Adapted from a presentation by Nicholas Owen

Salina High Central (KS)

Purpose: to inform, not persuade

Researched material

General, 5 paragraph style of organization

Transition steps encouraged

If you want to win, topic selection is one of THE most important factors in Informative.

Not Exhaustive

Don’t Bore

Include Humor

Don’t Tell me What I Already Know

Choose a topic that’s INTERESTING to most audience members

Appeal to both genders

Appeal to all ages

Avoid controversial topics

Include some humor

Find a topic that MATTERS

Marshmallows!

Dragons!

Zambonis!

…but does it really matter if I learned about them?

Technology is using their

skin pattern to repel

bacteria?

Sharks kill less people

than fruit?

They don’t have any bones

bamboo houses can

survive 9.0 earthquakes?

we can make fuel from

bamboo?

it could reverse global

warming in 6 years?

Not too BIG, not too small

This is a book, not an 8 minute speech topic

Most topics will have enough for 8 minutes….

but it might come down to….do we care?

Find a NEW, FRESH topic

Sleep

Beauty

Laughter

Dreams

Kissing

Money

Apples

Self Esteem

if you find new research on them:

Sleep (new studies on effects)

Kissing (new scientific studies on health)

Love (new studies on brain chemistry)

You need to personally CARE about the topic

Of course, Red Hair

Allison Stuewe

Salina High Central (KS)

National Champion, Expository

You must have at least 3 - 4

“WOW!” moments

Facts that are so amazing, they shock us and judges run to the lounge to tell others

5 hours of sleep a night for a week is equivalent to a .08

blood alcohol level

Exposure to light at night can increase risk of some cancers

READ, read, read…..find the WOW facts, and THEN decide on a topic

3 main points

Do research first; THEN decide main points

Main points might be multiple paragraphs each

Sections do not have to be equal length

Choose the order of your points carefully

Background sections first

o History

o How something works

o Basic description

Bury a boring or controversial point in the middle

End with the most impactful point

o Social relevance

o Health implications

o How it affects our lives personally

Attention Getter

Relate

Purpose

Sign-posting

*based on Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Attention Getters

o Quotes

o “Psychologist Carl Jung once said, “as far as we can discern, the

sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the

darkness.” It seems we have taken this message quite literally,

because we have kindled many lights in the darkness - 120 billion

to be exact…”

Attention Getters

o Anecdotes

o “Growing up I always had a flair for all things dramatic. My mom claims I still do, but I believe it’s all open to interpretation. So of course it was only natural that at six years old I wanted to become—a Broadway

star! To my utter dismay, those aspirations were tragically shattered the day I came to realize that I CANT SING! I just thought my older sister

was jealous of my musical talents when she hid my microphone. But finally, with some sugar-coated hints, I reluctantly laid that dream to rest. However, ironically, musical ability has actually proven itself to be

a lasting gift within my family’s heritage. As the message within one of my favorite children’s books titled, I See the Rhythm illustrates, there is a significant richness of musical heritage within African American

history. In fact, music is the most widely acknowledged Black contribution to American culture. “

Attention Getters

o Clever wordplay

o “Pirates drink rum. The British drink Tea. Vampires drink blood.

And Americans drink… bottled water.”

o “It’s what separates the girls from the boys. Boys from men. And

men from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Testosterone.”

Attention Getters

o Rhetorical Questions

o ….only if you’re a little bit desperate

Relate

o Draw a connection between your topic and your audience; show how

it relates to them!

Purpose

o This is your thesis sentence; make your topic crystal clear.

Sign-posting

o Clearly preview your main body points.

o “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, and then tell them, and

then tell them what you told them.” -

Translated from Aristotle

Review main points

Remind audience of the impact of topic

Come back to your AG with a clever last sentence

Keep the writing simple to the ear

But use some interesting vocabulary

Transitions should be obvious

Consider a vehicle to tie it all together

Use a little humor!

Puns

o “Get my drift? It’s snow!”

o “So today, let’s shed some more light on this amazing subject by

first…and finally taking a look at some enlightening facts about

artificial light.”

Comic Relief

o “And you thought cramps were bad!”

o (right after a statistic about drop in math scores on ACT)

Self deprecating humor

o “I know, I know, I may not look like the authority on testosterone.”

The Unexpected

o “I hosted …. a Twilight party. When the fourth book came out, my

friends and I dressed up, put in vampire fangs, and headed out

to…...the book store”

Always come full circle - make sure your conclusion ties to

your intro

Rule of 3 -- you can mention a joke or through line three

times

Come up with a clever title!