Types of Supporting Materials

__________________ add concrete data to support your arguments, lend credibility to your speech, and help show the significance of the points you are trying to make.

Statistics

Read the passage and answer the question below. Should Children Be Allowed to Own and Use Cell phones? It is difficult to imagine a time when we did not have cell phones. Many of us rely on our phone throughout the day in order to stay in contact with our business, friends and families. Whether we like the cell phone or not, it has become an essential part of our society and there is little chance of its use being curtailed in the near future. Even children have begun to carry their own cell phones, not only for emergency and family use but to stay in touch with their friends through the use of text messaging. What are the positive and negative points of allowing a child to carry a cell phone? There's no doubt that when it's necessary, a cell phone becomes an important tool for a child to use in the event of an emergency. We live in a very difficult and sometimes dangerous world. Having a means of contact with your child at all times through the use of a cell phone could be a matter of their personal safety. Children have used cell phones to contact their parents or officials in the event of a threatening situation and have even used the photo ability of the cell phone to ward off or identify predators. As children grow older, it is also often a good idea to give them a certain degree of relative freedom. Responsible cell phone ownership could provide this for your child. On the other hand, owning a cell phone can have a lot of negative impact on a child as well. These phones can be a large distraction to them, both within the walls of the school system and outside. It becomes very easy for the child to receive text messages and pictures that the parents may not approve of. Along with that, there are also some health concerns, although unconfirmed, about the dangers of having concentrated cellular waves so close to a developing body on a regular basis. One option that may meld the two together is to have a cell phone for the child that is limited in its capability to send and receive calls. It would only be able to call out to emergency numbers and can only send and receive two pre-established numbers. This would give the parents some peace of mind, knowing that their child has a means to contact them in case of an emergency. There are several lines of reasoning that may help you to come to a decision of your own. First of all, if you have children this needs to be a personal issue, one that you will decide for the benefit of your children and yourself. You will also have to make sure that the cell phones are used within the guidelines that are established for them in the school system. That's part of being a parent, the responsibility of making decisions for your child within certain guidelines. Read the speech, "Should Children Be Allowed to Own and Use Cell phones?" Give three or four examples of supporting materials that this student could use to improve the effectiveness of his speech and explain how and when they could be used.

This student could begin his speech with a narrative in order to engage the audience in the introduction. Statistics and testimony from experts could give credibility to his arguments.

Which of the following is not a question you must ask yourself when evaluating your supporting materials?

You must ask yourself all of the questions above.

Greg is preparing a speech about racism in America. He has written down a few examples to illustrate his points. Which of the following would be the least effective choice for Greg to include in his speech?

a teacher travels each year to visit family in South Africa

A(n) ______________ is something that is representative of another thing because it shares typical features of the thing it represents; also an illustration that supports or provides more information about something.

example

You should use __________ when you want to make concrete arguments, establish credibility, and emphasize the significance of your arguments. Be sure to make clear and explicit connections to your topic and to use them in moderation.

statistics

Which of the following is the most effective use of statistics?

"A total of 820,151 legal induced abortions were reported in 2005, the abortion ratio (number of abortions per 1,000 live births) was 233, and the abortion rate was 15 per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years." - (www.cdc.gov)

_______________ should be used when you want to make abstract ideas more concrete, and can be both real and hypothetical. Be sure they are credible and relevant to your topic.

