PISMP TESL JUNE 2015 INTAKE

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

TSLB3023

LECTURE 1

Hjh. Zamrudah Hj Ahmad Rashidi

English Language Department

ZAMRUDAH AHMAD RASHIDI

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EAP 2015
Most public speaking texts discuss three
general purposes for speeches: to inform,
to persuade, and to entertain. Although
these general purposes are theoretically
distinct, in practice, they tend to overlap.

The topic you choose is not as important

as your approach to the material in
determining whether your speech is
informative or persuasive (Peterson,
Stephan, & White, 1992).

DISCUSS

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INFORMATIVE SPEECH
• Try to convince the audience that the facts presented are accurate (Harlan,
1993).

• A well-written speech can make even the most dry, technical information
entertaining through engaging illustrations, colourful language, unusual
facts, and powerful visuals.

• Primary intent will be to increase listeners’ knowledge in an impartial way.

• Informative speakers are credible. Credibility, or ethos, refers to an

audience’s perception that the speaker is well prepared and qualified to
speak on a topic (Fraleigh & Tuman, 2011).

• Good informative speeches contain a number of different source citations

throughout the speech. To show that the information you present is
accurate and complete, these sources should be up-to-date, reliable,
unbiased, and directly relevant to your topic. Using a variety of sound
reference materials helps you appear well informed and more trustworthy.
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TYPES OF INFORMATIVE SPEECH

• DEFINITIONAL SPEECHES: present the meaning of

concepts, theories, philosophies, or issues that may be
unfamiliar to the audience. Speakers may begin by giving the
historical derivation, classification, or synonyms of terms or
the background of the subject.

In a speech on “How to identify a sociopath,” the speaker may

answer these questions: Where did the word ‘sociopath’ come
from? What is a sociopath? How many sociopaths are there in
the population? What are the symptoms? Carefully define your
terminology to give shape to things the audience cannot directly
sense.

Describing the essential attributes of one concept compared to

another (as through use of analogies) can increase
understanding as well. For a speech on “Elderly Abuse,” the
speaker may compare this type of abuse to child or spousal
ZAMRUDAH AHMAD RASHIDI/EAP
abuse for contrast. 2015
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TYPES OF INFORMATIVE SPEECH

• DESCRIPTIVE SPEECHES: purpose is to provide a detailed, vivid,

word picture of a person, animal, place, or object. Audiences should
carry away in their minds a clear vision of the subject (Osborn &
Osborn, 1991).

In the descriptive speech, determine the characteristics, features,

functions, or fine points of the topic. What makes the person unique?
How did the person make you feel? What adjectives apply to the
subject? What kind of material is the object made from? What shape is
it? What color is it? What does it smell like? Is it part of a larger
system? What is its geography or location in space? How has it changed
or evolved over time? How does it compare to a similar object?

When preparing for the speech, try to think of ways to appeal to as

many of the senses as possible. As an example, in a speech about
different types of curried dishes, you could probably verbally describe
the difference between yellow, red, and green curry, but the speech will
have more impact if the audience can see, smell, and taste samples.
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2015
TYPES OF INFORMATIVE SPEECH

• EXPLANATORY SPEECHES: similar to the descriptive speech in that

they both share the function of clarifying the topic. But explanatory
speeches focus on reports of current and historical events, customs,
transformations, inventions, policies, outcomes, and options.

Whereas descriptive speeches attempt to paint a picture with words so

that audiences can vicariously experience it, explanatory speeches focus
on the how or why of a subject and its consequences. Thus, a speaker
might give a descriptive speech on the daily life of Marie Antoinette, or
an explanatory speech on how she came to her death.

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TYPES OF INFORMATIVE SPEECH

• DEMNSTRATION SPEECHES: shows listeners how some process is

accomplished or how to perform it themselves.

The focus is on a chronological explanation of some process (how potato

chips are made), procedure (how to fight fires on a submarine),
application (how to use the calendar function in Outlook), or course of
action (how court cases proceed to Supreme Court status). Speakers
might focus on processes that have a series of steps with a specific
beginning and end (how to sell a home by yourself) or the process may
be continuous (how to maintain the hard drive on your computer to
prevent crashes).

Demonstration speeches can be challenging to write due to the fact that

the process may involve several objects, a set of tools, materials, or a
number of related relationships or events (Rinehart, 2002). Nevertheless,
these types of speeches provide the greatest opportunity for audience
members to get involved or apply the information later.
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PERSUASIVE SPEECH
When you set out to persuade someone, you want
them to accept your opinion on an issue: you want
to change that person's mind to your way of
thinking.

This means that you need to be very aware of

your audience; you want to be forging a link with
them by establishing a common goal, not irritating
them by completely ignoring their needs.

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PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
There are three areas we should attempt to appeal to when trying
to get our audience on side:

APPEAL TO REASON
Most people believe themselves to be reasonable, so appealing to a
person's sense of reason is the most effective means of convincing them to
change their way of thinking ('If we don't do this... then... ).

Recognise that your audience feel they hold a reasonable view

already, but try to dissuade that view by showing how much more
reasonable your own position is. Provide evidence to support
your ideas to suggest that they are reasonable and logical.

