what difference between essay and speech

The Difference between an Essay and a Speech

If speakers began simply reciting essays in front of live audiences, no matter how fascinating the topic, they'd end up with a lot of sleepy listeners. That's because speeches are written to be spoken aloud while most essays are not.

For both an essay and a speech, a writer must consider their audience. If you're writing an essay on a scientific discovery to be published in a scientific journal read by scientists, you probably won't need to include a section that explains the technical terms used. For publishing on other types of platforms, an essay writer must assume their audience knows nothing about the subject and explain it in great detail.

For a speech, considering the audience goes even farther. No, you won't have to explain your technical scientific terms when giving a speech to scientists in the field of the discovery you're speaking about, but you do need to keep them engaged. Tone of voice, speech patterns, and physical deportment are all elements to consider when delivering a speech, and the speechwriter must consider the ways in which all of those elements will be used, as well.

In an essay, points can be emphasized using bold text, italics, and underlining. Thoughts can be organized into subtitles and sections, each of which can help make clear to a reader how the information they're being given has been structured.

A speechwriter must consider how to emphasize certain points verbally and how to transition between thoughts naturally but clearly in a way the audience will be able to understand. A good speech captures an audience's attention and holds it during a set amount of time while an essay reader can take their time, skip through points, and reread portions that are unclear on their first reading.

For an essay, sources of information to back the writer's argument or illustrate a point are often used. Whenever a writer uses a source in their written work, they must include a citation and end with a bibliography of the works they've cited. Making your source clear by properly citing them in an essay is important to avoid plagiarism, and the rules around presenting those sources are strict and must be followed closely.

Speechwriters also sometimes use outside sources of information, but a speaker won't keep an audience engaged by ending with a spoken list of citations. Instead, a speaker must attribute any outside work or statement to its source verbally, letting an audience know who the source is in a way that naturally flows throughout their speech.

A Speech Is Not an Essay

by John Coleman

Reading an essay to an audience can bore them to tears. I recently attended a conference where a brilliant man was speaking on a topic about which he was one of the world’s experts. Unfortunately, what he delivered was not a speech but an essay. This renowned academic had mastered the written form but mistakenly presumed that the same style could be used at a podium in the context of an hour-long public address. He treated the audience to exceptional content that was almost impossible to follow — monotone, flat, read from a script, and delivered from behind a tall podium.

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How to Write a Speech Essay

What Is the Credibility Statement in Writing?

A speech essay is an essay you’re writing to yourself that organizes your thoughts as to what you will say in the speech you’ll deliver. This speech essay is an important preparatory step toward delivering your speech, because you're organizing your thoughts around the dynamic delivery of a speech to an audience and not around a written essay that simply lies on the page. It is this essential distinction that makes the speech essay different from other essays you research and write in class.

Identify the type of speech you will deliver. Know if you will be giving a persuasive speech, an informative speech, a how-to speech, or an analytical or narrative speech. Each type has a different purpose: A persuasive speech tries to convince the audience to accept an idea or take action; an informative speech provides information; a how-to speech explains the steps involved in a process; an analytical speech examines a concept or process; and a narrative speech tells a story.

Determine the goal of the speech. Most speeches have a general goal and a specific goal. The general goal is the basic intent of the speech. For example, decide whether the general goal of the speech is intended to entertain, inform or persuade. The specific goal is a statement that identifies the exact response you hope to obtain from the audience. For example, “I would like the audience to take action to help stop animal experimentation from pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies.”

Conduct the necessary research. You can use your own knowledge and experience when writing the essay. In fact, sharing a personal experience often “touches” the audience because people relate to what you have experienced. Research adds credibility and, of course, research is absolutely necessary if you include statistics, percentages, facts or quotations. Credible sources include publications, websites such as those that end in .org, .edu, .biz and some but not all .com sites and individuals who possess specialized knowledge.

Write the introduction. The introduction has five goals: To get the audience’s attention, to create a bond of goodwill with listeners, to set the tone, to establish the speaker’s credibility and to provide a lead-in to the content, according to Rudolph Verderber and Kathleen Verderber, co-authors of “The Challenge of Effective Speaking.” Introductions can make a startling statement, ask a rhetorical question, tell a relevant story, refer to the audience’s personal experience or use a thought-provoking quotation.

Develop the body. When writing the body -- which is the “meat and potatoes” of the essay – present the main points and subpoints in logical order. You can use topic order or arrange points by categories or divisions. This is the most common order of arrangement for speeches, according to Verderber and Verderber. Time order organizes points chronologically and is most effective for detailing steps in a process or relating a story. Another option is the logical-reasons order, which organizes points by the reasons that support the speaker’s goal and is especially appropriate for persuasive topics.

Write the conclusion. The easiest way to conclude is to restate the main points, but according to Stephen Lucas, author of “The Art of Public Speaking,” you should “conclude with a bang, not a whimper." Conclude with a brief but thought-provoking quotation, make a dramatic statement, pose a provocative question or refer back to the ideas presented in the introduction. Many accomplished orators combine two or more of these methods in their conclusions, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Related Articles

How to Write a Speech Running for City Council

How to Set Up a Rhetorical Analysis

How to Write an Invocation Speech

How to structure a presentation.

How to Write a Rhetoric Speech

How to Write a Critical Analysis of a Speech

How to Write an Outline for a Narrative Speech

How to Do a Acknowledgement Speech

• “The Art of Public Speaking: Sixth Edition”; Stephen E. Lucas; 1998
• “The Challenge of Effective Speaking: Twelfth Edition”; Rudolph F. Verderber and Kathleen S. Verderber; 2003
• Mount Holyoke College.edu: Differences Between Oral and Written Communication

A college instructor for more than 14 years, Carol Rzadkiewicz earned a Master of Arts from the University of West Georgia. She is also a freelance writer and author of three published novels, and her work has appeared in such print publications as “Predicate Magazine” and “The New Review."

Speaking and Writing: Similarities and Differences

by Alan | May 2, 2017 | Communication skills , public speaking , writing

Similarities and Differences Between Speaking and Writing

There are many similarities between speaking and writing. While I’ve never considered myself a writer by trade, I have long recognized the similarities between writing and speaking. Writing my book was the single best thing I’ve ever done for my business.  It solidified our teaching model and clarified and organized our training content better than any other method I’d ever tried.

A few weeks ago I was invited by a client to attend a proposal writing workshop led by Robin Ritchey .  Since I had helped with the oral end of proposals, the logic was that I would enjoy (or gain insight) from learning about the writing side.  Boy, were they right.  Between day one and two, I was asked by the workshop host to give a few thoughts on the similarities of writing to speaking.  These insights helped me recognize some weaknesses in my writing and also to see how the two crafts complement each other.

Similarities between Speaking and Writing

Here are some of the similarities I find between speaking and writing:

• Rule #1 – writers are encouraged to speak to the audience and their needs. Speakers should do the same thing.
• Organization, highlight, summary (tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them). Structure helps a reader/listener follow along.
• No long sentences. A written guideline is 12-15 words.  Sentences in speaking are the same way.  T.O.P.  Use punctuation.  Short and sweet.
• Make it easy to find what they are looking for (Be as subtle as a sledgehammer!) .
• Avoid wild, unsubstantiated claims. If you are saying the same thing as everyone else, then you aren’t going to stand out.
• Use their language. Avoid internal lingo that only you understand.
• The audience needs to walk away with a repeatable message.
• Iteration and thinking are key to crafting a good message. In writing, this is done through editing.  A well prepared speech should undergo the same process.  Impromptu is slightly different, but preparing a good structure and knowing a core message is true for all situations.
• Build from an outline; write modularly. Good prose follows from a good structure, expanding details as necessary.  Good speakers build from a theme/core message, instead of trying to reduce everything they know into a time slot.  It’s a subtle mindset shift that makes all the difference in meeting an audience’s needs.
• Make graphics (visuals) have a point. Whether it’s a table, figure, or slide, it needs to have a point.  Project schedule is not a point.  Network diagram is not a point.  Make the “action caption” – what is the visual trying to say? – first, then add the visual support.
• Find strong words. My editor once told me, “ An adverb means you have a weak verb. ”  In the workshop, a participant said, “ You are allowed one adverb per document. ”  Same is true in speaking – the more powerful your words, the more impact they will have.  Really (oops, there was mine).
• Explain data, don’t rely on how obvious it is. Subtlety doesn’t work.

Differences between Speaking and Writing

There are also differences.  Here are three elements of speaking that don’t translate well to (business) writing:

• Readers have some inherent desire to read. They picked up your book, proposal, white paper, or letter and thus have some motivation.  Listeners frequently do not have that motivation, so it is incumbent on the speaker to earn attention, and do so quickly.  Writers can get right to the point.  Speakers need to get attention before declaring the point.
• Emotion is far easier to interpret from a speaker than an author. In business writing, I would coach a writer to avoid emotion.  While it is a motivating factor in any decision, you cannot accurately rely on the interpretation of sarcasm, humor, sympathy, or fear to be consistent across audience groups.  Speakers can display emotion through gestures, voice intonations, and facial expressions to get a far greater response.  It is interesting to note that these skills are also the most neglected in speakers I observe – it apparently isn’t natural, but it is possible.
• Lastly, a speaker gets the benefit of a live response. She can answer questions, or respond to a quizzical look.  She can spend more time in one area and speed through another based on audience reaction.  And this also can bring an energy to the speech that helps the emotion we just talked about.  With the good comes the bad.  A live audience frequently brings with it fear and insecurity – and another channel of behaviors to monitor and control.

Speaking and writing are both subsets of the larger skill of communicating.  Improving communication gives you more impact and influence. And improving is something anyone can do! Improve your speaking skills at our Powerful, Persuasive Speaking Workshop  and improve your writing skills at our Creating Powerful, Persuasive Content Workshop .

Communication matters.  What are you saying?

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Essay Guide

Our comprehensive guide to the stages of the essay development process. Back to Student Resources

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Speaking vs. Writing

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Speaking vs writing 1: Alan buys milk

Another way to think about what’s involved in writing clearly is to think about the differences between speaking and writing. Because both use words, we assume they are the same but they are very different. The following example will help you think about the differences. Picture this: it’s Saturday morning, the family’s just sat down to breakfast when Dad realises there’s no milk. So he asks his eldest son Alan to go and get some. He says: “Drat! No milk – I can’t eat my cornflakes without some nice cold milk. Just pop out to the mini-mart, would you Alan? Better get a two pinta. Oh, and you’ll find some money in my jacket pocket.”

Speaking vs writing 2: a robot buys milk

Now picture this: imagine you had to write a computer program to tell a robot to go and buy milk. Where would you start? You would have to think of the most logical order for all the actions the robot would need to perform in order to buy milk. Dad’s instruction to Alan assumes that Alan already knows all sorts of information: where his jacket is, which pocket he usually keeps his money, where the mini-mart is, the visual difference between a one pint and two pint carton. The robot will know none of these things unless you put them in the program. You would also have to give the program a logical name or title so that when the program loaded the robot’s brain would be able to distinguish it from all the other programs in its memory. So in your writing at university, don’t be afraid to be obvious. One of the reasons tutors set essays is so you can show what you know.

Speaking vs writing 3: look at me when I’m talking to you

Another crucial difference between speaking and writing is that we can see people when we talk to them. We transmit and receive all sorts of non-verbal information when we’re talking to them. Think about the effect it has on you when someone talks to you but keeps staring at the floor and never looks at you once. We communicate all sorts of information by facial expression, hand gestures, tone of voice. We can’t do any of these things in a piece of writing. We have to find different ways of doing them; and we have to be sure that our writing isn’t doing things we don’t want it to.

Speaking vs writing 4: know what I mean?

Another crucial difference between speaking and writing is that speaking is informal, less structured, more colloquial – know what I mean? When we speak, we often start sentences in the middle. An important part of writing at university is to understand who you are writing for. To put this another way, when you are writing an essay you are not down the pub with your mates. In an essay, you can’t put things like the following sentence I once read in a first draft: “Apparently, imperialism has been going for ages – how weird is that?” The person who reads your essay will expect you to write in a serious and considered way.

Essay Vs. Speech – What’s The Difference?

Introduction

In any area of fields across the society, communication plays an important role. However, this communication could be consisted of different forms, such as, verbal as well as written. These two types of communication could generate some attention of the people of different fields. However, both essay as well as speech could be considered as the form of communication through which one can convey their feelings to others. Now in accordance to this, it can be stated that essay could be known as the form of written communication whereas the speech can be considered as the form of both written as well as verbal communication. Hence, in this article, researchers would be able to find out that whether there is any differences in speech and essay or they are similar.

Concept Of Speech

According to essay typer speech is an important form of the communication which is used in a formal way, like, in any meetings, seminars as well as conferences. Therefore, it can be stated that speech is the human vocal communication using the human language in different situations. Each language in speech while using the phonetics, consists of combinations of consonants as well as vowels sound, which further formed the sound of its words. Most of the people give or use speech while they want to communicate with other people, a large audience or address any situations (Lansford, Borrie& Barrett, 2019). On the other side, there might be certain situation when people use the speeches but at that time, they don’t want to convey any feelings or communicate with anyone. In that way, they want express their urgent emotions as well as any desires. Sometimes, people can communicate with themselves and that is also considered as the speech as well. this is because, this kind of expression can be considered as the psychological form of the people’s behaviour. Most of the psychologists have termed this behaviour as the silent speech in this context. In accordance to this, it can be stated that, researchers have studied different aspects of the speech in different ways. These different aspects in this context could be, like, speech production as well as speech perception which can be used in language, speech repetition or speech errors. However, it can be seen that speech needs to be studied for cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, computer science as well as speech pathology and many more. Relation to this, it can be stated that the origin of the speech is totally unknown and it contains too much debate from different areas (John, Brooks&Schriever, 2019). Animals in this situation can be seen a communicator as they also communicate with sign language which can be considered as a part of the speech.

Concept Of Essay

Considering the above discussion, it can be seen that communication is important and essential for every individual across the society. Therefore, like speech, essay can be considered as a form of communication and this type of communication only can express through written mode under different circumstances. In accordance to this, it can be stated that the definition of essay is quite vague and sometimes it can overlap with other forms of written communication, like, paper, letter, article as well as any short story. It can be stated that essay can be considered as the piece of writing which could give the own argument of the author. This should be noted that there could be both formal essay as well as informal essay. Formal essay in this context can be characterised by some serious purpose, logical organisation, length as well as dignity whereas the informal essay can be characterised through some personal element, like self-revelation, experiences as well as any confidential manner along with humour, rambling structure, graceful style as well as novelty of theme in this situation (Sultana, 2018). Things or activities like, literacy criticism, learned arguments, political manifestos as well as observations from daily life, essay could play an important role. If any people or individual wants to convey their feelings through written form, they can easily take help of this essay under different situations. In relation to this, it can also be stated that in different countries essay has been considered as a part of the formal education as in schools or universities essay has become an integral part. The students are taught structured essay format for enhancing their writing skills. On the other side, some universities need the students to write essays for their admission purpose. Therefore, the necessity of the essay in different sectors can be easily find out which strengthen the overall communication process of individual.

Similarity Between Speech And Essay

Based on the above discussion, it can be stated that both speech as well as essay is considered as the form of communication as people can easily transfer any message as well as their emotions through these forms. Now before identifying the differences among these two forms of communication, therefore essay and speech, this is important to identify whether there are any similarities between these two forms or not. However, in accordance to this discussion, it can be stated that these two forms of communication are not same in nature, the applicability of these two forms are different, but there are some similarities between these two (Latifi et al. 2021). These similarities could be as follows, such as,

• Both speech and essay have same genus, but there are not from the similar species. Both necessities have their own craft and structure
• Both is the form of communication and one can use both of these forms to attract their audience in different ways
• To convey the feelings to others one can, use these speeches as well as essays but the applicability will be different

Therefore, based on the above discussion, it can be stated that there might be certain factors which could create some similarity between these speeches as well as essays under different circumstances. But this needs to be noted also that rather than more similarities, people would be able to find out more differences of these two forms of communications in this context which needs to be analysed properly (Toba& Noor, 2019). To know more about Essay vs Speech take assistance from SourceEssay online experts.

Difference Between Speech and Essay

Now this is important and essential to discuss about the differences between speech and essay. It has already been found out that both of these forms have several differences in terms of nature, applicability as well as necessities under different circumstances. However, these differences are as follows, such as,

Audience: Selection and consideration of the audience is an important thing as both essay as well as speech are different in this context, hence, the essay writer or speaker should identify their target audience carefully. Any unnecessary and non-relatable content shouldn’t be accepted by the audience for both cases, therefore, the content should be made with proper care. For essay in a published article, the writer should assume that most of the audience don’t have any knowledge about the content or subject. Therefore, the writers should write in a detail manner with broad explanation. On the other side, in a speech, the terms or terminologies don’t need any broad explanation as audience wants to hear from the speaker about their discoveries in that certain field (Noroozi et al. 2020). But during the speech, this is important for the speakers to remember about the voice tone, speech patterns as well as physical deportment as speakers need to engage all the audience in this context.

