Link source https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Public_Speaking_(The_Public_Speaking_Project)
Instructions Read chapters 7 & 16. The teacher wants to use these formats at the same time
Organizing the Body – Problem, Cause, Solution format
There are many ways to organize your speeches. You can organize it chronologically, topically, and comparing and contrasting among other patterns. However, in this course we are going to use the same pattern for all of our speeches: PROBLEM, CAUSE, SOLUTION format.
We use this format for several reasons:
- These speeches are persuasive
- These speeches call for policy change or action, so this pattern makes the most sense.
- This pattern follows basic models for argumentation, and we need to be able to make arguments to persuade are audience with substance.
Let’s breakdown this organizational pattern further. When we speak about this pattern, we want to understand that this denotes how the body of our speech will be organized. All speeches will have three sections -Intro, Body, and Conclusion, and all of those sections will be broken down further when we outline our work. That will be discussed shortly. Right now, though, we will look at the body section and how it is broken down into a problem/cause/solution format.
The first section in the body is the PROBLEM section.
This should be the longest section of the overall speech. This is where we discuss all of the horrible things that are happening because we don’t have the policy you are advocating for in place OR all of the awful things that will happen, if we don’t keep the current policy or maintain the status quo.
For example, if I am arguing that distracted driving needs to stop, I would highlight the injuries, deaths, negative mental effects, negative societal effects, and negative economic effects that are a result of distracted driving. These are the problems. Make sense?
Now, let’s say I am arguing that we don’t need universal healthcare. I would highlight all of the negative things that would result IF we offered universal health care. For example, I might say quality of care will go down, it will de-incentivize pharmaceutical companies to make innovative drug therapies, and/or we will have fewer people entering the medical profession because of loss of prestige/money. I would still need to elaborate on what all of this means such as death, depression, etc., but I need to lay out my problems either way.
In the first example, I am arguing for change to existing policy, but in the second I am arguing for keeping the status quo or against making changes to existing policy. Do you see the difference?
The second section is the CAUSE section.
In this section, we are going to be focusing on why there is either a need to change current policy or why there isn’t a need to do so. We answer the question of why this issue is a problem or why others think it is, but it really us not. We are addressing two barriers here. Let me explain.
The first barrier or cause might be structural. In other words, are there laws/structure in place that preclude the policy change we are advocating for from happening, or is there an absence of laws/structure that make it impossible for this policy change to happen. For example, if I want to end solitary confinement I have to ask myself why it exists in the first place. One answer is, it’s allowed. There is no law against it. This is a structural barrier. This is one reason why it exists. Now, I can go deeper, and I should and point out that it’s not being use as it was originally intended, and since we aren’t trying to change these existing laws, it will continue to get abused. On the flipside, if I was arguing that distracted driving needs to stop, the structural barrier could be that the current laws don’t deter it from happening and they vary from state to state. Maybe we need a federal approach?
The second barrier or cause might be attitudinal in nature. This means that there is a debate within our society about this topic. The overarching view might be, in the case of solitary confinement, that convicted criminals don’t deserve to be treated as humans, for example. Or, if we take the topic of raising minimum wage, many argue that $15 to flip burgers is absurd. Sometimes the attitude is one of ignorance, meaning that the general public doesn’t know that any of this is occurring or that it is happening in the manner described in the problems section. Regardless, this is a difficult section and requires a lot of thought and good evidence to support the arguments being made.
The third section is the SOLUTION(S) section.
In this section, we are going to offer a solution or more likely, multiple solutions to solve the problems relating to our topic. It’s best to have solutions that we can support with evidence. So, how do we do that?
- We can talk about legislation that has been drafted nut not yet approved.(Ex: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s Green New Deal to address climate change.)
- We can use other groups or governments who have completed what we want to do as a model. (Ex: Canada or the U.K. for universal healthcare)
- We can develop our own solution and use evidence to show that it would work. (Ex: Address bullying in school, but using a federally recognized definition of what bullying is and institute programs to deal with bullying on a national level.)
It’s better to have multiple solutions or leveled steps if a single solution.
So now that you understand the basics, let’s move onto OUTLINING.