Because you are being persuasive, and not writing to argue, you
do not have to provide entirely ‘neutral’ facts.
 An effective way of appealing to your
audience’s sense of reason, while still
presenting your view as the only correct
view, is to use emotive facts rather than
objective ones.

(However, do not overuse this as it can make you seem

untrustworthy/insincere.)
PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES

APPEAL TO CHARACTER

We all share certain common ideas of what is just and fair!

Appealing your audience’s sense of what is right and fair can be
a powerful persuasive device, e.g. 'Like you, I share a sense of
horror and repulsion at what is happening...'.

You need to try to convince your audience that you and they are
very similar, sharing parallel ideas and views.

One way to do this is to create a sense of a shared personal

or cultural experience.

One way to make your audience feel as though they have shared
experiences with you, is to include anecdotes. These illustrative
‘real’ stories add a human and personal dimension that can
be irresistible and fascinating.
Be respectful... Use an appropriate tone to suit your audience
and purpose.

Be generous... people often put their own interests first. What

can you offer your readers to help them change their mind?

Be modest... no one will listen to an arrogant, impolite big-head.

Be personal... Persuasion works best when you know your

audience well so consider your reader, think about what their
current views are and what has brought them to think that way -
think about addressing them as a 'friend using the pronoun 'You'.

Be concerned... and show that you share your reader's concerns

- even if your view is different.
PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES

APPEAL TO EMOTIONS

Persuasion often succeeds by the careful and considered use

of emotion - especially showing how passionate you feel for
your point of view.

The most important persuasive technique is to sound

authentic and passionate (as if you really mean what you
say!) and this requires a confident tone: sound like you are
sincere and believable.

What tends to happen to our vocabulary

choices when we talk about something we are
passionate about?
Some words have connotations that evoke an
emotional response.

Consider the
difference between
the words building,
house and home.
The words all come from the same semantic
field, with similar denotations, however, the
connotations of words are very different.
Because we often have an emotional association
to words, our choice of vocabulary can be a
powerful tool for persuasion. We can use words
to make our audience feel guilty about a
situation, angry and even hopeful.
ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

The argumentative speech asks you to put the

rhetorical techniques you've learned into practice by
arguing your claim and supporting that claim
with evidence and counter-evidence.

Towards the end of your presentation, you should

start to craft a viable solution for your proposal.

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 Possible Topic Ideas
Should boxing be banned? Should legal immigration be stopped?

Should the driving age be raised to 18? Should dying people be kept on life
support?
Should semi-automatic weapons be
banned?
Should tobacco products be banned?
Should teens who murder be executed?
Should the Internet be censored?
Should hunting be outlawed?
Should school prayer be allowed?
Should recycling be mandatory?
Should music lyrics be censored?
Should schools require student
uniforms?
Should parents of teen vandals be held
Should college athletes be paid? responsible for their child's damage?

Should the death penalty be abolished? Should research on cloning be

discontinued?

Should a rookie salary cap be enforced in

pro sports?
ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

• Start off with a strong opening statement in the form of a

question. Pick a controversy that will have a lasting beneficial
or detrimental affect upon your local community (here or
otherwise) or the entire state, national, or global community,
one that is likely to have positive or negative impacts on
people within those distinct communities.

• Pick apart the angles of that controversy, taking a strong viable

stance on which side you support, clearly indicating by the end,
how people (possibly including yourself) is likely to be affected.
Assess and offer viable solutions.

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ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

• Consider the opposing arguments. If you were arguing with

your friends, how would they try to prove you were wrong?

• Start off by presenting and indicating how a specific

controversy gives impact and how that controversy might be
addressed or ameliorated

• Look at the three main reasons for your opinion.

• What objections would others have to each of your reasons?

Write these down under each of your reasons. Now you have
three arguments and three counter-arguments.

• Write your answers down under the counter-arguments.

• Now you have the raw material for each of the arguments.
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ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

• For every point, present your opposing argument and your

refutation for the point. Present and refute an adequate
counterposition in your presentation, showing that you can
consider a controversy from beyond just a singular (pro-only,
con-only) vantage point

• Use evidence of a varied or diverse nature—interviews,

surveys, pictures, graphs, online materials—so as to cultivate a
strong sense of writerly ethos (writerly credibility), showing
your reader that you can successfully and carefully use
evidence to lend support to your claims.

• Your ultimate goal is to play the role of a concerned citizen,

who is upset or hopeful about conditions in your community—
as such, your passion for your topic has deep impact for others
as well.
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ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

• Place your strongest supporting argument LAST just before

concluding.

• Conclude with a restatement of argument and supporting

ideas. Make a prediction, a recommendation, or a summary.

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TUTORIAL TASKS

TASK 1:
You are in Norway attending a student exchange programme. Give a talk
on life as a student in a higher learning institute in Malaysia to a group of
university students there.

TASK 2:
You are the president of the institute’s student body. It has been
suggested, by the student body, that students should be allowed to wear
short sleeve shirts when attending lectures.
As president, it is your job to put this proposal forward to the institute
and persuade them that this is a justified and beneficial suggestion.

TASK 3
Should vaccinations be made mandatory for infants and toddlers in
Malaysia?