Tone: The voice tone plays an important role both in speech as well as essay. Thus, this is important to properly maintain the tone in this context. For essay, writers should emphasize the text by using bold or italic text or underlining. The overall thoughts can be organised into the sections as well as subtitles. Each of these parts therefore help the writers to make a clear idea for the readers or audiences and transfer properly the necessary information. Comparatively, a speech should consist of all the points which can be expressed verbally and determine the way through which inner thoughts can be transmitted naturally but in a clear manner. In this way, it can be expected that the audience will be more engaged and they will understand the overall thing properly.

Sourcing: Sourcing is another important factor which needs to be considered while doing the differentiation between the essay as well as speech in this context. For the essay the sources from where information has gathered to support the writer’s argument can be used often. Therefore, this is important during the writing an essay, to cite those sources and include a bibliography at the end of the essay in that situation (Org, 2019). In this way, the essay writer can remove the plagiarism and follow the ethical way to present their opinions. On the other side, during the writing any speech, some sources can be used, but as this is the verbal presentation, therefore, speakers won’t give any speech about the list of sourced to their audiences. Rather than that, the speakers could attribute any outside research or work by saying that verbally and letting audience know from where this idea has come. They convey that message in a way, so that naturally that source can be flowed throughout their entire speech.

Relationship Between Essay And Speech

In context to exploring the relationship between essay and speech, it could be said that speeches and essays are from same genus, however, they are not exact same species. It can be seen that essay and speech both would necessitate their own structure as well as craft. If the individual is a great writer, then, it would be completely wrong, so it can be assumed that written piece can be translated immediately to spoken words or speech. Therefore, it can be said that a speech would not be an essay on hinds’ leg of it and great speech writers as well as public speakers would adapt accordingly (Ardiasih&Rasyid, 2019). On the other hand, if theoretical viewpoint is considered, then it can be viewed that essay writing have been restricted to certain one-way relationship with speech. Therefore, there can be seen a unidirectional influence towards writing of essay from the core of speech. Moreover, it is to state that essay writing would be derived from speech and would simply represent the speech.To know more about relationship between essay and speech students can take help from essay writing help experts online.

Argumentative Analysis

Considering the above discussion, this can be found out that both essay and speech are different though these two are the forms of communication in this context. In accordance to this, it can be stated that sometimes speech can be considered as the essay as one can easily write their own speech like a form of essay for their own purpose. But the nature of both communication forms are totally different in this context. Most popularly, this essay can be used while one are expressing their feelings through any written form, but one should conduct speech whenever they want to show the audience about their discoveries or any innovations under different circumstances. Following this discussion, it can be seen that though these two forms of communication are different in nature and applicability, still both of these communication forms need to engage their target audience in more effective manner (Al Abri, Al Baimani&Bahlani, 2021). In relation to this, it can be identified that essay contains more information as it’s intended to read while speech is made for listening purpose. Hence, it can easily be stated that both essay and speech are totally different which has their own essence in their own areas. This is the responsibilities of the essay rewriter and speakers how to carry out all the activities properly without wasting their own source and nature.

Based on the above discussion, it has been proved that both essay and speech are total separate from each other, therefore, both of these communication forms have their own applicability. Now this is the key fact that most of the researchers or academicians can’t understand the difference between these two and often make several mistakes as they assume speech as an essay. Hence, by analyzing these differences between two, one would be able to understand the distinction between these two and how these two are separate from each other. Moreover, they would be able to understand their applicability in different areas which could educate the researchers more. They can understand overall usability of these two communication forms in this context.

Reference List

Al Abri, A., Al Baimani, S., &Bahlani, S. (2021). The role of web-based peer feedback in advancing EFL essay writing.  Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal (CALL-EJ) ,  22 (1), 374-390.

Ardiasih, L. S., &Rasyid, Y. (2019). Online Collaborative Writing Technique Using Wiki: How Effective Is It to Enhance Learners’ Essay Writing?.  Journal of Asia TEFL ,  16 (2), 531.

John, P., Brooks, B., &Schriever, U. (2019). Speech acts in professional maritime discourse: A pragmatic risk analysis of bridge team communication directives and commissives in full-mission simulation.  Journal of Pragmatics ,  140 , 12-21.

Lansford, K. L., Borrie, S. A., & Barrett, T. S. (2019). Regularity matters: Unpredictable speech degradation inhibits adaptation to dysarthric speech.  Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research ,  62 (12), 4282-4290.

Latifi, S., Noroozi, O., Hatami, J., & Biemans, H. J. (2021). How does online peer feedback improve argumentative essay writing and learning?.  Innovations in Education and Teaching International ,  58 (2), 195-206.

Noroozi, O., Hatami, J., Bayat, A., van Ginkel, S., Biemans, H. J., & Mulder, M. (2020). Students’ online argumentative peer feedback, essay writing, and content learning: does gender matter?.  Interactive Learning Environments ,  28 (6), 698-712.

Org, A. (2019). The process of essay writing in a literature course: the student’s views and the tutor’s feedback.  EestiHaridusteadusteAjakiri. Estonian Journal of Education ,  7 (2), 100-127.

Sultana, F. (2018). The false equivalence of academic freedom and free speech.  ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies ,  17 (2), 228-257.

Toba, R., & Noor, W. N. (2019). The current issues of Indonesian EFL students’ writing skills: Ability, problem, and reason in writing comparison and contrast essay.  DinamikaIlmu: Jurnal Pendidikan , 57-73.

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• Essay and Speeches

Essay and Speech Examples, Essay Writing Notes, English Speech and Essay Topics

You can learn all about essay writing and English speech with the key points and explanations provided here. There are basic rules for a presenter to lay out the points while either talking or writing. You just need to understand the elements of expression, argume nt, references and some language rules to produce a good essay and correct form of speeches .

Read the entire article to understand the ways for writing the best essays and also learn about the use of English speech. We have provided some speech examples for you to comprehend the rules of language along with some good essay topics for practising.

Essay Writing

Essay writing holds a major place in a student’s academic life. It teaches a student to express their opinio ns and offer a valid perspective. This validation is refined with the use of some certain standard essay writing techniques . Learn all about them by reading the listed points below:

Types of Essays:

1. Descriptive Essays: This type of essay paints a picture of the scene to the reader. Here, the writer should supposedly appeal to make the reader feel, smell, hear and see the things that they are describing. This essay is very detailed in nature, allowing the reader to experience the scene. Writers can use this essay genre to create a piece of text which is extremely stimulating.

2. Narrative Essays : A narrative essay creates a plot for the readers by introducing the characters, settings and leading to a climax then conclusion. This essay follows a traditional reading type- the format of a beginning, middle and the end of a scene. This essay is meant to be very interactive and it engages the reader to listen to the facts that the writer has to say and successfully convince the reader.

3. Expository Essays: This type of essay is most used in school writing classes to help students express their ideas concisely. This style of writing is used to freely express an opinion. This essay follows the format of an introductory paragraph, discussion paragraphs and then the conclusion. This essay should include evidence and references to support the opinion that is expressed. The writer here provides the reader with a final thought by the conclusion to make an impact on the reader’s perspective.

4. Persuasive Essays: As the name suggests, this type of essay attempts to persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view. It is about stating your opinion, laying down some facts and convincing the reader to consider the writer's perspective. In this essay, the entire focus should be on proving the opinion as correct. Writer should be clear and considerate while writing the essay.

5. Argumentative Essays: This type of essay is majorly written on a controversial topic or an issue and the writer attempts to provide certain evidence to support his argument. This kind of essay is similar to persuasive writing style but argumentative essays require a tremendous amount of research and all the different viewpoints are considered rather than just the writer’s. The conclusion of this essay is persuasive; however, the argument is supported with plenty of evidence.

Essay Writing Format

The following format is considered as the common writing style to write every type of essay.

Introduction  

Introducing the topic/setting/scene/argument

Laying down of the major discussion points

A concise paragraph

Points put forward/narration of the scene

Main discussion which includes putting forward the opinions/expressions/evidences

Maintaining the flow of description/narration/argument.

Restating all the points in a very short and concise manner.

Giving the final conclusionary point.

Stating the call of action or opinion.

Essay Topics

You can practise essay writing on the below listed topics:

Pollution due to urbanisation

Education Essay

Social Media Essay

Wonder of Science

Newspaper and it’s current value

Children’s day

Republic Day

Contribution of technology in education

Abraham Licoln

Subhash Chandra Bose

Swami Vivekananda

Rabindranath Tagore

My Aim in Life

Father's Day Essay

Save Earth Essay

Environmental Pollution

Natural disasters

Essay Topics for College Students

Academic interest

Social consciousness 

Self-introspection 

Globalisation 

Political air on college students

Education system

Points to Remember When Writing an Essay 

There are some techniques to write a beautiful essay which is stimulating yet understandable. Read the following points to enhance your essay writing skills:

Analyse the topic carefully and decide the content matter which centralises that topic.

