UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

Follow the Format or Fail!

It was senior year. The best time during my high school career, but also, the time where I
have a giant project to complete to prove that I am prepared for college. This senior exit
project included: a 10-page argumentative research paper, a volunteer basis physical component,
and a presentation given with a speech to a set of judges. For my rhetorical analysis, I will be
focusing on the presentation speech that I delivered to a set of three judges. My whole project
was focused on Special Education and funding which fueled my personal fire for excellence in
the entire project. There were factors out of my reach that shaped the way I composed my
speech.
The exigence and context worked together to provide the need and reason for
composition of my speech. The exigence of my speech was to initially inform the set of three
judges on what my senior exit project was all about. Prior to the speech, the judges are only
given a binder containing the argumentative research paper, a volunteer hour log, pictures
providing evidence for the volunteer work, and a mentor to the letter, and a letter to the judges
thanking them for taking time to look through my binder and for listening to my presentation.
The speech is a vital component to filling in the gaps for the judges. While the judges can look
through the binder all they want, the speech is needed to fully explain the process taken to
complete the project. The speech is also needed to ensure graduation from my high school. If a
student fails their presentation to the judges, they will fail English IV and not be able to graduate
from high school. That was my main driving force behind the composition of my speech. As for
the context of this speech, it arose from anticipation of graduating high school. The Cleveland
County School System from my hometown decided that they wanted a senior exit project to be

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

completed by every high school senior, so we would be prepared for college tasks and have the
opportunity to be involved in our community. The Education Board for my particular school
system decided the project would take form as partially a argumentative research paper and a
volunteer session that would lead to a presentation to a set of judges.
While composing my speech, the constraints and the audience played a role in my
internal struggles to make it the best that it can be. The main constraints I faced was the dreaded
format we were forced to comply with. A collection of English IV teachers came together a very
long time ago to create a format that would be successful for the presentation. Since then, every
English IV teacher has the same exact formula with questions for composing the speech. If a
student derailed from this format, it would constitute a failing grade for the entire project. The
format was so vital to our success that even the judges had a checklist derived from the formula
that they would check-off when they heard the components spoken during the presentation. It
was the main evaluation tool that determined whether or not I would receive a passing grade.
This constraint also inhibited my creativity from being included in the presentation. I am very
passionate about Special Education, and I wanted to be able to freely express my experience with
my project with no filter. I had to contain my opinions and condense my experiences with
different students with disabilities to fit this formula given to me. It was hard for me to really
even want to write to speech knowing that I wasnt going to be able to fit every single experience
with every single student into my speech, but it helped me to keep my speech on the route of
solely informing the judges of my experience.

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

The audience was a constraint in itself for me. I am not a person who is comfortable when it

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

comes to speaking in front of a group. My audience was in two separate parts: my AP English
IV class and the set of three judges. We were required to give our speech without the
presentation to our class as part of the project grade, and I was terrified. I avoided the
opportunity for three whole days until there was only a handful of us left to go. Luckily, my
teacher excused the majority of the class who already gave their speech, and the ones of us who
had not gone were going to give it to a smaller group. This helped me conquer some fear with
the presentation and speech. It allowed me the opportunity to prepare myself for the real
judgement. When it came the day for senior projects to be delivered, my fear came back. I
found myself pacing in the holding room for my group, and my anxiety grew larger and larger
with every minute. I was so nervous because this was the only thing standing in my way of
graduation. My audience had turned into a three judges who would make the call if i would pass
AP English IV, and that turned my stomach into knots. Finally, I enter the room, and I begin to
deliver my speech. Of course, I had a few mess ups with my words, and I was still nervous, but I
ended up recovering. My speech went smoothly, and I received wonderful compliments on my
comment sheet.
After two days of anticipation, I received my entire grading sheet. I was overjoyed to see
that I had scored 99.7% on the project. Over half of the grade was composed on her presentation
to the judges, and that is what had me worried. The grading sheet showed us a section where the
judges were to mark off the parts of our speech that followed the formula, and I had every
section checked off for all three judges. So, even though the composition of the speech was a
pain sometimes, the formula was successful for the speech.

UWRT 1103 014

Spring 2016
Taylor McNeill
Dr. Dutta

I learned a few things about writing through the composition of my speech. I learned that
writing can all change due to exigence, context, audience, and constraints. All of these elements
worked together to push more to try harder in my composition, but also helped guide me in the
direction I needed to be writing. Delivering my speech helped me become more comfortable
with speaking in front of groups of people, and I was able to explain my passion about Special
Education and students with disabilities. Through the entire project and most importantly the
speech, I decided to make my major Special Education. This speech made a large impact on my
life, and I can truly see how writing impacts all of our lives.