Featuring a balance of practical advice and sound instruction, Speechwriting: A Rhetorical Guide provides readers with essential knowledge to prepare and deliver well-constructed and well-researched speeches appropriate for a variety of contexts.
The first part of the book discusses traditional rhetorical theory in a way that is direct and easy for students to understand. The chapters cover such topics as audience and the rhetorical canons of invention, elocution or style, disposition or organization, delivery, and memory. Chapters in the second part then apply the rhetorical principles to four different types of speeches: inaugural addresses, commencement addresses, a variety of persuasive speeches, and a number of ceremonial ones.
The text includes excerpts from actual speeches, illustrative speechwriting samples with commentary from a prospective speech writer, and a set of exercises that encourage readers to think about how the sample speech might be improved upon or modified if they were the one writing it.
Speechwriting connects rhetorical theory to modern situations and settings to emphasize real-world application. The text is an exemplary resource for courses in speech and writing as found in departments of communication studies, English and composition, political science, education, and any other discipline in which people are frequently asked to speak or address an audience.
Industry Reviews
Speechwriting: A Rhetorical Guide guides novice and expert writers through all the considerations of how to design a speech. The rhetorical mechanisms that craft excellent speakers and writers seem to have faded with time. A book like this is valuable to help remind writers of those important elements of speech and emphasize the need to incorporate them every day. This book is a healthy overview of all those things."
Dakota C. Horn, Lecturer and Basic Course Director, Slane College of Communication and Fine Arts, Bradley University
"As someone who spent 16 years writing speeches in the political arena before spending an almost equal amount of time teaching communication, I consider this book to be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the craft of speechwriting, regardless of their background. It will gain a spot on my bookcase."
Carl Hyden, Associate Dean for Administration, School of Global Journalism & Communication, Morgan State University
"It's refreshing to see a speechwriting text that includes examples from a variety of contexts and that provides practical guidelines that are well grounded in theory. The text does a great job in explaining the difference between writing for self and writing for others, covering different types of speeches within a variety of contexts, and explaining the traditional forms of rhetorical appeals."
Jean DeHart, Professor of Communication Studies, Appalachian State University
"This text employs a conversational style of writing and will be an 'easy read' for students, which is helpful in getting them to engage with the material."
Kristin N. English, Digital Learning Fellow, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Previous Interim Department Chair and Mass Communication Coordinator, Georgia College and State University
"A speechwriting textbook that elevates and modernizes rhetoric."
Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, Interim Associate Dean, School of Arts and Science, Iona College
"The greatest strengths and benefits of Speechwriting: A Rhetorical Guide include: its practicality and consistency of organization from chapter to chapter; the direct style of writing it employs throughout; and its niche in support communication studies pedagogy that touches upon speechwriting."
Robert E. Patterson, Associate Professor, Coordinator of Communication, McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia
