Preparation Outline / Speaking Outline

Exercises for Critical Thinking

1. In the left-hand column below is a partially blank outline from a

speech about the Golden Gate Bridge. In the right-hand column,
arranged in random order, are the sub-points to fill in the outline.
Choose the appropriate sub-point for each blank in the outline.

Outline Sub-points

I. More than 20 years passed Today, those towers make it the

from the time the Golden
Gate Bridge was proposed
to the time it opened.
A.
worlds third tallest suspension
bridge.
Construction finally began in 1933
and ended in 1937.

The span between its towers is 4,200

B.
feet.
C. At the time it was built, the Golden
Gate was also the longest suspension
D. bridge in the world.

II. Now 75 years old, the
Golden Gate Bridge remains
a marvel of modern
engineering.
A.
In 1923, the State of California passed
legislation authorizing construction of
the bridge.
Its two towers rise almost 750 feet
above the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Once construction of the bridge was

1. authorized, it took ten years to
approve the design and financing.
2.
That span makes it the ninth longest
B. suspension bridge in the world today.

1. At the time it was built, the Golden

Gate was the tallest suspension bridge
2. in the world.

The bridge was originally proposed in

1916 but faced years of legal hurdles.

2- From the preparation Outline that you did (Ex. 1), create a speaking
outline that you might use in delivering the speech.
3- In the left-hand column below is a partially blank outline from a speech about suicide
among college students. In the right-hand column, arranged in random order, are the
sub-points to fill in the outline. Choose the appropriate sub-point for each blank in the
outline.

Outline Sub-points

I. Suicide among college students Even on our campus the rate of suicide and
is a serious problem. attempted suicide is quite high.

There are also more subtle warning signs

A. that a person may try to commit suicide.
There are excellent services available on
B.
campus and in the community to help
potential suicide victims.
C.
In town students can go to the Suicide
Prevention Center.
1.
One warning sign is loss of appetite.
2. Identifying potential suicide victims is
easier than you think.
II. We can help solve the problem Dean Howard also said that for every
by knowing how to identify known suicide attempt, two or three more
potential suicide victims and go unnoticed.
whom to contact about helping
them. According to the National Institute of
Mental Health, suicide is the fastest
A. growing cause of death for people aged 17
to 24 nationwide.

1. In an interview with Roger Howard,

associate dean of students, I learned that
last year there were over 60 known suicide
2. attempts on our campus.

a. A second warning sign is prolonged

depression.

b. The National Institute of Mental Health

says 80 percent of the people who commit
suicide tell someone ahead of time that
c. they are going to kill themselves.

B. A third warning sign is giving away ones

possessions.

1. Last year 10,000 young Americans

committed suicide.
2. On campus students can go to the
University Counseling Service.
4- In the left-hand column below is a partially blank outline from a speech about
robots. In the right-hand column, arranged in random order, are the sub-points to
fill in the outline. Choose the appropriate sub-point for each blank in the outline.

Outline Sub-points

I. Robots have captured the Astronauts use robots to perform

human imagination for maintenance on the International
centuries. Space Station.

A. In 1937, Westinghouse created a seven-

foot robot that could walk, talk, blow up
balloons, and smoke cigarettes.
B.
They also allow surgeons to operate on
C. patients from thousands of miles away.

Robots have become indispensable to

II. Today robots are used in
space exploration.
many fields, including
space exploration and
medicine. In 1497, Leonardo da Vinci designed a
mechanical suit of armor that could sit
up and move its arms, neck, and jaw.
A.
They can navigate hospital corridors to
1. deliver pharmaceuticals, X-rays, and
bandages.
2.
In addition, NASA sends robotic
spacecraft to explore distant planets.
B.
Robots are becoming more and more
1. important in medicine.

In 1773, Pierre and Henry Louis

2. Jaquet-Droz built dolls that could
write, play music, and draw pictures.
5- Read the following text, and describe its structure:

A Mile in my shoes

1 Someone once said, you dont really know a person until you walk a mile in
their shoes. Whoever said this must have met many a person like me. Where ones
shoes have been and what they have done can give you a great deal of insight into a
person. I think my shoes reveal a lot about menot only my everyday activities and
hobbies, but the events that have shaped my inner self.
2 If you closely examine my shoes, youll notice many things that connect me to
what I do. I am an artist. You may see a speck of paint that fell from the brush as I
worked on my latest still-life oil painting. Or you may notice a fair amount of clay, a
result of my aggressive wrestling with the medium on a potters wheel.
3 Also evident on my shoes is my major on campus. Im a Meat and Animal
Science major, and my shoes bear full documentation of my involvement in this
program. The shoelaces are frayed from the sheep that chew on them while I work in
the barns. The leather is marred from the hooves of animals stepping on my feet. If
youre unfortunate enough, you may find something in the treads that I accidentally
stepped in.
4 The exterior of my shoes can tell you a lot about what I do, but they also can
provide clues to who I am and where I have been. I have always been an explorer and
traveler. My father says that I was born under a wandering star. My shoes have been
on my feet for many of my spiritual and physical wanderings. Theyve walked up into
the Alps, across the cliffs of Ireland, and through 14 countries. Theyve been on
numerous backpacking trips throughout the nation and on hikes in the northern
Wisconsin woods. Theyve been witnesses to archeological digs and rowing regattas.
They were on my feet the day I took my first hike with my fianc and the day we took
the walk that ended in his proposal.
5 So you can see my shoes have been through a lot, and theyre beginning to
show the wear and tear a bit. Theyve been witnesses to my everyday adventures and
the epic journeys that have shaped my life. You could learn a lot about me by looking
at my shoes, but you could learn a great deal more by walking a few miles in them.
Specific Purpose: ...

Central Idea:

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Conclusion:

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