February 19, 2015
Students and Parents:
Oratory speech information 6-8 minute persuasive speech
Speech tournament
Tuesday, April 28, and Thursday, April 30.
The order of presentation in class will be determined by lottery. All students must have
the speech memorized by Monday, April 20, 2014.
The judging criteria and further information are found on Holy Rosary’s webpage, www.hrsedmonds.org . All
students should review the judging criteria so they know the expectations.
 By February 26, the students should have discussed the speech with parents, brainstorming topics of
interest. Parents and students should be aware of the rules and judging criteria.
 By March 2, the students will have their final topic picked and thesis must be written, they must begin
searching for background material to use for their persuasive arguments.
 By March 5, the students should have 3 main points that they want to use in their arguments.
 By March 9, the students should have 2 quotes or 2 statistics that can be used in their speech to help
prove their arguments.
 The 1st draft will be turned in by March 16, complete with 3 main arguments to support their
position, 2nd draft is due March 30.
 The description of the speech is below. The speaker’s main purpose is to PERSUADE, not explain or
inform. Evidence is needed to validate their position.
Grade Level: 7
An oratory is a direct and sincere persuasive speech dealing with a current topic or issue that proposes a
solution.
 Orations may convince the audience of an impending danger, strengthen loyalty to a specific cause, or
even eulogize a person.
 The speaker should use figures of speech, similes and metaphors appropriately. Objective sentences,
citations and expressions enhance the presentation.
 Excellent delivery will include good eye contact throughout and engage the audience with facial
expressions, clear voice, good volume, and ideal pacing.
 This speech must be memorized, be the speaker’s original work, and quoted material should not
comprise more than 10% of text.
 Time limit is 6-8 minutes.
 All students present in the preliminary round.
 Finalists go on to compete for 1st –3rd place awards in front of a larger school audience.
Thank you,
Carlotta Rojas
Please sign and return the bottom of this page, due February 23, 2015.
I am aware of the timeline and requirements for this speech.
Parent signature _________________________________Date ______________
Student signature_________________________________ Date _____________