Students tend to deviate from the topic when they get engaged in writing a longer essay; to avoid this from happening, you should practise writing small paragraphs on the suggested topics above mentioned then gradually increase the length of paragraphs.

Introduce the setting or the argument first then define your argument.

Use reasoning to support your point of view such as giving real life examples or proven facts.

You can also support your argument by referring to reasonable perspectives.

Organise your essay as a coherent piece of writing. You should keep all the points linked with each other and present them chronologically as mentioned in the essay writing format.

Write clearly, don’t attempt too hard to use difficult words or phrases between your lines. You can add a quote once or twice.

A speech is a verbal presentation that is meant to prove a certain point. Speeches are delivered with the goal of convincing the audience to buy into your idea or to attract attention to your discussion. Making a speech or even writing one can sound a bit intimidating but with the right techniques and plenty of content knowledge, anyone can write a speech.

Here, you can learn about the structure of speech, know about a sample of speech, its elements and aspects. You are advised to take note of the further below mentioned points and get an idea about how to write a brilliant speech. We have provided the accurate format of speech along with speech examples for students to learn.

Types of Speech

Learn about various types of speeches:

Demonstrative : this type of speech provides information on a subject and educates the audience about a topic. Here, the context is focused on demonstrating a way of doing a particular thing.

For example- A company gives the instructions to use their product along with demonstrating how the product works, this is a demonstrative speech.

Informative : Informative speech uses facts, reasonable arguments and statistics to support the assertions made. This type of speech is used to discuss social or economic issues. Informative speeches are used to inform the audience and not necessarily persuade or convince them.

Persuasive : Persuasive speech delivers the information along with evidence to persuade the audience and receive their support. The best example of persuasive speech is the work of a lawyer. When a lawyer delivers a speech, the facts and statistics are mentioned along with the stance of argument. This is the way persuasive speech works. This type of speech is also used to impact the emotions of the audience through the speaker/writer’s feelings.

Entertaining: This type of speech amuses the audience and it is less formal than traditional speech. Entertaining speech communicates through feelings rather than facts. They include humour or emotional elements and are often heard in birthday parties and weddings.

Speech Examples (Topics to Practise)

Should there be age restrictions on video games?

Are self-driving cars a good idea?

Allowing social media at school

Online interaction becoming a threat

Electric cars- an idea

Effect of television

Personal password security

Does social media broaden our viewpoints?

Importance of fitness

Value of time

Are dreams worth it?

Pursuit of happiness

Meaning of life

Importance of culture in our urban lives

India’s education system

Literacy rate of india 

Strategies to build a good educational platform

Is online education leading our country?

How will recycling secure our future?

How can school teach practical life skills?

Tips for Speech Research 

To write a good speech, the research behind the content should be accurate and vast. Here are some tips to help you enhance your writing and research skills for a making a speech:

Gather information about your topic by asking questions to the people around you, get to know the practical information first about the topic with the help of common opinions in your area.

Move on the theoretical knowledge, read some articles or content pages available online regarding the topic. You can also refer to books for acquiring information at a vast scale.

Frame your argument or opinion according to the facts you gathered, do not deviate from the reasonability of a point of view. In the case of entertaining speech, you can collect materials from the society you live in and create an entertaining speech.

While writing your speech, make sure to keep the content coherent and clear.

While delivering your speech, make sure to pay attention to your body language and enunciations. You can engage the audience by asking questions and replying to them as a part of your speech performance.

This was a brief discussion on essay writing and speeches. You can learn about the types of speech, essays, find topics to write short English essays on and practise writing with the help of essay topics and speech topics provided here. The tips to create the best piece of text are provided here to assist students in producing excellent essays and speeches.

FAQs on Essay and Speeches

1. How do you write an essay?

When you are about to write an essay, keep the question in mind while you gather relevant information. Focus on collecting data first and then frame it in the format of the essay. You can follow the traditional format of beginning, middle and end or some other format as well of your choice. Imagine the place or the emotion you are writing about and attempt to use such words so that the reader experiences the validity of your argument. Integrate your facts, evidence and information carefully while you write.

2. How to start an essay?

Some common ways to start an essay are:

Picking a tone for your essay by stating the argument as the first thing.

Asking a question.

Sharing a shocking fact.

Sharing an amusing fact.

Dramatise your introduction of the topic.

3. How long is a good essay?

In school, you are expected to deliver a short essay that contains 4 to 5 paragraphs. However, essay length varies on the level of studies.

Essay length guidelines:

High school essay: 300-1000 words

Undergraduate essay : 1500-5000 words

4. What is the best topic for speech?

In contemporary society, the best topic to deliver a speech on would be education. The issue of mobile phones, uniforms, co-education and the country's education system is discussed on a large scale.There are plenty of topics under the education category, you can choose from a wide range of topics for making a speech.

5. What is a good speech?

A speech that is delivered slowly and in the usual tone so that the audience is able to understand clearly is considered a good speech. One important feature of a good speech is that it is not entirely biassed and neglectful of some important facts. A good speech always includes ubiquitous facts and stays focused and driven on the main theme of the topic.

6. What are some good short speeches?

These are a few examples of good short speeches: 

Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address”

Neil Armstrong’s Speech on The Moon

Winston Churchill’s “Never Give in”

Baz Luhrmann and Mary Schmich- “Everybody’s Free”

• Constructed scripts
• Multilingual Pages

Differences between writing and speech

Written and spoken language differ in many ways. However some forms of writing are closer to speech than others, and vice versa. Below are some of the ways in which these two forms of language differ:

Writing is usually permanent and written texts cannot usually be changed once they have been printed/written out.

Speech is usually transient, unless recorded, and speakers can correct themselves and change their utterances as they go along.

A written text can communicate across time and space for as long as the particular language and writing system is still understood.

Speech is usually used for immediate interactions.

Written language tends to be more complex and intricate than speech with longer sentences and many subordinate clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts also have no spoken equivalent. However some forms of written language, such as instant messages and email, are closer to spoken language.

Spoken language tends to be full of repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions, with the exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms of speech, such as news reports and scripts for plays and films.

Writers receive no immediate feedback from their readers, except in computer-based communication. Therefore they cannot rely on context to clarify things so there is more need to explain things clearly and unambiguously than in speech, except in written correspondence between people who know one another well.

Speech is usually a dynamic interaction between two or more people. Context and shared knowledge play a major role, so it is possible to leave much unsaid or indirectly implied.

Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layout, colours and other graphical effects in their written texts. Such things are not available in speech

Speech can use timing, tone, volume, and timbre to add emotional context.

Written material can be read repeatedly and closely analysed, and notes can be made on the writing surface. Only recorded speech can be used in this way.

Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing, as are some kinds of vocabulary, such as some complex chemical and legal terms.

Some types of vocabulary are used only or mainly in speech. These include slang expressions, and tags like y'know , like , etc.

Writing systems : Abjads | Alphabets | Abugidas | Syllabaries | Semanto-phonetic scripts | Undeciphered scripts | Alternative scripts | Constructed scripts | Fictional scripts | Magical scripts | Index (A-Z) | Index (by direction) | Index (by language) | Index (by continent) | What is writing? | Types of writing system | Differences between writing and speech | Language and Writing Statistics | Languages

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• Comparing and contrasting in an essay | Tips & examples

Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on August 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

Comparing and contrasting is an important skill in academic writing . It involves taking two or more subjects and analyzing the differences and similarities between them.

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Table of contents

When should i compare and contrast, making effective comparisons, comparing and contrasting as a brainstorming tool, structuring your comparisons, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about comparing and contrasting.

Many assignments will invite you to make comparisons quite explicitly, as in these prompts.

• Compare the treatment of the theme of beauty in the poetry of William Wordsworth and John Keats.
• Compare and contrast in-class and distance learning. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

Some other prompts may not directly ask you to compare and contrast, but present you with a topic where comparing and contrasting could be a good approach.

One way to approach this essay might be to contrast the situation before the Great Depression with the situation during it, to highlight how large a difference it made.

Comparing and contrasting is also used in all kinds of academic contexts where it’s not explicitly prompted. For example, a literature review involves comparing and contrasting different studies on your topic, and an argumentative essay may involve weighing up the pros and cons of different arguments.

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See an example

As the name suggests, comparing and contrasting is about identifying both similarities and differences. You might focus on contrasting quite different subjects or comparing subjects with a lot in common—but there must be some grounds for comparison in the first place.

For example, you might contrast French society before and after the French Revolution; you’d likely find many differences, but there would be a valid basis for comparison. However, if you contrasted pre-revolutionary France with Han-dynasty China, your reader might wonder why you chose to compare these two societies.

