Majd Kazzaz
April 4, 2015
PB1A
There are
many different genres present in the world today. Different forms of writing or
speaking are used under different circumstances and in different situations.
There are many discrepancies that distinguish each genre from the other such as
diction, tone, and mood. One genre that is extremely important to society and
is used by many powerful leaders or politicians is a speech. Speeches have the
power to persuade people, to control people, and to be a sign of authority.
They can be used to address certain specific topics or issues as well as a call
to action. There are many different conventions that define a speech, making it
a unique genre of its own. Also, there are several rhetorical features involved
in creating a speech. Rhetoric is the way a certain person chooses to portray
his/her message. In fact, Janet Boyd says in “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)”,
“[C]hoosing how to express your meaning is every bit as important as the
message itself, which is really what rhetoric is”(Boyd). Typically, a speech
needs to be catered towards the audience and towards what they want to hear.
That is why the audience of a speech is a very crucial part of its
effectiveness because it is essentially the group of people who will be
listening to what you have to say. One rhetorical feature of a speech is its
purpose. Some speeches are made to convince people to have a different
perspective or opinion, which can be seen in events such as a presidential race
where each candidate makes speeches to earn more votes. The purpose of a speech
is different than that of other genres such as fictional stories, research
papers, or college admission essays. It doesn’t necessarily have a purpose of
entertainment, nor does it have a purpose of research and development. Its
purpose is to directly address an audience because a speech is presented in
front a group of people. That is also why speeches are normally composed of
attention grabbing hooks and a lot of emotion-filled remarks. The context of a
speech is also different than that of many other genres. A speech is a piece of
literature that is presented to an audience who is gathered to hear the speech.
A convention of a speech is that it has arguments and evidence to persuade the
audience. Similar to an argumentative essay, a speech must use elements such as
data, examples, and specifics to support a certain standpoint. Another convention of a speech, which is often
used by speechwriters, is repetition. Repetition is used in order to emphasize
a particular idea or standpoint that is extremely important to the purpose of
the speech. These are the reasons why a speech is a unique genre of its own,
different than many other genres. It can only be used in particular situations
and under certain circumstances. For example, a leader of a social activism
group would use a speech to convince society for a call to action rather than
using other genres such as poems or letters.
I though that you touched on a lot of good points about speeches and their conventions. I have to agree with you on the fact that speeches are really important to society because it's the most powerful people who use them. I also agree with you when you said that speeches aren't for entertainment or research and development. I thought you made a good connection when you said that speeches are like argumentative essays, and that they share many conventions. I would also say that another convention of speeches is that they often are made to bring up strong emotions in order to persuade listeners. Overall, good project builder.
ReplyDeleteYou are very clear about the purposes and conventions of speeches, especially in regards to the importance of the audience and how the audience plays a key role in this genre. I would suggest, however, using an example or two of excerpts from past successful speeches so you can point out exactly where and how a convention is used.
ReplyDeleteSpeeches are very important to our society because it is what helps us know what is going on. For example, the president's state of the union speeches are essential for the public to see what their plan is for the year. Speeches can definitely sway our opinions, depending on who the speaker is. If a person has a great speech but terrible delivery, as a person from the audience, then I am less likely to be persuaded by them; I think deliveries of the speeches can sometimes be more important than the speech itself. You brought up good points about speeches; especially how repetition can help the audience remember a certain point.
ReplyDelete