Introductions, transitions, and conclusions
The introduction has three parts. They are as follows:
- Attention Getter or Teaser (Do not call it a hook)
The teaser is your opening line(s). The purpose is to interest your audience and engage them. There are many different ways to do this. For example, you can begin with a quote(don’t forget to say who said it), startling fact or statistic(make sure you cite it), anecdote, hypothetical situation, vivid language/imagery, etc. DO NOT announce your topic, tell a joke/use sarcasm, say good morning/afternoon, etc, or tell us your name.)
- Thesis
The thesis is your position statement, your claim. It’s your main argument and should hint at the solution. It should be strong, complete, and thorough.
- Preview
The preview tells us what you will be speaking about. In this class, everyone’s is the same. Ex: “Today, I will share the problems, causes, and solutions related to ________.”
The conclusion has two parts. They are as follows:
- Summary
The summary is a reiteration of your preview and is the same for everyone in this class. Ex: “Today, I have shared the problems, causes, and solutions related to __________.”
- Pleaser
The pleaser is the final thought that you want to leave your audience. It relates back to the teaser, but it doesn’t repeat it. Please see example outlines for details. They are linked in the outlining module. DO NOT say “THANK YOU” at the end, You say your pleaser and that’s it!
You have four (4) required transitions in all of your speeches. Transitions are necessary and important because they make it easy to follow along auditorily. Remember, most people are visual, so these cues really help!
You can see these laid out in the outlines linked in that module, but I will explain them here as well.
- Preview transition – comes right after your PREVIEW and it is the same for everyone, “First, let’s talk about the problems.”
- Summary/preview transition – comes after the PROBLEMS sections and before the CAUSES section. It is also the same for everyone, “Now that we have talked about the problems, let’s talk about the causes.”
- Summary/preview transition- comes after the CAUSES sections and before the SOLUTIONS section. It is also the same for everyone, “Now that we have talked about the causes, let’s talk about the solutions.”
- Summary transition- comes right after the SOLUTIONS and is the same for everyone, “Clearly, there are some viable solutions to solve this problem.”
Outlining
The main takeaway regarding outlining is that you must DO IT! Do not write your speech in essay format. Writing your speech in outline format requires you to make an empty outline and fill in the blanks. I want you to follow the provided format completely. That means using Roman numerals, ABC, abc, indenting where appropriate and labeling all items. Please see attachments for clarification. I will touch upon all of this further in a video that will be uploaded shortly.
SI. Introduction
A. Attention Getter/Teaser: Rhetorical ?, Anecdote, Startling Fact /Statistic, Quote,
hypothetical, vivid imagery/detailed descriptive/poetic language, DO NOT ANNOUNCE
YOUR TOPIC, DO NOT SAY GOOD MORNING OR MY NAME IS, NO TO HUMOR/SARCASM
B. Thesis: Your position statement, your claim. (hint at solution) (**SHOULD)
C. Preview: Today, I will share with you the problems, causes, and solutions associated
with not raising minimum wage.
PREVIEW TRANSITION: First, let’s talk about the problems.
II. Body
A. THE PROBLEM: Overarching problem — THIS SHOULD BE THE LONGEST SECTION OF
YOUR SPEECH!
- MP#1
a. SP#1 - Support: RESEARCH!!!! “According to TIME MAGAZINE, APRIL 5th 2020,
“_” - Support:
SUMMARY/PREVIEW: Now that I have talked about the problems, let’s move on to the causes.
B. THE CAUSES: Overarching causes (attitudinal/structural)- NO TO CAUSE TO PROBLEM - MP#1
a. SP#1 - Support: RESEARCH!!!! “According to TIME MAGAZINE, APRIL 5th 2020,
“_” - Support:
SUMMARY/PREVIEW TRANSITION: Now that I have shared the causes, let’s look at some solutions.
C. THE SOLUTIONS: Overarching solution(s)
SAME FORMAT AS ABOVE WITH MAIN POINTS, SUB POINTS, ETC.
SUMMARY TRANSITION: Clearly, there are some viable solutions to solve this problem.
III. Conclusion
A. Summary: Today, I have shared the problems, causes, and solutions associated with
____________with you.
B. Pleaser: Relate back to teaser.
DO NOT SAY THANK YOU!ee sample skeleton outline, here.
See complete sample outline, here.
I. Introduction
A. Teaser: Every day in our country, secondary student learning is being interrupted and
curtailed. No, it’s not at the expense of the parking lots being too full. Nor is it at the
expense of our new secretary of education, at least not yet. And again, it is not at the
expense of illness or incompetence. It’s leggings, it’s spaghetti straps, it’s skirts that are too
short, and pants that are too baggy or tight. These are the culprits. Seemingly innocent
pieces of clothing in their own right, but through the eyes and prejudices of school
administrators and educators nationwide, these are provocative pieces of impropriety
meant to distract young boys and their adult male counterparts.