This is why it’s important to clarify the point of your comparisons by writing a focused thesis statement . Every element of an essay should serve your central argument in some way. Consider what you’re trying to accomplish with any comparisons you make, and be sure to make this clear to the reader.

Comparing and contrasting can be a useful tool to help organize your thoughts before you begin writing any type of academic text. You might use it to compare different theories and approaches you’ve encountered in your preliminary research, for example.

Let’s say your research involves the competing psychological approaches of behaviorism and cognitive psychology. You might make a table to summarize the key differences between them.

Or say you’re writing about the major global conflicts of the twentieth century. You might visualize the key similarities and differences in a Venn diagram.

These visualizations wouldn’t make it into your actual writing, so they don’t have to be very formal in terms of phrasing or presentation. The point of comparing and contrasting at this stage is to help you organize and shape your ideas to aid you in structuring your arguments.

When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method.

The alternating method

In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you’re comparing. You cover both your subjects side by side in terms of a specific point of comparison. Your text is structured like this:

Mouse over the example paragraph below to see how this approach works.

One challenge teachers face is identifying and assisting students who are struggling without disrupting the rest of the class. In a traditional classroom environment, the teacher can easily identify when a student is struggling based on their demeanor in class or simply by regularly checking on students during exercises. They can then offer assistance quietly during the exercise or discuss it further after class. Meanwhile, in a Zoom-based class, the lack of physical presence makes it more difficult to pay attention to individual students’ responses and notice frustrations, and there is less flexibility to speak with students privately to offer assistance. In this case, therefore, the traditional classroom environment holds the advantage, although it appears likely that aiding students in a virtual classroom environment will become easier as the technology, and teachers’ familiarity with it, improves.

The block method

In the block method, you cover each of the overall subjects you’re comparing in a block. You say everything you have to say about your first subject, then discuss your second subject, making comparisons and contrasts back to the things you’ve already said about the first. Your text is structured like this:

• Point of comparison A
• Point of comparison B

The most commonly cited advantage of distance learning is the flexibility and accessibility it offers. Rather than being required to travel to a specific location every week (and to live near enough to feasibly do so), students can participate from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows not only for a wider geographical spread of students but for the possibility of studying while travelling. However, distance learning presents its own accessibility challenges; not all students have a stable internet connection and a computer or other device with which to participate in online classes, and less technologically literate students and teachers may struggle with the technical aspects of class participation. Furthermore, discomfort and distractions can hinder an individual student’s ability to engage with the class from home, creating divergent learning experiences for different students. Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

Note that these two methods can be combined; these two example paragraphs could both be part of the same essay, but it’s wise to use an essay outline to plan out which approach you’re taking in each paragraph.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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Some essay prompts include the keywords “compare” and/or “contrast.” In these cases, an essay structured around comparing and contrasting is the appropriate response.

Comparing and contrasting is also a useful approach in all kinds of academic writing : You might compare different studies in a literature review , weigh up different arguments in an argumentative essay , or consider different theoretical approaches in a theoretical framework .

Your subjects might be very different or quite similar, but it’s important that there be meaningful grounds for comparison . You can probably describe many differences between a cat and a bicycle, but there isn’t really any connection between them to justify the comparison.

You’ll have to write a thesis statement explaining the central point you want to make in your essay , so be sure to know in advance what connects your subjects and makes them worth comparing.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/compare-and-contrast/

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Module 5: Choosing and Researching a Topic

Finding the purpose and central idea of your speech, learning objectives.

• Identify the specific purpose of a speech.
• Explain how to formulate a central idea statement for a speech.

General Purpose

The general purpose of most speeches will fall into one of four categories: to inform , to persuade , to entertain , and to commemorate or celebrate . The first step of defining the purpose of your speech is to think about which category best describes your  overall  goal with the speech. What do you want your audience to think, feel, or do as a consequence of hearing you speak? Often, the general purpose of your speech will be defined by the speaking situation. If you’re asked to run a training session at work, your purpose isn’t to entertain but rather to inform. Likewise, if you are invited to introduce the winner of an award, you’re not trying to change the audience’s mind about something; you’re honoring the recipient of the award. In a public speaking class, your general purpose may be included in the assignment: for instance, “Give a persuasive speech about . . . .”  When you’re assigned a speech project, you should always make sure you know whether the general purpose is included in the assignment or whether you need to decide on the general purpose yourself.

Specific Purpose

Now that you know your general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain), you can start to move in the direction of the specific purpose. A specific purpose statement builds on your general purpose and makes it more specific (as the name suggests). So if your first speech is an informative speech, your general purpose will be to inform your audience  about a very specific realm of knowledge.

In writing your specific purpose statement, you will take three contributing elements and bring them together to help you determine your specific purpose :

• You (your interests, your background, experience, education, etc.)
• Your audience
• The context or setting

There are three elements that combine to create a specific purpose statements: your own interests and knowledge, the interests and needs of your audience, and the context or setting in which you will be speaking.

Keeping these three inputs in mind, you can begin to write a specific purpose statement, which will be the foundation for everything you say in the speech and a guide for what you do not say. This formula will help you in putting together your specific purpose statement:

To _______________ [ Specific Communication Word (inform, explain, demonstrate, describe, define, persuade, convince, prove, argue)] _______________ [ Target Audience (my classmates, the members of the Social Work Club, my coworkers] __________________. [ The Content (how to bake brownies, that Macs are better than PCs].

Example: The purpose of my presentation is to demonstrate to  my coworkers the value of informed intercultural communication .

Formulating a Central Idea Statement

While you will not actually say your specific purpose statement during your speech, you will need to clearly state what your focus and main points are going to be. The statement that reveals your main points is commonly known as the central idea statement (or just the central idea). Just as you would create a thesis statement for an essay or research paper, the central idea statement helps focus your presentation by defining your topic, purpose, direction, angle, and/or point of view. Here are two examples:

• Central Idea—When elderly persons lose their animal companions, they can experience serious psychological, emotional, and physical effects.
• Central Idea—Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.

Please note that your central idea will emerge and evolve as you research and write your speech, so be open to where your research takes you and anticipate that formulating your central idea will be an ongoing process.

Below are four guidelines for writing a strong central idea.

• Your central idea should be one, full sentence.
• Your central idea should be a statement, not a question.
• Your central idea should be specific and use concrete language.
• Each element of your central idea should be related to the others.

Using the topic “Benefits of Yoga for College Students’ Stress,” here are some correct and incorrect ways to write a central idea.

A strong central idea shows that your speech is focused around a clear and concise topic and that you have a strong sense of what you want your audience to know and understand as a result of your speech. Again, it is unlikely that you will have a final central idea before you begin your research. Instead, it will come together as you research your topic and develop your main points.

• Purpose and Central Idea Statements. Provided by : eCampusOntario. Project : Communication for Business Professionals. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Finding the Purpose of Your Speech. Authored by : Susan Bagley-Koyle with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Article vs Speech

NOTE: This article was originally published in the Irish Independent Written Word Supplement, March 2014.

It can be difficult to wrap your head around the difference between writing an article for publication and writing a speech to be delivered to a live audience. In order to help you to grasp the difference, I’ve taken the same topic, used the same structure and made the same points, but one is an opinion piece for publication in a newspaper and the other is a speech. Read them both and then play a game of SPOT THE DIFFERENCE…

IT’S MY BODY AND OTHER LIES

[ *M ia Murphy is a lawyer, a journalist & a human rights activist. She blogs at www.freedomfightersireland.ie or you can find her on facebook/freedomfightersireland or twitter @miamurphy]

We live in an era of unprecedented individual freedom. Unhappy with your parents? Divorce them. With your gender? Change it. With your life? End it.

The question begs to be asked however: is unlimited personal freedom a good thing for society? The answer, resolutely, is no. We are too eager to glorify people’s right to choose, too willing to ignore the reality that many people’s choices are often limited or foolish or self-destructive. In the very worst cases they are sometimes all three. So despite my fond notion that I am free to do what I want, in reality I know that my freedom is in many ways a construct of a good education and a well paid job. Without these two pillars of security in my life, my ‘choices’ might look very different indeed.

Let’s consider, for example, the idea “ it’s my body and I should be allowed to do what I want with it ”. At the simpler end of the spectrum, I can decide to shave my hair off for charity. I won’t really be hurting anyone – or myself – because the hair will grow back. Slightly more complex might be my decision to donate a kidney to a family member or friend. I get the warm fuzzy glow of saving a life, and hey, it turns out most people can survive perfectly fine with just one kidney! So even though it won’t grow back the way my hair did, who cares? Perhaps I could use my body as an incubator, could carry a baby for my fertility-challenged sister, or for my gay brother and his partner? There is no greater gift on earth than to give someone who would otherwise be childless the opportunity to experience the joys of parenthood.

