Day: March 21, 2011

Sorry guys, in the excitment of showing your what happens when a telepromter fails I forgot to give you the prompt! Here it is:

Those who live with conflict should be allowed to seek asylum.

Last lesson we looked at the key words ‘immigration,’ ‘asylum seeker,’ and ’emigrant’ and explored the different context in which they are used; this lesson we are going to focus on how to take the prompt you are given and formulate it into a question (an important process regardless of the form you choose).

When faced with the task of writing persusively on a topic it is up to you to make the issue clear; this really is just part of setting the scene in any good introduction. For example, if you were invited to address a youth group about the topic  of gang violence and if you, as an ex-gang member, wanted to convince your audience to stay away from gangs you might do so by posing the question: “Is it worth it?” This would make it easier for you to persuade them because your opinion naturally answers the question. Similarly, if you had to write an opinion piece on the topic of celebrity culture and you were opposed to the amount of time mass media devotes to following their every move, you might pose the question: “Is celebrity news really important?” This tactic of posing a question based on the topic you wish to address works really well because your audience will instantly try and find an answer based on their own experience. When you provide a well considered answer based on extensive research it will make you opinion all the more believable.

Something that is vital to any good introduction is some kind of ‘hook’ that grabs the attention of the listener/reader e.g. 1.6% of all immigrants are asylum seekers yet 80% of all news on immigration references ‘asylum seekers.’

Remember that I must see your data sheets by tomorrow at the latest so I can sign them off.

An important point that I wanted to make in regards to writing your speech is the need to include stage directions. This is where you show the reader of the speech when you will:

• [pause] for dramatic effect
• [point] to reinforce idea
• [laugh] to lighten the mood or show contempt for opposition
• [sigh] to show dismay
• [look sincere] to show honesty
• [look determined] to show commitment
• [look concerned] to show empathy

This list of stage directions is not exhaustive and there is no reason why you can’t make up more of your own to suit your needs.