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'/" 0,#1&- #"2%'#"1"/-$

Date of presentat|on:
1op|c:
1|t|e of your speech:



nere's the bas|c structure of an MLA Cut||ne:

I. koman Numera|
A. Cap|ta| Letter
1. kegu|ar Number
|. Sma|| koman Numera| Cne



1he structure for the out||ne for your persuas|ve speech w||| be the fo||ow|ng:

I. Intro
A.
8.
C.
D.
II. 8ody
A. Argument #1
1.
|.
||.
|||.
8. Argument #2
2.
|.
||.
|||.
C. kebutta| of Cppos|ng Argument
3.
|.
||.
|||.
III. Conc|us|on
A.
8.



Remember, evidence may be a
quote, statistics, results of a study, a
chart or graph, a court ruling, or
other concrete examples. However,
your evidence must come from a
credible source.
Furthermore, a quotes length is not
what makes it credible. Use only
what you need to support your point.


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I. '/-#,4%*-',/

A. Attent|on Getter - Pook your audlence wlLh a personal anecdoLe or well-Lold sLory from a currenL evenL,
lnLrlgulng quoLe, sLarLllng facL, creaLlve analogy or hypoLheLlcal example .

8. Dec|are our os|t|on - lrom your ALLenLlon CeLLer, LranslLlon lnLo a sLaLemenL LhaL makes your Loplc and your
poslLlon on LhaL Loplc clear Lo Lhe audlence. (ls yoot ooswet 5 ot NO?)

C. Lstab||sh an Lthos Appea| - Why can we LrusL you? WhaL makes you credlble Lo make Lhls argumenL? llnd a
way Lo show Lhe audlence why you're quallfled Lo make an argumenL, why you care abouL Lhls lssue, why you're
argumenL wlll be falr Lo boLh sldes of Lhe lssue.

D. rev|ew the 1hree r|mary Arguments ou W||| Make - Slmply announce Lhe Lhree maln argumenLs you wlll
make, ln Lhe order you wlll make Lhem.

II. 7,45
A. AkGUMLN1 #1
1. I|rst |ece of Lv|dence that supports Argument #1
|. Context]Cra| C|tat|on - wbo solJ tbls poote ooJ wbots bls ot bet tltle? wbete wos tbe poote pobllsbeJ?
wbeo? lf osloq o stoJy, wbete? wltb bow mooy people?
||. uote from research - 1ype oot wotJ-fot-wotJ tbe poote yoo wlll ose
|||. Lxp|anat|on]Lxtens|on - wbot Joes tbls evlJeoce teveol? oo moy oeeJ to lotetptet tbe evlJeoce. wbot
cooclosloos coo be Jtowo? wbot lmpoct coolJ tbls pose?

8. AkGUMLN1 #2
1. I|rst p|ece of ev|dence
|. Context]Cra| C|tat|on
||. uote from research
|||. Lxp|anat|on]Lxtens|on


C. AkGUMLN1 #3 - A SIGNIIICAN1 AkGUMLN1 1nA1 CCSLS 1nL CSI1ICN CU'kL 1AkING
1. I|rst p|ece of ev|dence that refutes the oppos|ng argument
|. Context]Cra| C|tat|on
||. uote from research
|||. Lxp|anat|on]Lxtens|on

III. *,/*.%$',/
A. Ca|| for Spec|f|c Act|on or Change of 1hought - WhaL do you wanL Lhe audlence Lo do, belleve, or aL leasL be
open Lo conslderlng? Make Lhls clear.
8. Conc|ud|ng kemark w|th athos Appea|: Make us feel someLhlng aL Lhe end of your speech. ?ou mlghL Lell a
sLory LhaL helps us Lo see Lhe human slde of Lhls lssue or LhaL helps us Lo empaLhlze wlLh people you may be
advocaLlng for. WhaL harm mlghL occur lf Lhe sLaLus quo does ,# doesn'L change? ,8 whaL would be poslLlve ln
Lhe fuLure lf Lhe change you're advocaLlng occurs?
!"#$%&$'(" $!""*+ ,%-.'/"9 LkAMLL

': '/-#,4%*-',/

A. Attent|on Getter: LasL year afLer aLLendlng my cousln Cralg's hlgh school graduaLlon, whlch lasLed nearly flve
hours, l asked hlm lf he llked Lhe klds he was slLLlng ln beLween durlng Lhe maraLhon ceremony. Pls
response surprlsed me. Pe sald LhaL was Lhe flrsL Llme he'd even meL Lhem. Pe had no ldea who Lhey were.
Cralg aLLends a hlgh school of more Lhan 3,000 sLudenLs. WlLh more Lhan 730 sLudenLs ln hls graduaLlng
class, many of hls so-called classmaLes were, ln facL, compleLe sLrangers.

