Commencement Speech Address Name ____________________________________

Adapted from Suite101.com[i] Honors Language & Composition

Take a cue from Amy Poehler and try your own commencement speech. Choose one of the following as the context for your speech:

· A high school graduation speech

· A college graduation speech

In writing your speech, be sure you demonstrate a clear understanding of the rhetorical triangle: speaker, audience, and subject. Create a persona (speaker) and choose details that are particularly suited for the occasion (consider what it means to graduate or commence) and audience (what will your audience want or need to hear). The purpose of your speech should be specific.

Elements to include for an effective speech:

· Introduce yourself to your audience, but don’t go overboard; this day is for the graduates.

· Know your audience: address both the graduates and others in attendance (parents, teachers, etc.).

· Keep your speech specific and focused on a particular message. Do not simply “inspire” your audience. Consider, instead, what you want your audience to aspire to do.

· Incorporate a quotation or two, if it fits with the rest of your speech (see back).

· Tell a story or give examples for your audience to better visualize.

· Keep your sentences free of clutter; say what you mean and say it well (precise, lively diction).

· Listen to yourself as you read your speech; the voice in the speech should be natural and authentic.

· Watch your tone, being careful to not sound didactic or preachy.

· Use allusions (pop culture references, classical references) where appropriate.

· Incorporate rhetorical devices that enhance the cadence and message of your speech. (At least two)

· 2-3 pages max which translates into about 3-4 minutes.

When you are finished, you should highlight the rhetorical devices you used. On a separate piece of paper – the last page – type up a key that identifies and describes the purpose and effect of each device.

Grading: Maximum points = 50. Graded on: following instructions; having clear speaker occasion, audience; composition; conventions; varied use of sentence structure; appropriate diction.

First Draft Due: 4/24 Final Draft Due: April _____

Many commencement speakers quote famous or historical people in their speeches. Using a quotation in a commencement speech can help the speaker appeal to his/her audience using ethos, pathos, or logos.

Though you are not required to use a quotation, the sample quotations may help inspire the directions or theme of your speech. Feel free to use one of quotations below or find your own. Remember that who you quote can impact how your audience will react.

· Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. --Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

· Never separate the life you live from the words you speak. --Paul Wellstone

· You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go. -- Dr. Seuss

· The future depends upon what we do in the present. --Mahatma Gandhi

· Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these. --Susan B. Anthony

· Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.---Nelson Mandela

· Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. -- Robert Frost

· Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After twenty-two years of child-raising, they are unemployed.--Erma Bombeck

· The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. --Eleanor Roosevelt

· I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught. -- Sir Winston Churchill

· People will frighten you about a graduation. They use words you don't hear often. 'And we wish you Godspeed.' It is a warning, Godspeed. It means you are no longer welcome here at these prices.--Bill Cosby

· When you come to a roadblock, take a detour. --Barbara Bush

· There are two types of education. One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live. -- John Adams

· At my graduation, I thought we had to marry what we wished to become. Now you are becoming the men you once would have wished to marry. --Gloria Steinem

· When our memories outweigh our dreams, we have become old. --Bill Clinton

· Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated.--Garry Trudeau

· The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.--Maya Angelou

· A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad. --Theodore Roosevelt

· Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. --Judy Garland

· It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. --Aristotle

· Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. – Yoda

[i] Rockler-Gladen, Naomi. “How to Write a Graduation Speech: Memorable Commencement Speaking for High School & College Graduation.” 24 January 2007. Suite101.com. 12 October 2007. <http://collegeuniversity.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_write_a_graduation_speech>.

- - -. “Graduation Day Quotes.” 2 February 2007. Suite101.com. 12 October 2007. <http://collegeuniversity.suite101.com/article.cfm/graduation_day_quotes>.

- - -. “Ceremonial Speech Topic Ideas.” 31 January 2007. Suite101.com 12 October 2007. <http://collegeuniversity.suite101.com/article.cfm/ceremonial_speech_topic_ideas>.