Evaluating Persuasive Speaking
Franklin D. Roosevelt
First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1933
1. Which speech did choose? Who is the speaker?
2. Where was the speech given?
3. What is the historical and cultural context of the speech (i.e., what historical events surround the delivery of the speech)?
4. What is the speaker's main proposition, or claim?
5. Who is the audience?
6. What does the speaker want the audience to do or believe?
7. How does the audience respond to the speech (if applicable)?
8. How does the speaker's rhetoric (effective use of language) evoke a response from the audience?
9. What evidence does the speaker give to support his or her proposition?
10. Which of the persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) does the speaker use? Explain.