So the freedom to do what I want with my body is a good thing, right?

Well only if I remain resolutely blind to the selfless utopian bubble I’ve created above, where motives are always pure and bodies and minds remain unharmed by the choices we make. This is simply not true. Many people sacrifice parts of themselves they would much rather keep sacred, through economic necessity. To really understand a person’s level of individual freedom, what matters is not so much what we do but rather why we do it.

Hair these days is big business. If I’ve got long locks, I can sell my ponytail for about €100. If my hair is blond, the rarest shade, I’ll get closer to €1000 for it. The hair extensions industry in Ireland alone is estimated by Hallinan Beauty Group to be worth about €2.5 million and significantly the vast majority of it is imported from abroad. But where does this hair come from? In most cases, it’s shave or die of the worst kind, where women in India, China and Eastern Europe sell their hair to stave off hunger and poverty or to pay for a better education for their children. In a world where long hair is still the benchmark of female beauty, this isn’t about personal freedom, this is about lack of options, lack of money, lack of choice. Or to be more precise, so that women in the developed world can feel beautiful, can have the ‘free choice’ to wear someone else’s hair and pass it off as their own, women in the developing world are making the not-so-free decision to privilege food, shelter and education over their own ‘beauty’. They are every bit as selfless as the wealthy westerner who shaves their hair off for charity but they are entitled to feel bitter that extreme poverty makes this not a choice but a necessity.

The freedom to do what I want with my internal organs is even more fraught with difficulties. Of course I can – and should – carry an organ donation card with me. If I die before my time, I might as well give my body parts to someone who can use them. But what about auctioning off my organs to the highest bidder whilst I’m still alive? Again, the issue of poverty, necessity and sometimes just plain old stupidity and greed raises its head, as a recent case in China illustrates, where a 17 yr old teen secretly sold a kidney for €3,500 before admitting to what he had done when his mother questioned how he could suddenly afford to buy a laptop, iPad and iPhone. His actions were not just a case of consumerism gone mad but were also unwittingly self-destructive, as his remaining kidney was subsequently revealed to have limited function. Ironically, he now finds himself on the organ donor waiting list alongside 1.5 million others, the organ shortage in China fuelling the very black market trade this boy fell victim to. Yes he made a free choice, but one he will undoubtedly regret for the rest of his life. What all of this reveals is that sometimes limiting people’s freedom is necessary in order to protect them from their own profound stupidity.

Nonetheless, there remain many miraculous things we can do with our bodies. Using them to create life is perhaps the greatest ability we have as human beings. We view the right to procreate as so fundamental that we are overwhelmed with sympathy for couples who are unable to conceive. Hence, many of us have no problem with the concept of surrogacy if the aim is to offer a childless couple the miracle of parenthood. However, once money enters the frame we become decidedly more squeamish. Is my body a commodity to be bought and sold? When I list my assets on my tax return, should I include my fully functioning womb? I can rent it out for maybe €15,000 per pregnancy. Heck, that’s more money than I’d get on the dole! Yet the emotional, psychological and ethical fallout from surrogacy can be horrendous.

What if, as happened recently in the U.S., the baby has foetal abnormalities? Can the surrogate be forced to abort the baby if the genetic parents decide they only want a ‘healthy’ child? If the surrogate falls ill, can she be forced to continue with the pregnancy against her will? Even if we put these relatively rare scenarios aside for a moment, the inconvenient truth is that most commercial surrogacy arrangements take place in poor countries where there is little regulation, countries like Thailand, Uganda and the Ukraine. Baby factories have sprung up all over India where the industry is worth $2bn and where estimates suggest 25,000 babies a year are born to surrogates. Many women are ashamed of their decision, hiding it from their existing children and in-laws but are lured in by the monetary reward which will give them a roof over their head or pay for an existing child’s education. It also carries less of a stigma than prostitution. However, despite the illusion that it is safer, many surrogates are risking their lives. Maternal mortality remains high in India, with 56,000 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth. Yet these women are being exploited, receiving only 10% of the amount being paid by commissioning couples and signing contracts waiving their right to health care in the case of miscarriage or complications after the birth.

We still live in a world where “ a ll animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others ” so the next time you hear the defence “ it’s my body and I’ll do what I want with it ” spare a thought for those who use their bodies for profit because they are the only item of value they possess.

*NOTE: Thanks to a colleague for pointing out that it’s important to be aware of  and discuss with students the way that the opening series of rhetorical questions  “ We live in an era of unprecedented individual freedom. Unhappy with your parents? Divorce them. With your gender? Change it. With your life? End it .” are deliberately facetious and are designed to provoke and shock. Of course none of us actually believe that anyone changes gender or takes their own life lightly but journalists often say something shocking or controversial to grab people’s attention.

*NOTE: some of the statistics I included I simply made up. Real journalists obviously can’t do this, but as a student in an exam without access to google, you’ve got no choice. You’ll have to make things up. You may also decide to exaggerate for dramatic effect. For example, the story about the 17yr old selling his kidney is true but I invented the subsequent kidney failure to add dramatic irony to the situation.I made up the name of the journalist so any resemblance to anyone real is entirely coincidental. 

To help you to appreciate the stylistic difference between writing an article and writing a speech, I used the same topic, same structure, same ideas but transformed it into a speech.

Your task is to SPOT THE DIFFERENCES between them (we’ve identified 8 in total but there may be more…)

Speech on Personal Freedom

Hi everyone, you’re very welcome to the Docklands Theatre for this lecture series and can I just say, I really appreciate the effort you’ve all made to be here. The bad weather probably had you jumping over muddy puddles outside like a possessed Peppa Pig, but you’re here now, so relax, kick your shoes off if they’re wet, switch off your phone and we’ll begin! For those of you I haven’t met before, my name’s Mia Murphy and if you’re tweeting this event I go by the not very cryptic twitter handle @miamurphy. I’m a journalist with the Irish Independent & a human rights campaigner and I’ve spent the last seven years of my life studying the way our freedom in the Western World limits the freedom of people in the Developing World.

We live in an era of unprecedented individual freedom. If you’re unhappy with your parents, you can divorce them. If you (point to someone in the front row) are unhappy with your gender (pause for laughter) – and I’m not suggesting you are, cause you look pretty good as a guy to me! – but if you were, you could just pop into a hospital and sort that out! Boom! You go from Phillip to Philomena in a heartbeat!

But what bugs me about all of this is the assumption that unlimited personal freedom is a good thing for society. That we’re all better off cause we can do what we want. I don’t buy that personally. I think we’re too eager to glorify people’s right to choose and we’re far far too willing to ignore the reality that people’s choices are often limited & foolish & self-destructive. While I might like the notion that I’m free to do whatever I want, the truth is that my freedom is guaranteed because I’ve got a good education and I live in a rich country.

One idea in particular that fascinates me is the statement you often hear people saying when they’re getting a body piercing or dying their hair purple: “it’s my body and I should be allowed to do what I want with it”. And I know that can sometimes be a good thing! I can shave my hair off for charity. I can donate a kidney to a family member. I can even be a surrogate for my sister if she’s having trouble getting knocked up and I’ll definitely help out my gay brother and his partner if they want kids because no matter how hard they try, they are definitely not gonna get pregnant!

The sad truth is, though, that lots of people shave their hair off and donate kidneys and act as surrogates for one very simple reason, and that reason is money!

How many of you know that hair these days is big business? I’ve got long brown hair (grab ponytail & wave it at audience) so I can sell my ponytail for about €100. But if my hair was blond, like this lovely lady in the front row (point) – would you mind standing up? – would you believe she could sell her hair today for €1000? So if you see her on the street next week and she’s doing an Emma Watson, you know what she’s been up to! And you should ask her to buy you coffee, cause she’s got €1,000 in her back pocket!

Seriously though, let’s talk about the real price of hair. The hair extensions industry in Ireland alone is worth about €2.5 million and the vast majority of this hair is imported from abroad. Women in India, China and Eastern Europe sell their hair to escape hunger and poverty and to pay for a better education for their children. This isn’t about personal freedom, this is about lack of options, lack of money and lack of choice. The sad truth is, so that you and I can feel beautiful with our flowing extensions like Kim Kardashian, women in the developing world are making the decision to privilege food, shelter and education over their own hair. And bear in mind that cutting their hair off means feeling ‘ugly’ for many of these women, because we’re not the only culture that associates long silky hair with sexiness you know!

