Assignment task:
You will write a 2-3 minute speech outlining a cause that is a matter of public concern to voters. This voting issue is Affordable Housing and should be directly tied to political candidates' platforms in campaigns. For example, many political candidates have a platform regarding providing military aid to foreign countries. If this is a topic you think every voter should be informed about, you would outline this in your speech and use Toulmin model to advocate for why this is a vital voting issue. To find a topic, consider looking at campaign platforms of current candidates, and choosing one you feel is important. You can look beyond the presidential election - congress people are also up for election this year, for example. You can even look to local elections for ideas. Your speech will align with the outline format for this course, included in Chapter 3 of the CM. Your speech will begin with an introduction that includes an attention getter, relevance/credibility statement, thesis, and preview. Your thesis should be a claim about why this is a voting issue. For example, "Providing military aid to foreign countries is a key voting issue in this year's debate because it has implications for balancing the national budget." Your first main point will be a background of your topic. What is the voting issue? Who is involved? What is the current state of the issue? The second main point will briefly outline two sides of the controversy. What do different sides believe?