[SOLVED] ASSIGNMENT: Outlining Exercise

NOTE: For this exercise, use the information I’ve provided, not the notes for any of your upcoming speeches.

Part IA: Working Outline

Directions: Major and minor ideas are mixed together in the key word list below. Put the ideas in logical order supporting the thesis statement with three main points, each with two supporting points.

Transitions are especially important in bridging ideas together in speeches because we do not have visual cues such as paragraph breaks to alert us that a new idea is coming. It is important to write out transition phrases or sentences between main points.

Thesis Statement: Working at the local coffee shop was my favorite job.

• Pleasant environment
• Friendly customers
• Helpful coworkers
• Flexible hours
• Good schedule
• Holiday bonus
• Short shifts
• Good pay
• Generous tips

I.

A.

B.

Transition:

II.

A.

B.

Transition:

III.

A.

B.

Part IIA: Complete Sentence Outline

Directions: As the defense attorney in a car theft case, you need to prepare your closing arguments to the jury before it begins its deliberations. After reviewing evidence from the trial (listed below), organize the evidence into three main points, each with two supporting points. You will need to create what the three main points are. (Think of main points, or topic sentences, as a summary of what the two subpoints show.) Add transitions where specified.

Thesis Statement: My client is innocent.

• The stolen car was found abandoned three hours after the theft with the engine still warm; at the time the car was found, your client was at the airport to meet the flight of a friend who was flying into town.
• Lab analysis of muddy shoe prints on the floor mat of the car indicates that the prints came from a size 13 shoe; your client wears a size 10.
• Lab analysis shows the presence of cigarette smoke in the car, but your client does not smoke.
• The only eyewitness to the crime, who was 50 feet from the car, said the thief “looked like” your client; yet the eyewitness admitted that at the time of the theft she was not wearing her corrective lenses, which had been prescribed for improving distance vision.
• The car was stolen at about 1 p.m.; your client testified that he was in a small town 175 miles away at 11 a.m.
• In a statement to police, the eyewitness described the thief as blond; your client has red hair.

I. (Create your topic sentence)

A.

B.

Transition sentence:

II. (Create your topic sentence)

A.

B.

Transition sentence:

III. (Create your topic sentence)

A.

B.