B. Thesis: Girls who violate dress code are sent home to change and made a spectacle of by
school administrators and this has to stop. We must take a stand against this behavior.
Public schools should implement a dress code policy that doesn’t unfairly target self-
expression of the female gender by sexualizing their dress.
C. Preview: Today, I will share with you the problem of not having an equal dress code policy in
public schools, the causes of the current problem, and viable solutions to improve the status
quo.
TRANSITION: First, let’s look at the problem.
II. Body
A. THE PROBLEM: School dress codes unfairly target females.
Main Point #1: A host of issues arise when schools have dress codes with too many shades
of gray.
a. Support: According to the Edmonton Journal, from June 11, 2016: Girls have been,
“coded for wearing a midthigh skirt. And it’s not like the boys are called out for
what they wear. They can wear whatever they want.”
b. Support: The Calgary Herald, October 11, 2016 edition addresses these issues. The
dress codes which are often ambiguous, “leave female students feeling sexualized
and treated unfairly”
TRANSITION: This unfair targeting feeds body dysmorphia in young women, it makes them
ashamed of their bodies, and it even feeds into rape culture. - Sub point #1: This bias can have damaging, lasting effects on both genders.
a. Support: An article in The Atlantic, August 13, 2015 edition furthers these points by
citing, a film: “Shame: A Documentary on School Dress Code, that explores the
negative impact biased rules can have on girls’ confidence and sense of self.”
b. Support: “Telling our girls that they should dress modestly or what else will boys
think of them, once again puts the onus on the girl to not be used or
degraded….”Girls and women in turtlenecks as well as in short shorts….are subject
almost daily to commentary about their body, commentary from men and women”
according to The Brattleboro Reformer, October 20, 2016. This creates an
unhealthy sense of self…do I cover up? Am I too skinny, fat, curvy to wear this?
TRANSITION: Not only are these behaviors detrimental in the short run; they are also
detrimental in the long run. It affects the larger, more dangerous idea of rape culture.
c. Support: According to the February 10, 2017, issue of The Gazette, “when rape
culture takes hold, this violence against women is normalized and the typical repose
is to…..blame the victim (what did you do, wear….)” We aren’t focused on teaching
young men to not sexualize women. Instead, we are focused on teaching girls to
hide their bodies for fear of the possible outcomes if they don’t.
d. Support: This sexualization of young women and girls in school begins a dangerous
slippery slope that leads to normalizing the aforementioned behavior. - Sub point #3: Self-expression and participation is also hindered by arbitrary school dress codes. a. Support: Support: “When girls are denied time in the classroom because their knees, shoulders or upper arms are considered inappropriate and in need of covering up, it privileges the societal sexualization of their adolescent bodies over their own right to learn according to September 10, 2015 edition of The Guardian.
- Sub point #4: And on the other side of the coin, when girls are forced to wear skirts in a mandatory uniform environment it makes participation in activities uncomfortable and difficult.
a. Support: The January 15, 2017 edition of the Canberra Times highlights this: “There are many examples of girls and women talking about the fact they feel restricted in dresses and it prevents them from engaging in the sports and the activities that they
want to.” - Sub point #5: Further, focus on learning is lost
a. Support: In the November 6, 2016 edition of the Washington Post this point is highlighted. It shares the story of an 11 year old whose mom was called to bring her jeans as the leggings she was wearing were in violation of school dress code as her shirt did not extend far enough down her thigh.. According to the girls mom, her daughter: “….loves school and dreams of being a doctor; that she missed 20 minutes of reading time class ‘over a couple inches of fabric’ was outrageous”
TRANSITION: Now, that I have informed you of the problem, let’s talk about the cause.
