Speech Organization Patterns Assignment

Speech Organization Patterns Assignment

The textbook talks about organizing the ideas of your speeches in one of 6 possible organizational patterns: Chronological (following a time pattern), Spatial (following a directional pattern), Causal Order (showing a cause and effect), Problem-Solution, Topical (broken down into logical and consistent subtopics), and Comparative.

It is entirely possible to take the same speech topic and organize it in any of the 6 possible options. For example, let’s say I am doing a speech about Pablo Picasso. My three main points are:

I. As a painter, Picasso tested the limits of abstraction.

II. As a sculptor, Picasso often incorporated “found” objects.

III. As a print-maker, Picasso gave vent to his whimsy and eroticism.

This speech is organized in Topical Order – it does not follow a time pattern (chronological), it does not follow a directional pattern (spatial order), there is no cause and effect, and there is no problem or solution, so it is topical. However, could I take this same speech and organize it in Chronological order? How would you do that? Could I put it in Spatial order? How? Causal order? Problem-solution? How?

If you answered that yes you could in fact put that speech into each of those other organizational patterns, you are absolutely correct. To put it into Chronological order you simply talk about what he did first, then second, then third. To put this speech in Spatial order you would organize the points by what he did in different locations. For Causal order, you could possibly discuss what caused him to use each of those different mediums of expression. Finally, you could put the topic into Problem-solution order if you could discover that maybe he used a certain medium to solve some problem he came across.

Part One: Respond to this Discussion and arrange the main points for each of the five organizational patterns below (you do not need to write a central idea or the specific purpose statement, just the main points). Use the same broad topic, but narrow it as you like for each pattern. The topic you should use is: Ivy Tech Community College.

1. Chronological Order (Time Pattern)

2. Spatial Order (Directional Pattern)

3. Causal Order (Cause and Effect Relationship)

4. Problem-Solution Order (Problem and Workable Solution)

5. Topical Order (2-5 Subtopics, Types, Formats, Ways, Advantages, Reasons, etc.)