LibGuides: COM 103 Public Speaking: Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech

This type of speech will require in-depth research. Magazine and newspaper articles provide an overview of your topic and will lead you to more detailed information. Statistics will provide support to your arguments and convincing evidence. You will be able to argue specific sides of your issue without sounding vague or speculative.

Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself,

What social or cultural issue are you passionate about?
What is a cause that is close to you, personally?
What social or cultural issue might impact your audience directly?
What are some great ideas you've had for solutions to social or cultural issues?

Review this list of topics for your persuasive speech

ProCon.org
ProCon.org nonprofit nonpartisan public charity, provides professionally-researched pro, con, and related information on more than 50 controversial issues from gun control and death penalty to illegal immigration and alternative energy. Using the fair, FREE, and unbiased resources at ProCon.org is accessed by millions of people each year learn new facts, think critically about both sides of important issues, and strengthen their minds and opinions. (from website)

Use these Databases to Locate Articles

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary database containing over 13,690 indexed and abstracted journals and nearly 9,100 full-text journals, of which more than 7,900 are peer-reviewed. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,450 journals.
Updated daily
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Includes both book chapters and journal articles available as PDFs. The journal archive includes the complete run of over 400 journal titles in 25 disciplines with a lag period of 3-5 years from the present.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
The world's largest electronic collection of science, technology and medicine full text and bibliographic information.
Boston Globe 1980-present (full text - no images) This link opens in a new window
New York Times 1985 - Current This link opens in a new window
Search the full text of The New York Times (from 1985 to one day before the current date).

Google Scholar

Google Scholar searches scholarly literature and includes peer-reviewed papers, dissertations, book citations, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from a variety of content providers. Sources of material include academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and open access publishers. Some content is available in full text.

If the library has a subscription to the electronic version for the journal, you should have access to the article. Use Interlibrary Loan to request articles that you are not able to access online.

Statistical Sources - Online and in Print

Statistics are everywhere. Data and statistics are reported in newspaper and magazine articles, announced and reported in scholarly articles and government reports. To insure the reliability of the data you should consider following.

Who or what organization gathered the statistics. Did the data come from a reliable source?
Why was this data gathered? Was there a particular purpose for this research?
What were the questions and how were they presented?

Always cite the source of the data in your speech. Providing the source will provide credibility for you and will strengthen the impact.

Limit your statistics. Too much data can be confusing and tiresome.

ProQuest Statistical abstract of the United States by ProQuest
Call Number: Reference HA 202 .P76
ISBN: 0081-4741
Publication Date: 2013 +
The Statistical Abstract of the United States, is a fascinating and authoritative collection of facts and figures covering virtually every aspect of American life. The official Federal summary of statistics is derived from both government and private statistical sources ”this reference covers everything from agriculture to construction, forestry to law enforcement, and national security to transportation. It is a continuation of the Statistical Abstract of the United States that was published by the Bureau of the Census department.

Statistical Abstract of the United States 1878 - 2012
The Statistical Abstract of the United States spans the years 1878 to 2012. The Abstract has summary tables of the most important United States statistics. The 2012 was the last volume printed by the Bureau of the Census. The newer editions are available in print Statistical Abstract of the United States - ProQuest.
Statistical Sources for United States Government Agencies
This page is a list of links to statistical website of U. S. governmental agencies.