object, or an event. A process speech covers the steps or stages by which

something is done or made. The explanation speech involves explaining a concept or a situation to the

audience. For this type of speech, you often must conduct in-depth research, using books, articles, and

interviews, rather than relying on your own experiences.


pages 299-304

10. David is giving a speech in his class today. His speech is going to inform his audience how to

choose a study-abroad program. Which one of the types of informative speeches is David

delivering to his class? (RI.9.3-12.3, RI.9.6-12.6, SL.9.6-12.6)

A. Definition

B. Description

C. Process

D. Explanation

“Another cause of the problem is that precious time is often wasted on useless paperwork before vital

emergency treatment begins. Several years ago, a man driving by an elementary school in my

hometown had a heart attack and crashed into a school yard. Seven children were taken to the

emergency room three blocks away, but the real tragedy had not yet begun. Once in the emergency

room, children were denied treatment until the parents were contacted and the admitting forms filled

out. By the time the forms were completed, two of the children had died.”

11. Identify the type of supporting material used in the following excerpt from a student speech

about the lack of prompt and proper emergency room care. (RL.9.1-12.1, RL.9.2-12.2, RL.9.4-12.4,

SL.9.3-12.3)

A. Narrative

B. Analogy

C. Testimony

D. Statistics

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Visual aids are important for explaining and illustrating your ideas. Some reasons for using visual aids

are as follows: visual aids can make ideas clear and understandable, visual aids can make a speech more

interesting, visual aids can help an audience remember facts and details, visual aids can make long,

complicated explanations unnecessary, visual aids can help prove a point, visual aids can add to your

credibility, and visual aids enhance communication with people who speak English as a second

language.


page 167

12. Which of the following is not a benefit for using visual aid materials in a speech? (SL.9.5-12.5)

A. They add clarity.

B. They help create identification with the listener.

C. They can help reduce apprehension.

D. They add to the length of time of your speech.

Establishing a general purpose for your speech will help you bring your topic under control. Speeches

may have other purposes, but these are the most common. The informational speech is concerned

about giving new information to your listeners. The persuasive speech is given to convince the lis teners

to come over to your side, to adopt your point of view. An entertaining speech is aimed at amusing or

diverting your audience. It is light, fun, and relaxing.


pages 88 & 89

13. Which of the following is not a general purpose/function for giving a speech? (RL.9.2-12.2, SL.9.6-

12.6)

A. To inform

B. To decide

C. To persuade

D. To entertain

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Words, phrases, or sentences that show logical connections between ideas or thoughts are called

transitions. They help listeners stay with you as you move from one part of your speech to the next.

Transitions clarify the relationship between your ideas, thereby making them easy to comprehend. They

can be employed to help your listener follow your remarks. A transition takes your listeners from point I

to point II. It also has the virtue of stimulating their curiosity about the next part of the speech.


pages 210 & 211

14. Effective speech transitions: (RL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.4-12.4)

A. Show how points relate to one another.

B. Prepare your audience for forthcoming ideas and materials.

C. Bridge ideas together.

D. All of the above

When selecting a topic for your speech, you should choose a topic that you care about and that you can

master. Try to choose a topic that will interest your audience. Narrow the topic so that you can control

your material.


pages 83-87

15. When choosing a topic, you should: (RL.9.2-12.2, SL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.6-12.6)

A. Pick something trivial and fun that you don’t know anything about.

B. Choose timely topics.

C. Avoid topics that “improve” the audience.

D. Choose a topic that others may be interested in.

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Brainstorming is a method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words and ideas.

Some brainstorming techniques include the following: Personal Inventory, Clustering, Reference Search

and Internet Search. In Personal Inventory you would make a quick inventory of your experiences,

interests, hobbies, skills, beliefs, and so forth. Jot down anything that comes to mind, no matter how

silly or irrelevant it may seem. From this list may come a general subject area out of which you can

fashion a specific topic. Clustering is taking a sheet of paper and dividing it into nine columns as follows:

People, Places, Things, Events, Processes, Concepts, Natural Phenomena, Problems, and Plans and

Policies. Then list in each column the first five or six items that come to mind. Very likely, several items

on your lists will strike you as potential topics. If not, take the items you find most intriguing and

compose sublists for each. Try to free-associate. Write down a word or idea. What does that trigger in

your mind? Whatever it is, write that down next and keep going until you have five or six ideas on your

list. Reference Search is browsing through an encyclopedia, a periodical database, or some other

reference work until you come across what might be a good speech topic. The Internet Search is to

connect to a subject-based search engine such as Yahoo and find a more specific subject.