Examples

________________ add concreteness, add interest, and help to maintain attention from the audience.

Examples

Read the passage and answer the question below. Childhood Obesity Obesity has been called the new American epidemic by many doctors. It is estimated that fifty eight million Americans living in the United States are obese, and that eight out of ten people who are over twenty-five are overweight. Obesity is, easily, America's fastest growing health concern. This condition, though, is not limited to American adults. Doctors have recently found that nearly thirteen percent of all American children suffer from this problem and that statistic seems to go up each year. Understanding the jump in childhood obesity rates is directly linked to understanding obesity itself. The American Academy of Pediatricians defines childhood obesity as occurring in kids who have a BMI of more than 30. Other institutions, though, suggest that a child whose body weight is at least 20% higher than a child of a similar height is obese. No matter what the exact definition, obesity is, simply, excess body fat. Why, though, is obesity such a concern? I mean, hey, an extra twinkie or two can't really harm a kid, can it? Actually, yes, it can. Obesity cannot only increase the risk of psychological problems in kids, like eating disorders, depression, and anxiety problems, it can also put them at risk for all sorts of physiological problems including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. In fact, forty-five percent of all new cases of juvenile type-II diabetes are obesity linked. Childhood obesity increases the risk of orthopedic problems. Because kids are forced to carry extra weight that their bone structures simply cannot handle, bowed legs and arthritis are increasingly present. Obese kids also have more skin disorders than children of a healthy weight. Obesity increases the skin area subject to folds, which, in turn, increases problems like heat rash and dermatitis. All of this can create serious problems for the child and for our health care system. In 1979, hospital costs associated with childhood obesity were $35 million. At the end of the decade, they had risen to $127 million. Some may suggest that the rise in childhood obesity rates are due to naturally occurring medical conditions like hypothyroidism and Cushing's Syndrome. Each child who demonstrates symptoms of obesity should be carefully evaluated by a medical professional for these conditions, although most doctors suggest that the occurrence of these problems in children is quite low, and the obesity epidemic is linked to more serious societal problems like low physical activity levels and poor eating habits. There is little doubt that childhood obesity rates are on the rise, and treatments for the problem may be simpler than you think. The best treatment for the problem, on a societal level, is prevention. This can be accomplished by increasing the number of mothers who breast feed their babies, thereby delaying the introduction of solid foods to six months of age, limiting the television and video game intake of toddlers and older kids alike, providing healthy, low-fat nutritious snacks and meals for kids of all ages, and creating family exercise plans. If obesity has already occurred, treatment should include a manageable weight loss plan, behavior modification therapies, nutrition counseling, and an exercise plan. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and clearly, everyone is at risk from the effects of this devastating condition. This "unknown" problem in America needs attention. The children are our future, and thus, it is unacceptable to put them at risk for obesity and the health problems associated with being overweight. By advocating healthy diets, exercise, and education, the fast increase in childhood obesity throughout the country can be ended. Read the speech, "Childhood Obesity." Critique this student's use of supporting materials by answering the following questions: Was his use of supporting materials effective? Why or why not? What other supporting materials could this student have used to improve his speech? Be specific.

I thought he used narratives well, because it made the speech interesting from the very beginning. He could have also used some photos to give examples of how you should dress for a job interview.

All of the following are examples of supporting materials, except:

Jake summarizes the main points of his speech by restating his thesis in his conclusion.

Which scenario is not a good example of using supporting materials?

Mark explains that none of his friends have ever met anyone that has died from a smoking-related illness.

Thea is giving a speech on the global HIV epidemic and would like to incorporate some testimony to lend credibility to her claims. Which of the following would be the least effective choice for Thea to include in her speech?

My neighbor, who has lived with his uncle who is HIV positive for many years, can attest to the fact that casual contact with individuals who are infected poses no threat.

Which of the following supporting materials is an example of testimony?

NOT "My name is Allie J. A few years ago I was working as an outreach worker in Vancouver, BC, Canada. One of my clients asked me to go with her while she got an abortion. I sat holding her hand wondering how I ever thought that this was not going to affect me. I was ashamed to think I had condoned this. Never will I encourage abortion over adoption again. There is a better way." According to Lisa M. Koonin, M.N., M.P.H. and Jack C. Smith, M.S., "Legal induced abortion is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the United States. Abortion rates for teenagers are much higher in the United States than in most Western European countries and in some Eastern European countries."

Devin is giving a speech about race car driving and would like to include a narrative to help his audience relate to his topic. Which of the following would be the least effective choice for Devin to include in his speech?

NOT a story about Dale Earnhardt's death at the Daytona 500 race in 2001 and how it affected him a story about his passion for the street racing film series "The Fast and the Furious"

_________________ add support, make the topic more relatable, add credibility to your topic, and engage the audience.

NOT Statistics Narrations

________________ should be used when you want to illustrate a point and connect to the audience, and can be explanatory, exemplary, or persuasive. Be sure they are short and few, in logical and chronological order, and that you always draw clear connections to your topic.

Narrations

__________________ are numerical data; facts and figures used to analyze problems.

Statistics

______________ lend expert support to your arguments and provide additional witnesses to give credibility to your speech.

Testimonies

_________________ should be used when you want to reinforce the importance and significance of your arguments, especially when you are not an expert on your topic. Be sure to stress the competence and lack of bias of your sources, and emphasize their recent nature.

Testimonies

Which of the following statements about using supporting materials in your speeches is not true?

The presentation should rely excessively on one type of support (such as examples).

Citing expert ______________ can lend credibility to your arguments.

testimony