For this lesson, I use two famous commencement speeches, one by Steve Jobs and the other by Ana Quindlen. Both are definitely interesting in their own way. The one by Jobs is already well-known and has been quoted many times. He gave it in 2005 at Stanford University. The other, by Quindlen precedes Steve Job's speech and was not delivered, a speech that was to be presented at Villanova University in 2000. Her speech is also very popular. Prior to the reading of both speeches, I have the class watch a fun video that explains rhetorical devices.
The next video I show the class is one by Nancy Duarte, who is well-known for creating interesting presentations. In this video, she gives an analysis of Martin Luther King's " I Have a Dream" speech. She explains the rhetorical devices that King used in his speech.
Duarte's Analysis
Next, I have the class read the Job's and Quindlen's speeches, following it up with a handout.
Job's Speech
Quindlen's Speech
Questions
Finally, I have the students select a speech from here and ask them to write an essay identifying the rhetorical devices that the speaker used in his or her speech. The students can also incorporate the questions that they answered for the Job's and Quindlen's speeches for this essay assignment.