8. Dec|are our os|t|on: l belleve exLremely large hlgh schools cannoL effecLlvely meeL Lhe needs of young
people. ConsequenLly, sLaLes and dlsLrlcLs should bulld enough hlgh schools so LhaL enrollmenL numbers fall
beLween 300 and 1300 sLudenLs.

C. Lstab||sh Lthos Appea|: l've worked ln boLh large and small schools and keep up wlLh research regardlng Lhls
lssue. Above all, llke so many who work ln educaLlon, l am concerned wlLh whaL's besL for sLudenLs and care
deeply abouL creaLlng Lhe klnd of envlronmenL LhaL enables Lhem Lo reach Lhelr full poLenLlal.

D. rev|ew the 1hree r|mary Arguments ou W||| Make: 0;8<= l wlll focus on Lhe facL LhaL overall learnlng and
achlevemenL lncreases aL smaller schools. />?=, l'll examlne how sLruggllng and Lroubled sLudenLs ofLen
recelve less academlc and emoLlonal supporL when enrollmenL numbers are large. 0;@ABBC, l'll refuLe Lhe
maln argumenL agalnsL small schools-LhaL Lhey're Loo cosLly.

'': 7,45
A. ua||ty of |earn|ng and academ|c ach|evement |ncreases at sma||er schoo|s

1. I|rst p|ece of ev|dence that supports Argument #1
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 ln a mulLl-year sLudy of Chlcago ubllc Schools publlshed 2008 ln Lhe
5ootbeto llllools uolvetslty kevlew, researchers found LhaL
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 dropouL raLes were far lower ln smaller schools Lhan Lhose wlLh
enrollmenLs over 1,300" and LhaL Lhe grade polnL averages and sLandardlzed LesL scores of hlgh
school sLudenLs aLLendlng small schools [were] slgnlflcanLly hlgher Lhan Lhose sLudenLs aLLendlng
large hosL schools."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 1hese resulLs show Lhe exLenL Lo whlch slze can affecL learnlng.

2. Second p|ece of ev|dence that supports Argument #1
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 Mary Anne 8aywld, one of Lhe preemlnenL researchers ln educaLlon
reform, lnLervlewed ln Jocotloo week ln 2000, clalmed LhaL
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 [s]Ludles conducLed over Lhe pasL 10 Lo 13 years suggesL LhaL ln smaller
schools, sLudenLs come Lo class more ofLen, drop ouL less, earn beLLer grades, parLlclpaLe more
ofLen ln exLracurrlcular acLlvlLles, feel safer, and show fewer behavlor problems."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 8aywld's commenLs demonsLraLe LhaL even beyond academlcs, sLudenLs
ln smaller schools seem Lo be beLLer off emoLlonally as well.
8. In contrast to th|s, at schoo|s w|th |arger enro||ments, strugg||ng and troub|ed students often rece|ve |ess
academ|c and emot|ona| support.
1. I|rst p|ece of ev|dence that supports Argument #2
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 ln a 2001 sLudy of new ?ork publlc hlgh schools by Lhe 8lll and Mellnda
CaLes loundaLlon,
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 [s]evenLy percenL of Leachers ln small hlgh schools, versus only half of
large school Leachers, sald sLruggllng sLudenLs were ldenLlfled and recelved help."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 Many of us have probably had Lhe experlence of belng ln a really large
class, and have found lL dlfflculL Lo geL one-on-one help from a Leacher when we really needed lL.
1he CaLes research shows LhaL, wlLh so many sLudenLs, Leachers can also sLruggle Lo deLermlne
whlch sLudenLs are ln need of exLra help.

