Directions for Imitation of Old Major’s Speech
Reread Old Major’s speech on pp. 27-31 (or up until the song on p. 32). Note how Old
Major uses the following elements of rhetoric (which means “effective speech making”)
in his speech to the animals:
✦ establishing himself as an expert (ethos)
✦ use of personal anecdote (pathos)
✦ appeal to emotion, logic, or fear (pathos,
logos)
✦ use of rhetorical questions and offering of
answers
✦ reducing the problem to one word or phrase
✦ personalizing the problem by using names
of specific animals
✦ offering a simple solution
✦ encouraging the listeners to take up his
cause
Now, think about a problem or injustice in society. It can be a real problem that confronts
your community, such as dangerous drivers or cigarette smoking in public. But, it might
also be a humorous problem like not receiving enough ketchup with your drive-thru
window order of french fries. You can also write about a problem confronting students in
our school community.
Your task is to write a speech of 350-400 words with our humanities class as the
intended audience, patterning it after the language, style and structure of Old
Major’s speech. That means that it should sound very similar to what Orwell writes in
this Old Major speech. You may want to use some of the very same phrases that Orwell
uses, but substituting your issue for the issue Old Major discusses.
Obviously, your speech will not be as long as his speech, nor do we expect you to have
a song. We want you to try to use as many of the rhetorical elements as you can while
also communicating effectively. Try to write a rousing, stirring speech.
Some things to keep in mind:
• Try to keep the speech to 350-400 words
• Make sure you use some variation of the language/phrasing/sentence structure of
the Old Major speech so that this sounds similar in style to Orwell’s writing
• Recall the modes of rhetoric we learned about first semester: logos, pathos,
ethos. Make use of these in your speech.
• Use multiple paragraphs; do not write this as one long paragraph
• Do not write anything which would make any ethnic group, religious group, or
gender offended
• Do not write anything about a particular teacher, person, or class at Clark. If you
choose to write about some problem you see at Clark, it should be more general and
not offend anyone.
• Speeches about dress standard are overused and usually not very interesting.
Word process your speech, as you will submit it to turnitin.com. Also, be prepared to
share your speech orally at your table; if time permits, we may have a few volunteers
share in front of the class. Be sure to print out the third page of this assignment
and to complete the checklist as direct.
Grading
This assignment counts as both a writing and homework grade for English.
√+ – Speech meets all requirements, including having an accurately completed
checklist; writing shows close adherence to Old Major style and form
√ – Work meets all or nearly all requirements; writing shows some adherence to Old
Major style and/or form
√- – Work may not meet requirements; writing shows little adherence to Old Major style
and/or form
Deadlines
Your printed copy of the speech is due in class on Friday, February 24, at the
beginning of the period. Also, be sure to print out and attach to your speech the
imitation speech checklist (in the page below).
Submit your speech to the correct folder in turnitin.com no later than Monday,
February 27. Failure to do so will result in your speech receiving no more than
half credit.
Name:
Topic:
Block:
Imitation Speech Checklist
Reread your speech and color or highlight each checkoff box as you complete the task. Provide examples
in the space provided. At the top of this page, write the topic of your speech. This checklist is a part of
your grade. Print this out and turn this in with your speech on Friday, February 24.
I established myself as an expert.
Example:
I have used a personal anecdote.
Example:
In my speech, I have appealed to emotion, logic, or fear.
Examples:
I have used rhetorical questions and offered answers to them.
Example:
I have reduced the problem to one word or phrase.
Example:
I have personalized the problem by using names of specific people who would benefit from my solutions.
Example:
I have offered a simple solution.
Example:
I have encouraged the listeners to take up my cause.
Example:
I kept my speech to 350-400 words. It is complete.
I have used multiple paragraphs instead of writing one long paragraph.
I have not written anything that would offend any ethnic group, religious group,
or gender.
 I haven’t written anything about a particular teacher, person, or class at Clark.
I am prepared to share my speech orally in small groups.