Ignite Speech: The Art of Rhetoric Creative Writing Task

An Ignite Speech is a five-minute speech. It has 20 slides, each timed at 15 seconds (thus, equalling 5 minutes).

For some examples and inspiration, visit

Method of Delivery:

Voice Recording Over Google Slides Presentation

Simply create your slides, and then record your speech over the slides.
❏ Make a Google Slides presentation & set up Auto Advance
❏ Use Vidyard (or a similar extension) to record your slides. This will allow you to speak and show the
slides simultaneously.

PLANNING

TOPICS:
Choose one of the thesis statements below as the basis for a speech of your own. Then, decide on your
topic—will you support or refute the thesis you selected? Highlight your selection.

1. The secondary school year should/should not be broken up into three semesters.
2. Practical courses such as manners and etiquette, budgeting and finances, and social capital (i.e.,
volunteering and community organizing) should/should not be created and made mandatory.
3. There should be more money invested to create independent elementary and secondary schools that
focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
4. Students (and their families) should/should not pay tuition to be in a French Immersion program.
5. All extra-curricular activities in schools should/should not be organized by community members (e.g.,
parents, relatives, professionals etc.), not by teachers.
6. The Canadian government should/should not allow Americans to immigrate to Canada.
7. Canada should/should not adopt a system of minimum guaranteed income for all Canadians.
8. Aboriginal communities should/should not be given even more money in order to help solve their
problems.
9. A topic of your choice. If you choose to go this route, you will still need to complete a proposal, submit it,
and have it approved by Mr. Holmes.

PURPOSE:
What is the purpose of writing this speech? What are you trying to convince your audience of?
The purpose of this writing speech is to convince my audience that having practical courses as mandatory
would be very effective and beneficial.

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH:
Do some preliminary research. You have to have a grasp of the topic you are presenting. Copy/paste the URLs
for any useful information here:
RC, Kessler. "Adolescent Mental Health." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 28
Sept. 2020. Web. 28 July 2021.

24, September, and Naresh. "Canada's High School Dropout Rates Are Staggeringly
High, According to Studies – Narcity." Pathways to Education. 13 Dec. 2019. Web. 28
July 2021.
 PLANNING

Once your proposal is submitted, you can begin to write your speech in the space provided below. Use the
following information to help guide you. When you are finished, you may create your slides & your video.

FORM:
What Method of Organization will you use? You can model your speech on one from our Investigating
Speeches activity if you wish!

Some Tips for Writing Your Speech:

❏ Don’t feel that you have to write your speech in the order you would deliver it. You may want to jot down
your arguments, or decide on a final statement as your first step.
❏ Ensure that you have an introduction that establishes context, gains credibility and grabs the audience’s
attention.
❏ Make sure the body of your work progresses logically and appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos.
❏ Write a conclusion that reaffirms your credibility, pulls your audience’s attention back and reviews your
main ideas.

REVISION CHECKLIST:
○ I use strong transitions.
○ I use a clear and easily understood vocabulary.
○ My sentences are short and direct.
○ I use strong, parallel construction.
○ I use an active voice.
○ I repeat key ideas.

MY SPEECH:
I'm pretty sure for a while now, it's not something new to hear students, teachers, and even parents complaining about
school and how it could improve. There have been many contributions by adding extracurriculars and programs to help
students out. This leads to my main argument today. Are our practical courses a good idea? Today, I'm going to go
through a series of reasons why It would be a great idea.

First off, what are practical courses? Practical courses are classes based on certain basic life skills and manners that
people are known and expected to be like. Some examples would be classes on basic manners and etiquette,
Budgeting/ finances, how to get involved with the community, etc. These classes may seem basic but the way they can
help and shape students for their future is crucial.

The first reason why I think having these kinds of classes would be great is because of how our mindsets could change.
By this I mean for example if younger kids like elementary school students were to partake in these courses then later
on when they grow up these topics would be a piece of cake for them. Likewise, Even if these courses were only offered
in high school it would probably put high schooler's minds at ease.

My second reason is mental health. The World health organization (WHO) website, states that Half of all mental health
conditions start at 14 years of age but most cases are undetected and untreated. It's common for a lot of those issues
to arise more when being in school. The stress of trying to understand what to do after high school and basic
knowledge is not always accessible to students.

This leads to my next point! High school dropouts. Like I mentioned previously, Mental health issues can arise at such a
young age, And unfortunately, it can follow people for the rest of their lives. Did you know that in Canada high school
dropout rates average 5–14% and increase to as high as 50% or more? Its often gotten to do with low-income
communities. But I do think having practical courses can help a stronger foundation for their future studies.

These courses can also help make our community more social. I say this because of course nowadays students still need
to volunteer to get experience and pass high school but it can be hard for students to step out of their comfort zones or
to just know where to start. If there were courses on how to get involved with the community then It would make
volunteering, getting a job, or helping others much easier.

As a student myself, I, along with my peers have always complained about why we didn't have any practical courses. I
tend to feel a sense of fear every time I need to plan what courses I need to take and what I'm supposed to do after high
school. And it's not always about going to university or college but about being independent. Some examples of that are
knowing how to pay bills/taxes, How to be formal in the workplace, etc.

In general, the education system may have changed over the decades but maybe it's time for another change. We
already know what student's outcomes and opinions are on the schooling system so what's the harm in trying to
involve practical courses? It may be a bit different from what we're used to but it can be a great opportunity for
students and help with better outcomes in their daily lives.

Now, I've been mentioning a lot of things on how these courses can benefit a student for other academic purposes, but
they can also help out with their personal lives. For example, taking a course that focuses on manners and etiquette can
help the individual to be more sociable. There may be less conflict with families, friends, co-workers and less bullying at
school. People might start to feel like there are more equal chances for each other.

Overall, I really do believe that adding practical courses to be mandatory would be really great. It's something that I,
along with other students feel that would really help us out a lot by reducing our stress level, having a clearer
understanding of what lives like after high school, and just make school a much better experience.