Instructions
Option 1
Select a speech, lecture, or a program on public television.
1. Listen for the main ideas, outline these ideas, point out the key words, and practice taking notes.
2. Write a short summary of what you have heard. Indicate the name of the program, speech, or lecture, the date you heard it, the location, and the name of the speaker (if applicable).

Option 2
Analyze an audio copy of a famous historical speech such as, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream." The Internet provides access to resources of this type. 1. Find the rhetorical devices and features that make them memorable.
2. Access how language and delivery affected the mood and tone of the speech, including the use of diction and syntax.
3. Evaluate the clarity, quality and effectiveness of the main points of the speech.
4. Identify the kind of arguments used such as causation, analogy, authority, emotion or logic.

The speech I would select is the "Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln. This speech was given by the President during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863. The main idea of the speech is that just like the men who fought for independence, the nation was now fighting in order to protect the unity of the nation. Lincoln asks all Americans to unite in protecting their country and the values it stands for.

Option 2:

There are several rhetorical devices that make the speech memorable. For example, one of the most important ones is the repetition of the phrase "I Have a Dream." Another one is the extensive use of imagery that King employs. Moreover, the slow pace and clear diction make the mood more serious, and the tone more authoritative. The main points of the speech are extremely clear, as well as very effective. Finally, King employs a variety of types of arguments in order to convey his message. These include analogies, ethos, pathos and logos.