B. THE CAUSE: The purpose of dress codes is unclear
Main Point #2: There are too many different points of view that mire the issue and make it
confusing.
a. Sub point #1: First, some schools argue that they are teaching all students to dress for
success. If we all have to wear uniforms in life, why not start now? This ignores that not all jobs will require a specific norm for dress, and further, that we are becoming more zand more relaxed about dress as time moves forward.
b. Sub point #2: However, some who still see roles as very gender specific keep this issue
moving forward in a negative way.
a. Support: The New York Times, January 26, 2017 edition reported that a temporary receptionist in the UK was sent home because she wasn’t wearing heels. And, in another story published in the Belfast Telegraph, January 25,
2017, women in some occupations have been forced to dye their hair blond, reapply makeup throughout the day and wear revealing outfits.
c. Sub point #3: Additionally, people cannot separate their own prejudices from their roles.
a. Support: According to The Daily Dispatch, November 30th, 2016, “We must remember that the patriarchy usually subordinates women to men.”
b. Support: This is dangerous because again the sexualization of women and what
they wear is called to blame for actions where blame should be placed elsewhere. Why don’t we teach our young men from an early age to not degrade young women, to not sexualize them?
c. Support: A 2016 law review by legal scholar, Meredith Harbach highlights the broad brush applied to women’s clothing because educators and administrators are unable to separate their own personal views with their roles as educators.
Further, she notes that even some adults at schools “get distracted” by the female’s clothing due to their own prejudices.
TRANSITION: We have now seen the reasons behind this issue; let’s move on to a solution to this problem.
C. THE SOLUTION: School uniforms with equal choices or legal non-oppressive clothing allowed
–(dns)
A. Main Point #3: Clearly this problem is deep rooted and multi-faceted and the answer is much deeper than a simple fix. However, until we smash the societal structures that allow “boys to be boys” and girls to be the subject of expected harassment, there are two possible solutions that can be implemented in the meantime. - Sub Point#1: School uniforms that focus on gender equality could work, meaning that all clothing choices are made available to both genders and no specific gender is forced to wear a specific item such as a skirt for females or trousers for males.
- Sub point#2: If uniforms are too limiting or that is not a viable option, as long as the clothes would not be cited for public indecency or aren’t oppressive to any specific group such as inciting hate speech, etc., students should be allowed to wear them.
TRANSITION: Clearly, there are some viable options to change the status quo.
III. Conclusion
A. Summary: Today, we have discussed the problems that arise when schools institute a biased dress code, why this continues to be a problem and the causes behind it, as well as possible solutions.
B. Pleaser: Arbitrary dress codes are interrupting and curtailing secondary education in our country both literally and figuratively. We must take a stand to keep education moving forward. That stand is not against the leggings and skirts and tank tops hanging in the closets of the elementary, middle, and high schoolers of our country. That stand must be against our own biases about the female body and its inherent sexual nature. That stand must be against clothing that doesn’t allow for self-expression and movement and participation. That stand must be against our own prejudices and fears. Because in the end, that is the culprit.
SEE-I – Week 3
Points 15 Submitting a file upload
A SEE- I is a written exercise that requires you to follow a very specific format. This is a building block to writing arguments in your future speeches. Please read the rules and double check that you have followed them BEFORE submitting your assignment. If you have any questions, please message me through CANVAS. Acceptable file formats include, word and .pdf files only.
Here are the rules:
This assignment is sectioned off in four separate paragraphs.
S stands for STATEMENT. This section is one sentence long. That’s it. Not two or three, just one! This STATEMENT is formed by finishing a prompt. **For example, the prompt for this week’s SEE-I is: “Effective organization makes public speaking easier because…
You are making a claim here.
E stands for ELABORATION. This section is five-seven sentences long. You may always write more, but five sentences MINIMUM. It begins with, “In other words, ” In this section, the goal is to elaborate on the claim you made with your STATEMENT above. This section should not summarize what you have read, but rather it should argue in favor of the statement you made above. It answers why you chose that as the most important concept, for example. It does not regurgitate or offer a summary, it argues and explains. It offers support.
E stands for EXAMPLE. This section is five-seven sentences long. You may always write more, but five sentences MINIMUM. it begins with, “For example, “. In this section, you are going to provide real life examples that either you have experienced or witnessed that support the explanation and argument you made in the ELABORATION section. Do not regurgitate the examples from the textbook or give hypotheticals.
I stands for ILLUSTRATION. This section is one to two sentences MAXIMUM. It begins with the words, “This is like”. In this section, you are tying up your argument that you have been building in the precious three sections and are offering your final analysis. You are tying up your argument and concluding, leaving your reader something memorable to understand your overall argument. You may choose to make an actual drawing/illustration or use an image that you found online if you prefer that to words. Either way, you still must begin with “This is like…”.
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