Stephan E. Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 10th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009), pages 78-80

16. Which of the following is not an example of effective brainstorming? (RL.9.2-12.2, SL.9.1-12.1)

A. Nancy takes five minutes to write as many topics as she can that come to her mind, just

writing anything down.

B. George uses a free-association exercise where he writes down one word, then another one

which pops up and so on for the next five minutes.

C. Robin decides to write letters to her friends telling them that she cannot find a topic for her

speech.

D. Candice goes to her computer and looks for a particular subject she is interested in for

writing her speech.

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The introduction to your speech is very important. An attention-grabber is needed because of an

unfortunate fact: audiences don’t automatically give every speaker their full, respectful attention. But

grabbing their attention is not enough: your introduction must also make listeners want to hear the rest

of your speech. When used in a speech introduction all of the following except one illustrate methods of

getting the audience’s attention.


pages 219-223

17. Which is not an attention-getting statement? (RL.9.2-12.2, RL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.5-12.5)

A. Let’s look at this video clip and imagine ourselves in this situation.

B. Once upon a time, there was a young girl who.

C. I am addicted to caffeine.

D. I have seen a human clone with my own eyes.

18. The conclusion of your speech should summarize your purpose and main points while leaving a

lasting impression with your audience. When you conclude a speech you should: (RL.9.2-12.2,

RL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.4-12.4, SL.9.5-12.5)

A. Thank everyone for listening to your speech.

B. Leave with something memorable.

C. Should instruct your listeners to write their own speech in response to yours.

D. All of the above

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Open-Ended Questions- Directions: Read the play below and respond to the questions that follow.

A Doll’s House

Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, caused controversy when it appeared in 1879. It

portrayed a view of marriage that angered many. In this scene, Nora tries to explain her feelings about

her marriage to her husband, Torvald Helmer.

Nora: You have never loved me. You just thought it was fun to be in love with me.

Helmer: Nora, what kind of way is this to talk?

Nora: It’s the truth, Torvald. When I lived with Papa, he used to tell me what he thought about

everything, so that I never had any opinions but his. And if I did have any of my own, I kept

them quiet, because he wouldn’t have liked them. He called me his little doll, and he played

with me just the same way I played with my dolls. Then I came here to live in your house

Helmer: What kind of a way is that to describe our marriage?

Nora: I mean, then I passed from Papa’s hands into yours. You arranged everything the way

you wanted it, so that I simply took over your taste in everything-or pretended I did-I don’t

really know-I think it was a little of both-first one and then the other. Now I look back on it as

if I’ve been living here like a pauper, from hand to mouth. I performed tricks for you, and you

gave me food and drink. But that was how you wanted it. You and Papa have done me a great

wrong. It’s your fault that I have done nothing with my li fe.

Helmer: Nora, how can you be so unreasonable and ungrateful? Haven’t you been happy here?

Nora: No; never. I used to think I was, but I haven’t ever been happy.

Helmer: Not-not happy?

Nora: No. I’ve had fun. You’ve always been very kind to me. But our home has never been

anything but a playroom. I’ve been your doll-wife, just as I used to be Papa’s doll-child. And

the children have been my dolls. I used to think it was fun when you came in and played with

me, just as they think it’s fun when I go in and play games with them. That’s all our marriage

has been, Torvald.

Citation: Sheryl A. Reda, Projects in Speech Communication (Logan, Iowa: Perfection Learning, 2009),

pages 598 & 599

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19. Evaluate the effectiveness of Nora’s interpersonal communication skills, and cite specific

examples from the play to support your response. (W.9.3d-12.3d, RL. 9.1-12.1, RL. 9.4-12.4)

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Directions: Read the following speech by Abraham Lincoln and respond to the

questions that follow.

Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address

On November 18, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave a short speech at the dedication of the

National Soldier’s Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers

brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that

all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any

nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their

lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger

sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living

and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world

will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for

us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus

far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that

from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full

measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this

nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people,

for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Citation: Sheryl A. Reda, Projects in Speech Communication (Logan, Iowa: Perfection Learning, 2009),

page 592

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20. According to Abraham Lincoln, what was the historical significance of the Civil War? Cite

specific examples from the speech to support your response. (RL.9.1-12.1, RL.9.2-12.2, RL.9.4-12.4,

W.9.3D.-12.3d., W.9.3e.-12.3e.)

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Public Speaking Arts/SGO... · 2014. 8. 27. · Extemporaneous speaking is the idea to sound as if you are speaking spontaneously, but instead of giving the clumsy, faltering speech

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