2. Second p|ece of ev|dence that supports Argument #2
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 ln Lhe arLlcle Smaller ls 8eLLer" publlshed ln LducaLlon Week ln 2001,
Marsha SmlLh, a member of Lhe naLlonal LducaLlon CommlLLee and a physlcal educaLlon Leacher
ln 8ockvllle, Maryland noLed LhaL
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 "ln a large hlgh school, sLudenLs can become lnvlslble and sllp Lhrough Lhe
cracks," whlle "[l]n a small school, you personallze aLLenLlon Lo Lhe sLudenL."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 Clearly, no sLudenL should ever become or feel lnvlslble." All sLudenLs
deserve Lo be seen and heard, and smaller schools can help make LhaL happen.
C. 1hose oppos|ng sma||er schoo|s argue that the ma|n reason they are not pract|ca| |s because they are
too expens|ve.
1. I|rst p|ece of ev|dence that refutes the oppos|ng argument
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 Powever, ln Lhelr 1997 sLudy, Plgh School Slze: Whlch Works 8esL and
for Whom", publlshed ln LducaLlon Analysls and ollcy 8evlew, pollcy experLs valerle Lee and
!ulla SmlLh found LhaL
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 large schools are acLually more expenslve per sLudenL because Lhelr
sheer slze requlres more admlnlsLraLlve supporL."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 1hls sLudy looked aL Lhe cosLs per sLudenL raLher Lhan [usL focuslng on
Lhe slze of a bulldlng.
2. Second p|ece of ev|dence that refutes the oppos|ng argument
|. *D@=>?=E,8AB *;=A=;D@9 ln Lhe 2001 arLlcle Are Small Schools Safer?: CreaLlng a Secure Learnlng
LnvlronmenL", publlshed on eduLopla.org, parL of Lhe Ceorge Lucas loundaLlon's WhaL Works ln
LducaLlon" lnlLlaLlve, Ann Cook, co-dlrecLor of a 120-sLudenL school ln LasL Parlem reporLed LhaL
||. 2FD=> G8DH #><>A8IJ9 Lhe graduaLlon raLe aL.LhlrLy-elghL small hlgh schools.ln new ?ork ClLy
ls 81 percenL compared wlLh Lhe clLy average of 44 percenL. Cf Lhe graduaLes, 91 percenL aLLend
college, compared wlLh Lhe clLy average of 38 percenL."
|||. "?KBA@A=;D@E"?=>@<;D@9 Accordlng Lo Lhe May 28, 2011 C8S Where Amerlca SLands" reporL by
correspondenL 8lll WhlLaker, dropouLs cosL Laxpayers more Lhan $8 bllllon annually ln publlc
asslsLance programs llke food sLamps, are more llkely Lo be unemployed, and 60 of prlson
lnmaLes are hlgh school dropouLs." Conslderlng Lhls enormous economlc draln on Lhe naLlon, Lhe
prevenLlve cosL of smaller schools, whlch can greaLly lmprove graduaLlon raLes, seems absoluLely
[usLlfled.

''': *,/*.%$',/

A. Ca|| for Spec|f|c Act|on or Change of 1hought: AfLer hearlng Lhese argumenLs, l hope you wlll conslder
Lhe beneflLs of smaller hlgh schools. L1PS wlll soon be a 3A-slzed hlgh school. Powever, has our
communlLy Lruly consldered lf a slngle hlgh school LhaL conLlnues Lo grow wlll be able Lo effecLlvely meeL
Lhe academlc and emoLlonal needs of oll our deservlng sLudenLs?

8. Conc|ud|ng kemarks: ln 2004, WyandoLLe Plgh School ln kansas ClLy was a large hlgh school plagued wlLh
poor aLLendance, low LesL scores, a hlgh dropouL raLe, and vlolence. uave 1eopfer, an applled skllls
Leacher, recalled LhaL sLudenLs seL locker flres, urlnaLed ln classrooms, and lnLlmldaLed Leachers" and lL
goL Lo Lhe polnL where you would walk ouL aL Lhe end of Lhe day and noL wanL Lo ever walk back ln." 8uL
Lhen LhaL larger school was broken lnLo smaller learnlng communlLles and Lhe school began Lo change.
Lach day a Leam of Len Leachers would work wlLh Lhe same 160 sLudenLs and, accordlng Lo maLh Leacher
Lesley Pornberger, We [knew] by lunchLlme whlch sLudenLs [were] havlng a bad day." SomeLlmes LhaL's
really lmporLanL-LhaL we feel llke somebody noLlces lf we're havlng a bad day or even a good one. We
wanL Lo know, even ln hlgh school, LhaL we are parL of communlLy where we maLLer-LhaL we're never
golng Lo be lnvlslble" or sllp Lhrough Lhe cracks."