You see this with organ donation as well! There was a case in China recently where a 17 yr old teenage boy secretly sold one of his kidneys for €3,500. But of course the mammy twigged that something was up when he could suddenly afford to buy a new laptop, iPad and iPhone and she forced him to admit what he’d done! Now this poor eejit didn’t need the money – he wasn’t starving – but I guess he wanted these signifiers of success pretty badly to go to this extreme. What he did was profoundly stupid, no question. But as yet there’s sadly no cure for stupidity in this world! Maybe that’s what my next research project should be! (pause for laughter)

Anyway, this kid then discovers that his remaining kidney has limited function! You won’t actually believe this but he’s now on the organ donor waiting list – I kid you not! – alongside 1.5 million others. And if this doesn’t prove that limiting people’s freedom is sometimes necessary to protect them from their own stupidity, I don’t know what does!!!

The last thing I want to mention, briefly, is surrogacy. Now I don’t have any moral qualms with a person deciding to be an oven for cooking up someone else’s baby, but it’s not as simple as setting the timer and waiting for the ping! I read about a case recently in America where at the twenty week scan, they discovered the baby had foetal abnormalities. The parents wanted the surrogate to have an abortion. But she didn’t agree with abortion, and she could already feel the baby kicking, so she refused. The baby was in her body but genetically the egg and sperm had come from the couple she was carrying it for. So they went to court looking for a court order to force her to have an abortion. And what did she do? She went on the run!

The point I’m making here is that it is never, never as simple as “It’s my body and I can do what I want with it”. Even leaving aside this extreme case, the truth is that most commercial surrogacy arrangements take place in poor countries where there is little regulation, countries like Thailand and Uganda and the Ukraine and India.

In fact, in recent years baby factories have sprung up all over India. The industry is worth $2bn and somewhere in the region of 25,000 babies a year are born to surrogates. But this is a country with poor hospital infrastructure. 56,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth every year. Not only are they putting their lives at rick, they’re also being exploited. They only get about 10% of the amount being paid and they’re signing these awful contracts which mean that as soon as the baby is delivered, they have no right to any further medical care. So if they get sick or die, the couple who now have their beautiful new baby have no further responsibility towards this woman who has given them the gift of becoming parents. And for me, that it sick and that is wrong. (Pause)

I want to leave you with a quote from George Orwell’s Animal farm where he said that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. So the next time you hear someone say “it’s my body and I’ll do what I want with it” I want you to just spare a thought, please, for those who use their bodies for profit because they are the only item of value they possess.

(Step back and bow. Pause for applause)

Thank you so much for listening (bow, wave, exit stage).

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Difference between speech, language and communication

• 25 September 2020
• Science outreach

In our day-to-day language, the terms speech, language, and communication are often used interchangeably. However, are these words synonyms? As it turns out, no, they are not! 

Here is how to better distinguish these terms:

Speech refers to the way we produce and perceive the consonants and vowels that form all the languages in the world. It can be considered the perceptual and motor components of oral language. More specifically, it includes the following elements:

• Voice. This refers to the way we use our vocal folds (sometimes called cords), in the larynx, and our respiration (especially the expiration) to produce speech sounds. Our voice varies in intensity and pitch – that is, it can be more or less loud and have a higher or lower pitch. These parameters are determined by the contraction and extension of the vocal folds.
• Articulation. It is the way we use our articulators, including our lips and our tongue, to produce speech sounds. For example, our lips are rounded to produce the vowel /o/, while they are stretched to produce the vowel /i/.
• Resonance. This refers to the modification of the sound generated by the vocal folds as it travels through the cavities formed by the pharynx as well as the inside of our nose and mouth. Resonance influences the quality of speech sounds (a nasal vowel such as “an” vs an oral vowel such as “a”) and depends mostly on our capacity to control the amount of air that is expelled from our nose when we speak. To block air from going through the nose, we lift soft palate (also called velopharynx); to allow air going into the nose, we drop the soft palate (see figure 1). For example, too much airflow through the nose results in a nasal voice (Kummer). It should be noted that damage to resonance or to the respiratory system is likely to make speech less natural and intelligible (ASHA). 
• Fluency. This concerns the rhythm of our speech and is characterized by the number of hesitations and repetitions of sounds when we speak. Non fluent speech is associated with communication disorders such as stuttering.
• Perception. The ability to detect and perceive fine variations in the acoustic signal of speech, including variations in intensity and frequency in a locutor’s voice or variations in their speech rate, are also key elements of speech at the receptive level.

Language refers to the comprehension and production of words and sentences to share ideas or information. Language can be oral, written, or signed (e.g. Quebec Sign Language). Below are the different spheres of language (ASHA; Bishop et al, 2017): 

• Phonology. At the interface between speech and language, phonology refers to the ability to identify and use speech sounds to distinguish the words of a language. For example, in English, it is important to distinguish the sounds associated with the letters “b” and “p” since words such as “bay” and “pay” do not have the same meaning.
• Morphology. This refers to the rules that regulate the use of morphemes, the smallest units of language that carry meaning. For example, in oral and written English, the plural is often indicated by adding the morpheme “-s” to a noun (eg. anemones). Some morphemes can be added at the beginning or at the end of a word to slightly modify the meaning. For example, the morpheme ‘’-est’’ in English is used to express the superlative. For example, when we add “est” to the adjective  tall, we  create the word  tallest , meaning the person who is the most tall.
• Lexicology and semantics. These components refer to vocabulary as well as the knowledge of the word meaning (e.g., knowing the word  anemone  and that it refers not only to a marine animal, but also to a colorful perennial plant).
• Syntax. This refers to the rules to combine words to create sentences in a language. For example, the sentence ‘’I love anemones’’ is composed of a subject (I) and a predicate (formed by the verb  love  and the noun  anemones ); the two obligatory components in an English sentence.
• Pragmatics. This refers to the rules about the use of language in a specific communication context. These rules include the respect of the turn-taking or the adjustment of the language level or content based on the interlocutor. It also includes the ability to detect humour, irony and sarcasm.

Communication

Communication refers to the process of exchanging information, including emotions and thoughts (Bishop and al., 2016), with others using speaking, writing, signs, facial expressions and body language. Communication thus incorporates speech and language, but also prosody (linguistic and emotional). Prosody refers to the ability to vary the intonation, rate and voice intensity to either emphasize certain syllables or words when we speak or to draw the attention of our interlocutor to a particular piece of information (linguistic prosody), or to convey our emotions, voluntarily or not (emotional prosody; Wilson & Wharton, 2005). 

Although the words  speech ,  language  and  communication  are often used interchangeably, these words have distinct meanings when used in scientific or clinical contexts. While  communication  is a broad concept,  speech  and  language  have very specific meaning. This is important because communication difficulties can affect speech and language independently. For example, a person with a speech impairment may have difficulty articulating correctly without having any language difficulty. Likewise, a person with a language disorder may have difficulty understanding the meaning of words, forming grammatically sentences, respecting speaking turns during a conversation, etc., while having no difficulty related to speech (normal voice, normal articulation).

Suggested readings:

• The cocktail party explained
• Comic strip about speech
• Speech perception: a complex ability
• What is the most important element of communication?

Speech analysis

• What is prosody?

References:

American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). (2020, September 1 rst ). What Is Speech? What Is Language? https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/speech-and-language/

American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). (2020, September 1 rst ). Language in brief. https://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Spoken-Language-Disorders/Language-In–Brief/

American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). (2020, September 23). Dysarthria in Adults. https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589943481&section=Signs_and_Symptoms

Bishop, D.V.M., Snowling, M.J., Thompson, P.A., Greenhalgh, T., & CATALISE consortium. (2016). CATALISE: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Delphi Consensus Study. Identifying Language Impairments in Children. PLOS ONE 11 (12): e0168066.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168066

Kummer, A.W. (2020, September 23). Resonance Disorders and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction.  https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/- /media/cincinnati%20childrens/home/service/s/speech/patients/handouts/resonance-disorders-and-vpd.pdf?la=en

Wilson, D., & Wharton, T. (2006). Relevance and prosody. Journal of Pragmatics 38 , 1559–1579. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2005.04.012

The peripheral auditory system

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Difference Between Persuasive Speech And Persuasive Essay

• Views 38670
• Author Sandra W.

What Are The Differences Between Speeches And Essays?

The process of writing a speech and writing an essay are two different experiences. While both the speechwriter and the essay writer communicate information to a live audience or reading audience, the steps the writers go through to create the final version require varying methods, such as the choice of diction and dramatic effect. We at iwriteessays.com differentiate speeches from essays on several bases.

Is the structure of an essay different from that of a speech?

• Speech format

A speech format includes an introduction, examples, and a conclusion, but the speechwriter will often restate a point at the end of each section of the speech to ensure the audience is "with" him or her.

• Each essay format

Expository, Narrative, or personal essays follow a basic structure. Normally, includes an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion that synthesizes the information. An essay's structure relies on smooth transitions to the next theme.

