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.
Theodore F. Sheckels (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) is the Charles J. Potts Professor of Social Science, as well as a professor of English and communication studies, at Randolph-Macon College. Dr. Sheckels has contributed numerous articles and book chapters and has published thirteen books, including Rhetorical Criticism: Empowering the Exploration of "Texts" and The Bully Pulpit: Presidential Rhetoric from Theodore Roosevelt to Donald J. Trump. His research interests include presidential debates, the political dimensions of Margaret Atwood's fiction, and a wide range of political communicators from the 20th Century including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Caroline Kouneski (B.A., Randolph-Macon College) is a 2019 magna cum laude graduate of Randolph-Macon College, where she double-majored in communication studies and political science. She was a four-year member of the college's debating society, winning multiple awards in different public speaking events. She represented the U.S. on the 2019 debating tour of Japan.
