World Trade Center Las Vegas . The History, Location and Building of the World Trade Center Las Vegas.

COM 101—Informative Speech Assignment
Each student is responsible for presenting a 6-8 minute informative speech. The goal of this speech is to teach audience members something about a topic of your choosing in such a way that we gain a basic understanding of or appreciation for the topic or issue that you are discussing. Some topics that have been presented in the past include; the training necessary to become a veterinarian; an introduction to the Hawaiian island of Oahu; the history of makeup; the development of the character of Harry Potter; and Type 1 Diabetes.
In developing your speech you should adhere to the guidelines that have been established in earlier speeches. You must have a clear purpose statement and thesis, and you should have a strong introduction and conclusion. For this speech, you need to incorporate research from a minimum of five sources. You must cite the sources within the speech presentation, and you need to include these sources as a list at the end of your speech outline. You should follow APA style.
In coming up with a topic, think about your audience and how you might be able to keep the attention of a diverse group of people. Be creative in your approach and choose something that you find interesting. The topic is up to you, but it must be approved before you begin.
You will turn in an outline along with your speech. The outline should follow the complete sentence format that we have utilized this semester. It should follow the format that we discussed in class. Be sure your main points and sub-points are clear, and that they are written in full sentences. At the beginning of your outline, include your: general purpose statement, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. You must also include transition statements between each new idea.
The informative speech is worth 145 points (5 points for submitting your speech topic on time; 100 points for the speech; and 40 points for the outline). You can find due dates for this assignment in Canvas.
Follow this example of teacher

General Purpose: Inform
Specific Purpose: Inform audience on history, use, and evolution of cursive
Thesis: Cursive has a fascinating history and dates back several years, it is used as both a
functional and professional manuscript, and is becoming less commonly used amongst today’s
society.
The History and Evolution of Cursive
Introduction:
By a show of hands, how many of you learned cursive in elementary school? How many
of you use cursive over print? According to Seattle Pacific University, only 12 percent of high school students surveyed reported that they learned cursive in elementary school and 16 percent said they used cursive over print. This means 88 percent of students are not being taught cursive in school. Cursive is a dying art. Today, I am going to educate my audience on the history of cursive, why it is used, and what is happening to it today. I’ll first explain how and where cursive
was made, why people use it over regular print, and the future of cursive today. As a cursive user myself, I wanted to better understand how cursive came about and where it is going.

Transition: First off, cursive has a unique history, and understanding it can help you appreciate
it more.
I. I. History of Cursive
A. Dates back to the times of the Romans in the 600s
1. Use it for making transactions such as sales or stock (Study.com)

B. After fall of Roman Empire, cursive increased in the region due to found records
written in cursive
1. Font was less organized with capital/lowercase letters
C. English monk (late 8th century) simplified cursive using the roman characters
1. Style named Carolingian Miniscule and created to be functional with
a) Punctuation
b) Spacing
c) Lower and upper case letters
d) Legibility
2. Italic evolved as a more elegant form of cursive
a) Less condensed, more separated and curvy
b) Cursive handwriting associated with wealth by 1700s (determined
social status)
(1) Began being taught formally as a craft
3. Platt Rogers Spencer created a textbook method of cursive (Spencerian
Method) for being taught in schools
4. Late 1800s, Zaner-Bloser method created for basic cursive education in
schools
a) Letters more up and down, less slanted
5. Late 1970s, D’Nealian Method created in efforts to make cursive writing
more smooth and simple
a) Most common method taught in schools- written at a slight slant.

Transition: Who knew there was so much history behind cursive? As it dies away in today’s
society, it is important to understand why some people still learn and use it.
II. II. Purpose of Using Cursive
A. Connect with past/ understand past documents
1. Commonly used for older documents, such as the Dec. of Independence
2. Used for old records, thus you could understand, read, and connect with
them (PioneerInstitute.com)
B. Professional Appearance and look
1. Used for signatures
2. Doctors and other professionals use cursive because it looks more elegant
and professional
C. Ease of Writing
1. Lift pen or pencil fewer times, thus it is quicker to write
2. Taking notes or jotting things down, great tool for getting all info down
quickly especially if you don’t love to write (WordGenius.com)
Transition: Even though cursive does serve important purposes, it is not a common art anymore.
The future of cursive is not looking too bright.
III. III. Future of Cursive
A. Increase Technology in Classrooms
1. Typing is much more common than ever before for students (History.com)

2. Typing lessons replace time where cursive could be taught
a) Mrs. Stone, 2nd-grade teacher explained she hasn’t taught cursive
to students in years, but the students take daily typing lessons
(Stone 1)
3. Ipads, Tablets, Chromebooks in classrooms replace need for another
writing style besides common print
B. Even in 1980’s, cursive lessons declined when typewriters came out
(History.com)
C. Only Serving 1 Main Purpose
1. Signatures
a) Students aren’t being taught cursive, but only attempt and use it for
signatures
b) Doctors and other professions use it sometimes still since it makes
it harder to forge, but still not required
c) Now acceptable to print signature rather than signing it in cursive,
thus even less necessary than ever before (LawDepot.com)
Conclusion:
Although cursive was once frequently used, required, and the main form of writing, times
have greatly changed. Cursive began several years ago and has a unique history, it is used to look
professional and functional, and is a dying art. As you sign your signature, always remember the
amazing art of cursive and the fascinating history and purpose behind it.

Works Cited
Carlin, A. (2017, March 17). Cursive and Historical Literacy: A Real World Example.
Retrieved from https://pioneerinstitute.org/blog/blog-education/cursive-historical-literacy-
real-world-example/
Cohen, J. (2012, January 23). A Brief History of Penmanship on National Handwriting Day.
Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/a-brief-history-of-penmanship-on-national-
handwriting-day
Knight, S. (2018, August 30). Signing Legal Contracts: Does a Signature Need to Be in
Cursive? Retrieved from https://www.lawdepot.com/blog/signing-legal-contracts-does-a-
signature-need-to-be-in-cursive/
Linde, S. (2016, August 10). What is Cursive Writing? – Definition, History & Types – Video
& Lesson Transcript. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-cursive-
writing-definition-history-types.html#:~:text=In the late 8th century, Grammar was born!
The Twisty History of Cursive Writing. (2019, September 5). Retrieved from
https://www.wordgenius.com/the-twisty-history-of-cursive-writing/Xr0yWBPAJQAG8w-
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Using 5 sources and avoid repetition and make it interesting and ask the audience questions.
Power point. Two each example.
Free plagiarism.