A CASE STUDY: MIA

Let’s see what choices Mia is making about language and style.

Mia was not a huge fan of how her voice sounded when she was recorded. (Is anyone?) Still, Mia made sure this was part of her plan as she refined, edited, and practiced her speech. She also worked on how she wanted to tell the stories of refugees who had used cell phones during their journeys. She was already planning to use specific examples to compare journeys, show that many challenges were similar, and identify ways that smartphones had helped. For these examples, Mia wanted to use as many details as possible to engage her listeners.

She also planned to use as much vivid language as possible to bring the stories to life. To prepare for this, she rewrote passages of each story, using specific words and phrases that engaged the senses. Her description of a boat that began to sink as it moved across the sea toward Greece noted the substandard, overcrowded vessel, which became full of water after the engine died. As the boat sank, four emigrants had to jump into the sea without life jackets, relying on only two children’s rubber rings to keep them afloat. They swam for seven hours in cold water, battling strong waves. In these ways, Mia hoped to paint a strong and moving image of the emigrants’ harrowing journey.

Look for the and throughout the chapter for adaptive quizzing and online video activities.

A CASE STUDY: JACOB

Let’s check in with Jacob to see his plans to utilize language and style for his speech.

Jacob considered himself to be a pretty confident person. For this reason, he didn’t think he needed to practice much before the speech. In fact, he thought that practicing might prevent him from acting natural and casual. He’d seen a couple of his classmates act nervous, and he didn’t understand it. All you needed was to act like you knew what you were doing. He allowed himself a few fantasies of how he’d look up there. He would make strong eye contact and end the speech with everyone applauding, fully convinced of his thesis. It was going to be pretty great, actually.

Jacob knew that he was going to pull in the audience by using examples of athletes. He was going to focus on two athlete profiles—one for a running back on the football team and the other for a starting guard/all league player on the men’s basketball team. He knew one declaration he would make: “These guys are really being treated unfairly. They sacrifice everything for the game, and they get little to nothing in return.” That would have to convince his audience, if they weren’t already convinced.

Look for the and throughout the chapter for adaptive quizzing and online video activities.