An essay does rely on tone for dramatic effect, the essay writer has less of a demand to please all members of her audience than the speechwriter does. For example, in writing an essay, the interest lays in making a point. In general, an essay communicates with a general audience.

Writing a speech requires that a writer communicate a specific theme or topic to an audience. It uses a tone that produces an emotional effect on the audience. A presidential speech, for example, often uses a particular diction, full of patriotic, hopeful, grave, or uplifting tones.

• Presentation

A politician connects with an audience with gestures, words, and eye contact.

• The speechwriter ‘performs’ or delivers his speech in a way that gives his concepts, or themes, a particular meaning.
• In essay writing, a writer connects with her audience, whether live or on the page, without trying to win them over with her delivery.

Reading an Essay

• During the process of reading an essay, there is an impassioned and enthusiastic or a sad and grave tone, plus the audience. Generally, there is more interest in hearing the quality of writing and information rather than delivery, just as it is in a speech.
• An individual presenting an essay only need to research his paper every few minutes, and a person delivering a speech must conduct it through memorization whilst occasionally glancing at the page or screen.

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Difference Between Speech and Debate

• Categorized under Language , Words | Difference Between Speech and Debate

A speech, or a debate, is a formal manner of addressing a group of people.   The most obvious difference between the two forms of address is, a speech follows one opinion, while a debate is between two people on two opposing sides.   Each side of the debate gives an opposing opinion.   The debaters are either for or against the topic debated.   The audience listening to the debate may decide which side of the debate they will be supporting.   A speech on the other hand gives one opinion, or views, on a topic that is presented to an audience.   The audience may agree or disagree with the speaker.   The debate and the speech are forms of academic discussion or testimonies to the art of speaking in public.   Both of these oratory forms require a speech to be made.

What Does Speech Mean?

A good speech needs preparation and delivery.   The speaker presents his or her thoughts on a particular subject to an audience.   The audience may be made up of students in an educational environment or it could be of political origin.   A speech can be made to academic circles or at social events like weddings, special birthdays and other occasions.   A speech can be informal, creating awareness over a social issue, or more formal in front of an audience. The speaker is usually giving an opinion on a given topic.   The audience may have empathy with, or may need conversion to, the speaker’s project or cause.   A speech involves more individual performance around the chosen topic to keep the audience captivated and listening to the speaker.

How Speeches are Defined?

• By presentation: 

Speeches are made by an individual to a group or to a larger audience.   Speeches can be broadcast to reach an even wider audience. 

• By content:

Speeches can be used to edify particular like minded groups.   The content would be social, political or educational topics needed for the group’s edification or development.   The content of a speech may be required to reach a particular group.   Someone passionate about a particular topic may choose to speak in a public place on their topic.   Their speech may reach anyone who may be passing by.

Different types of speeches serve their different groups of listeners on different occasions.   There are inaugural speeches, official ceremonial speeches, lectures, and formal occasions when a speech is required at the event – a wedding for example.

• By contribution:

The contribution of the speech is the given topic and the input required to make the speech appropriate.   A wedding speech for example would require the family connection and information to make the speech appropriate.   A speech at a lecture for students would require the correct academic information.

What is Debating?

Although debating requires public speaking, the concept of a debate is different.   The   purpose of the speakers in a debate is to present opposite sides of a topic that can be argued in a for or against manner.   Debating sets out formal routines for the process of the debate.   The speaker for the topic speaks followed by the speaker against the topic.   There may be more than one speaker in each debating team in some situations.   The audience listens to the two sides to the debate and will form an opinion based on the speeches.   Basically a debate is an extended formal argument.   The advantage of listening to a debate is both sides of the argument are presented for the audience.   Debating has rules and definition.   There are different types of debates and some educational institutions have debating societies.   Prior to a debate it is important to set down the rules by which the debate will be conducted.   Some debates are judged and there is audience participation.   Generally there are two teams, one is the team in favor of the topic and the other team against the topic.   Most debates have different members assigned to the sides of the debate.   An exception to this is a debating style called ‘Turncoat debate’ and in this situation one person takes both sides of the argument and delivers a solo performance. 

How Debates are Defined?

• By presentation:

Two teams present the arguments for or against a topic.   The rules of the debate are pre determined by the debating society.   Audience participation is encouraged and a judgment proclaimed at the end of the debate to determine which side was the most convincing.

There are many topics used for debate.   The subject matter could depend on the group of people the debate is presented to.   School debating societies would have a variety of challenging topics relative to student debates.   Parliamentary debate would be political or an opportunity for opposing parties to debate worthy causes.   Political debate is part of a democratic society.

Debating has a format and regulations that should be agreed upon prior to the debate.   The number of members to the team and times for the speakers to present their arguments are all part of the method in managing a debate.   It is a controlled presentation of opposing ideas to a group of listeners who may participate through questions and receiving answers.   Judgment is placed at the end to declare a winner in competitive debate.   In some cases of parliamentary debate legislature may be discussed and proposals for and against regulations presented.

• By   contribution:

A debate may have a number of contributors, but the manner of debating dictates that there is always a motion for or against the topic under debate.   The team may consist of three members to each side or in the case of a ‘turncoat’ debate the whole debate is carried out by one person but there will always be two sides to the argument presented.

Differences between Speech and Debate

People participating;.

The essential difference is a speech is made by one person while a debate involves two sets of people in order to present the argument for and against.   During a speech the audience do not generally take an active role, however they may be invited to ask questions by the speaker.   The questions would be around the topic that was spoken about.   In a debate the audience will participate and question each side of the debating team to expand the decision making process involved in judging the content of the debate.

Content of the speech or debate:

The content of the speech may vary according to the occasion and the information that is being shared.   A debate will have varying topics, but the overall statement of the debate will give rise to two opinions.   Controversial topics make for lively debates. 

Audience participation:

Audience participation differs slightly because of the argumentative structure of a debate as opposed to the presentation of ideas made in a speech. The audience expects to take part in a debate as there are two sides to an argued topic.   A speech is a more passive experience and the delivery of the speech covers one source of opinion that the audience is listening to.

Delivery of the message:

A speech is delivered to an audience by the speaker who has prepared the topic to suit the audience.   It may be educational, political or social in contest.   A debate is delivered by two opposing sides of the debated topic.   Each side gets a chance to deliver their side of the topic.   It is a formal style of arguing a given topic.

The outcome of both a speech and a debate is to enlighten the audience on a particular topic.   A speech presents the information or experience from the speaker’s point of view. While a debate has two points of view.   The audience decides which point of view they support and after a question and answer time they can decide on the point of view they agree with.

Speech Vs. Debate: Comparison Chart

Summary of Speech and Debate : 

The fundamental difference between a speech and a debate is the purpose of the activity.   Although both forms of public speaking deliver a message via a speech making process the speech is geared towards edifying a group through one person’s point of view.   A debate however, presents two sides of an issue and the speakers put across their different point of view.   A debate has a more competitive element as there is a judge deciding on the side of the debate that was most convincing.   Speeches and debates are driven by the audience support and often entertain their listeners.   In our society today, where freedom of speech is encouraged, both the speech and debate have a relevant place in oratory circles.

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Cite APA 7 Wither, C. (2019, June 5). Difference Between Speech and Debate. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-speech-and-debate/. MLA 8 Wither, Christina. "Difference Between Speech and Debate." Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, 5 June, 2019, http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-speech-and-debate/.

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Electrical Engineering and Systems Science > Audio and Speech Processing

Title: exploring differences between human perception and model inference in audio event recognition.

Abstract: Audio Event Recognition (AER) traditionally focuses on detecting and identifying audio events. Most existing AER models tend to detect all potential events without considering their varying significance across different contexts. This makes the AER results detected by existing models often have a large discrepancy with human auditory perception. Although this is a critical and significant issue, it has not been extensively studied by the Detection and Classification of Sound Scenes and Events (DCASE) community because solving it is time-consuming and labour-intensive. To address this issue, this paper introduces the concept of semantic importance in AER, focusing on exploring the differences between human perception and model inference. This paper constructs a Multi-Annotated Foreground Audio Event Recognition (MAFAR) dataset, which comprises audio recordings labelled by 10 professional annotators. Through labelling frequency and variance, the MAFAR dataset facilitates the quantification of semantic importance and analysis of human perception. By comparing human annotations with the predictions of ensemble pre-trained models, this paper uncovers a significant gap between human perception and model inference in both semantic identification and existence detection of audio events. Experimental results reveal that human perception tends to ignore subtle or trivial events in the event semantic identification, while model inference is easily affected by events with noises. Meanwhile, in event existence detection, models are usually more sensitive than humans.

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