Specific Purpose | To explain the different aspect of attending a four-year university. |
Main Points | I. Life in the dorms |
II. Life in the classroom | |
III. Life on campus |
Specific Purpose | To inform a group of parents about the different types of COVID vaccines they can give their children. |
Main Points | I. Describe Moderna vaccine and FDA's approval groups. |
II. Describe the Pfizer vaccine and which age groups the FDA has given approval for. | |
III. Describe the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the age groups the FDA has approved to take this vaccine. |
Figure 7.3.2: Agência Brasília - COVID-19 Vaccines - CC-BY-2.0
Specific Purpose | To inform a group of physicians about Drug X, a newer drug with similar applications to Drug Y |
Main Points | I. Show how Drug X and Drug Y are similar. |
II. Show how Drug X and Drug Y differ. | |
Specific Purpose | To inform a group of physicians about Drug X, a newer drug with similar applications to Drug Y |
Main Points | I. Explain the basic purpose and use of both Drug X and Drug Y. |
II. Show how Drug X and Drug Y are similar. | |
III. Show how Drug X and Drug Y differ. |
Spatial
The spatial speech pattern organizes information according to how things fit together in physical space. This pattern is best used when your main points are oriented to different locations that can exist independently. The basic reason to choose this format is to show that the main points have clear locations. We’ll look at two examples here, one involving physical geography and one involving a different spatial order.
Take a look at Figure 7.3.3 below, an ofrenda [alter] for Dia de los Muertos - a day in November that is dedicated to memorializing family members that have died. We might identify the main parts of the alter as food items, pictures, candles, and flowers. If we were to arrange those main points in a spatial organizational pattern, we would begin with the picture as the first main point; it is at the top of the ofrenda. Moving down the picture, we see candles, so that would be the second main point. The third main point would be the food items, and the last main point would be the flowers, as they are at the bottom of the ofrenda. Essentially, we plan to discuss the ofrenda spatially because we will discuss those main points in the way they are spaced out on the alter.
Figure 7.3.3: Eneas de Troya - Altar de dia de muertos - CC-BY-2.0
Specific Purpose | To explain the different physical aspects of an ofrenda. |
Main Points | I. Explain the importance of the deceased's picture to the alter. |
II. Identify where candles are located on the ofrenda and the purpose of the candles. | |
III. Explain the relevance of the food items to the deceased and the ofrenda. | |
IV. Describe the location of the flowers and their purpose to the ofrenda. |
Specific Purpose | To inform a group of history students about the states that seceded from the United States during the Civil War. |
Main Points | I. Locate and describe the Confederate states just below the Mason-Dixon Line (Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee). |
II. Locate and describe the Confederate states in the deep South (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida). | |
III. Locate and describe the western Confederate states (Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas). |
Specific Purpose | To inform my audience about the books written by Winston Churchill |
Main Points | I. Examine the style and content of Winston Churchill’s writings prior to World War II. |
II. Examine the style and content of Winston Churchill’s writings during World War II. | |
III. Examine the style and content of Winston Churchill’s writings after World War II. |
Specific Purpose | To inform my audience about the early life of Marilyn Manson |
Main Points | I. Describe Brian Hugh Warner’s early life and the beginning of his feud with Christianity. |
II. Describe Warner’s stint as a music journalist in Florida. | |
III. Describe Warner’s decision to create Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. |
Specific Purpose | To inform local voters about the problem of domestic violence in our city |
Main Points | I. Explain that there are significantly more arrests for domestic violence in our city than in cities of comparable size in our state. |
II. List possible causes for the difference, which may be unrelated to the actual amount of domestic violence. |
Specific Purpose | To persuade a civic group to support a citywide curfew for individuals under the age of eighteen |
Main Points | I. Demonstrate that vandalism and violence among youth is having a negative effect on our community. |
II. Show how vandalism and violence among youth go up after 10:00 p.m. in our community. | |
III. Explain how instituting a mandatory curfew at 10:00 p.m. would reduce vandalism and violence within our community. |